Full Circle Moments
God has a way of bringing events in our life full circle. This summer is one of those times for us.
On July 4, 2006, God interrupted our lives with an opportunity that would forever change our family. We were attending for the first time, the 4th of July parade in Monument, Colorado. This has since become a tradition for us each year. Our paths crossed on that day with a ministry that was leading a vision trip to Swaziland, Africa. They wanted to take pastors and church leaders on this trip to launch a ministry to this small country in Africa. Laura had become aware in recent months of the various challenges and sufferings of women and children in parts of Africa and felt compelled to engage in some way. This trip seemed like the perfect opportunity to direct that passion. A month later, Rick was on an airplane flying across the ocean not quite sure of what the Lord was doing or how this would forever change our lives.
Come with Us
As you know that trip began a new trajectory for our family that has led to the creation of Beyond Survival, our adoption, and 19 years of ministry and friendship with the people of Swaziland, what is now called Eswatini. We could not have imagined what God would do through that encounter on July 4.
Now, almost 19 years later, we are seeing God fulfill a dream of returning to Eswatini with our family and joining together to support Laila’s desire to visit and minister in her home country. So many of you have been with us through it all, supporting the work, sending supplies, praying for the needs, and even joining us on our trips. You have captured the vision and heart that God has given to Beyond Survival the work that we do.
We want you to come with us. God is multiplying His work He called us to 19 years ago. He is stirring the hearts of His people, and we believe that this year’s trip will have a multiplying effect into the years ahead. We believe God is and has hand-picked those who will go on this mission trip. Your gifts, abilities, and talents will be invested in Eswatini. Will you pray about joining us July 4th to 16th?
We recognize this trip is a moment in time that will forever mark our family. We believe it will mark yours as well. Not everyone can go or is called to go. We get that. So if you are unable to go but want to support this trip and our family, we invite you to join us through your prayers and funding to make this happen. We believe in God’s calling and provision and have seen him provide over and over throughout the years. He has continuously shown up and it feels significant that 19 years later after we learned of this country, we are at a place to lead our family back together.
We invite you to go with us and experience this ministry. To receive information on how you can join our trip, email us at rick@beyondsurvival.org to get the trip overview. If you want to give towards this trip, you can do so by the link below. Thanks so much for loving us and praying for us. We are thrilled to see how God continues to write this His story on our hearts.
Would you consider partnering with us?
We invite you into this next step through your prayers and support. This year, we opened this trip to anyone who wanted to go with us. There were many over the last few months that expressed interest. As the deadline to commit approached, we saw the numbers dwindling to only our family. We believe that God is even in this part of the process and has a specific plan and purpose for our family to go as a team of 9.
If He is stirring your heart to partner with us, we invite you to give towards this historic trip. Thanks so much for your friendship, prayers, and encouragement.
