Long Time Coming

I have just gotten back from the airport in St. Louis taking friends to see them off to East Asia. Our relationship with them started 5 years ago while the wife was a freshman at Central and we were on a year sabbatical from Taiwan. She joined me on 3 different trips, to Taiwan & China and the husband went along on one for a summer internship. Her passion started while she was in 8th grade and it was obvious as she became the student leader for the missions department at Central her last two years there. She graduated in 2005, married that fall, and spent the last year waiting for her husband to finish up his degree in Engineering at Rolla, Mo and raising support. They joined Team Expansion and are partnering with another young family with Outreach International.


A lot of discussions, meetings, phone calls, chats, training, preparations and vision sharing has taken place in the past 5 years with both of these couples. It is with great excitement that they are now where they long to be, and at the same time, they have become very, very dear friends. There was a point when we couldn't wait for them to come to us, and now, we are here and they are there. We think God sometimes has an ironic sense of humor. But it is all good. We still feel a part of their team, and will miss them, yes... but we know God is going to do great things through them. Pray for their adjustments as they begin language training and start to make God appointed relationships! Oh, and pray for us too... a piece of our hearts, a big piece, just went with them.