summertime travel

Just two weeks ago was the Torchbearers International Staff Conference at Capernwray Hall. Every four years many of the staff from around the world come to England for a time of teaching, fellowship, updates and planning. We felt very blessed to be able to attend the conference even though we were a few days late. We made it just in time for Dave’s Communications and Development presentation. We have learned so much being on the C&D team this last year and a half, and it was really cool to see a bit of the impact the effort is having on the international ministry.

There are many staff that have been a huge encouragement to Chris and I as we have moved around, and it was such a blessing to catch up with a few of them during those few days as well.

We feel so blessed to be serving Torchbearers, as our time at Bible school made a significant impact on us back in 2007, and we continue to be blessed by the ministry in so many different ways, including the encouragement from the people we meet, the joy we receive in the little roles we get to play, being witness’ of the power of Christ’s life to change those who attend the centres around the world and so much more.

It was such a joy to see just one representation of the global body of Christ during that time!

Since then we traveled from England to Switzerland where we will be based for the summer. The Torchbearer Centre in Interlaken is used for conferences and camps at the moment and the director there is hoping to start a Bible school in the next few years. He graciously said that Chris and I could stay at the centre, Credo, for the summer while we do some work for C&D. Mainly Chris will be shooting and editing videos. He currently has one for Tauernhof in the works, and is shooting for Credo, Bodenseehof (one of the centres in Germany) and it looks like we may be traveling to Albania to shoot a video for the Centre there as well.

It is such a blessing to be able to visit many of the different TI centres around the world, meet the staff and serve them in some small way. I have to admit my heart is a little weary from all the moving around and just making brief contacts with people, but at the same time God is graciously blessing us through many people we are meeting along the way and using them to speak loving truth into our hearts. We even crossed paths with a group from Moody who are studying abroad for the summer and were staying at the centre in Switzerland last week! We were so blessed by the students and especially by encouraging conversations with a few of our past professors. God is meeting our relational needs even as our desire to settle down in a community is growing. We look forward to returning to Tauernhof, our ‘home’ for the fall, but continue to pray we might be a blessing to others in each of the places God takes us over the next month or two.

We are continuing to lift our future plans up to the Lord as we do not know what He has in store for this coming January. Our hearts desire is to continue the work with the C&D team, but also to be settled at one centre where we can make a home and be involved with the students as well. We continue to trust that God knows best by laying down our requests before Him and saying “Your will be done.” Please pray that we would continue to seek God’s will for our future and trust in His provision for all of our needs.