We have some very exciting, not-yet-shared-on-the-blog news for you, my friends and readers!

Most of you have followed me closely through the ups and downs of pastoral ministry,  then through our sabbatical, and then through my father in law’s death in 2016. These last two years have been a very unique period in our life. Settled, yet unsettled. At home, yet so very far away from it. We’ve embraced change,  loss, grief, and so much joy all at once. And while we were planning one thing, God was bringing to pass something very different.  And now I am ready to share. The whole story with it’s amazing and unusual details and God-ordained moments will have to come another day. But here is a brief timeline of how things fell into place, what we have transitioned into, and why it’s so important for you to know:

October 2015: Met the leaders of Knysna Hope at a missions conference. They asked us to pray about joining their church planting team in Knysna, South Africa. We prayed for 3 months. This invitation and idea was a complete surprise on our radar, as we had fully intended to return to Canada after my husband’s dad’s recovery or death (at that time it looked hopeful that he would recover.)

January 2016: Asked about and confirmed a future visit to South Africa.

May 2016: Flew to South Africa, where we spent 2 weeks surveying the town of Knysna and the ministry there….and asking tons of questions to determine whether or not this was where God was leading us. His will was confirmed to us during and shortly after this trip.

August 2016: My husband quit his temporary job he held while on sabbatical.  We started traveling full time,  fundraising for our ministry in South Africa.

September-December 2016: My father in law passed away in September. We cancelled meetings and spent several very difficult months taking care of details and helping Mom adjust.

January 2017: Resumed full time traveling and fundraising.

So here’s the thing: We are transitioning into church planting! In South Africa! This will be a completely new avenue of pastoral ministry for us, and we are looking forward to continuing to learn and grow.

The reason I come to you today is this: Once we reach 100% of our needed monthly support, we can exit the USA and go to South Africa! We are currently at 20%- grateful for how God has provided so far, and earnestly praying for God to bring in the remaining 80%.

If you’ve followed my blog for any time at all, you know that I’ve never before asked for a penny in membership fees, or blogged to make money off of your clicks, or ever used my writing space to exploit the pain which , 9 times out of 10, brings my readers here.

But there’s this: We have joined a worthy cause.  God is at work in South Africa in some unique and exciting ways.  And I know that you, my readers and friends, are passionate about missions. So I’m asking you to pray about partnering with our family financially, giving you an eternal impact in the Gospel going forth in South Africa.  Maybe you’ve seen it in the news on CNN lately? Knysna, the town where we are headed, has been on fire- literally burning to the ground. Where there was already a great need for hope, there is now mass devastation and of course, extensive needs. Our family already had a sense of urgency to get to our field, but this event has increased that to where we are aching and longing to be there to be the hands and feet of Christ. It’s not about us or what we can do, but we desperately want to be with the people to whom God has called us!

I’m not generally a numbers gal, but I need to share a few staggering facts:

Between my Facebook page, email subscribers, and pastors’ wives in my online encouragement groups, I have a reach of about 6,000 people. Maybe that’s not staggering, but this is:

*If every one of 6,000 people commit to give $1 per month ($12 per year), we’ll reach our support goal and be on the field.

*If half of you (3,000) commit to give $2 per month ($24 per year), we’ll be on the field. 

*If 10% of you (600) commit to give $10 per month (just 33 CENTS per day!), we’ll be on the field. 

*If just 4% (240) commit to give $25 per month ( just 83 CENTS per day!), we’ll be on the field. 

*And if only 120 of my readers commit to give $50 per month ($1.66 per day- less than your daily coffee!), we’ll reach our goal and be on the field.

WHAT??!!

That’s less than your cable bill, less than one item at the dollar store, less than the cost of every other monthly expense in your life.  Why not sponsor a missionary family and have an exciting and direct part in spreading the Gospel across the world?

If the ministry of Embracing Grace has blessed and helped you in the past nearly 6 years of operation, and if you would like to have a vital part for the Gospel in South Africa, simply follow this link to our ministry website (where you can get more info about who we are and what God has called us to-  and make your giving commitment):

heartofknysna.com

When you click the link to give, you will be re-routed to our missions agency, where you can give via PayPal or credit card or debit card. If you want to make monthly donations and not have to worry about remembering to do it, check the box that says “make this a recurring payment.”

And then would you kindly send us an email letting us know you’ve joined our support team?  You can reach us at Leah@embracingrace.com OR heartofknysna@gmail.com. If you’re receiving this blog post in an email, simply hit “reply” and send a message. We will be so grateful to hear from you!

By joining our support team, you will have direct access to our family and to our ministry- a personal connection with missions and a front row seat to seeing what God is doing around the world. And what’s more- you could even come visit us on the field some day and experience it with us! But the best part is the treasure you will lay up in heaven.

Our slogan is “His Gospel. Our Feet. South African Soil” and this is truly our heart’s desire- to simply be vessels for His glory. Join us?

XOXO,

A Kindred Spirit