We're At 70%, And It Feels So Good!

We just hit another huge milestone!

We had a campaign to finish March at 70%, and today we met that goal!

Thank you so much to our friends and family, you joined us this past month, and with your support, we reached the next step!  We could not have done it without you, and we are more thankful for you than you know!

We are praying and hoping to leave for Slovenia in August, which gives us about 5 months to raise the last 30%.  We know that with God's grace, and your support, we will able to be on our way to Slovenia!

And that's not the only praise report we have!  Since our last blog post, we have also found out that PFYouth Speed the Light has raised the funds needed for our Speed the Light car!  For those of you who may not be familiar with Speed the Light, it is a ministry, where the youth of each district raises the money needed for missionaries' vehicles.  This is a HUGE help, because if we had to raise the extra funds, it would add months, maybe even years to our itineration cycle.  The fact that the funds are already available means that as soon as we land in Slovenia, we will have a reliable and safe mode of transportation.  We are so thankful to our District Youth Director Casey Casal, as well as all the teenagers who have given to Speed the Lights!

And that's still not all!  Wide Open, City Church's youth group in Sanford, FL has pledged to raise $5000, for our plane tickets to Slovenia!  That is amazing!  We get so excited to see young people on fire for missions!

We are so thankful for all the people who have come alongside us, who encourage us, love and support us!  Please continue to pray for us, for traveling mercies (our car just reached 100,000 miles!), favor with the pastors, and other people we meet, and to be able to leave for Slovenia as soon as possible!

Thank you!

sLOVEnia

We had something very exciting happen this past month, and couldn't wait to tell you about it!

We got an email from our area director to be on the lookout for a phone call from a pastor in Texas.  A couple of days later, we received a call.  As it turns out, pastor Raul Garza and his wife often travel to countries around the world, and connect with missionaries on the ground.  His wife felt prompted to do something for Slovenia a few years ago, so on one of their trips, they visited there.  They were surprised to find out that there were no Assemblies of God missionaries.  So years ago they started praying that someone would answer the call to Slovenia.

Fast forward, they wrote our area director, asking if there were any missionaries headed to Slovenia, and as a matter of fact... there are!

So he called us, and invited us to their church, and told us they were going to partner with us in monthly support!  We were so excited, and thankful for God's timing! It is so encouraging and at the same time humbling to know that we are part of God's plan.

To think that the creator of the whole universe has a specific plan, and that we have small part in it - it's almost too much to fathom!

And that brings us to the title of this post.  Slovenia is the only country in the world that has the world "love" in it.  And we love Slovenia!  God has given us a love for a country and people - and we are so anxious to get there!

So this Valentine's Day, love the people near you, but also love the people that God lays on your heart.  God uses each of us to pray for people all over the world.  Allow the Lord to soften your heart towards his people, and pray for them.

Happy Valentine's Day. And remember, "We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

A Year To Review, A Year To Hope For

 As of January 1st, we have been itinerating for 1 year.  We've driven 34,441 miles, and visited 88 churches in 6 states.

We have raised 52% of our monthly budget.

All of these numbers are encouraging, but of course, we are longing to finally make Slovenia our home.  We are praying, hoping and planning on leaving for Slovenia by the end of June.

January is a month to look both forward and backward.  Backward, to remember all the blessings and special moments that happened, and forward with expectation.

So, we would like to share with you our top 3 itineration moments from 2016, and the top three that we are praying for, for 2017.

2016 Top 3

1. Candidate Missionary Commissioning Ceremony

In June of this year, we got to experience one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments.  We were commissioned as Assemblies of God World Missionaries.  All of our leadership was there and prayed over us.

Our Europe regional directors the Trementozzis, and our Central Europe area directors the Sabellas were there, as well as our district superintendent Terry Raburn, and district  missions director Tom Manning.  We received a Slovenian Bible, and the blessing of our leaders.  It was a moment we both have been looking forward to, for as long as we can remember.

2. Visiting the Slovenian Embassy in Washington D.C.

We were fortunate enough to be able to visit the Slovenian Embassy in Washington D.C. in November.  You may not know this, but the land an embassy sits on is considered that country's soil.  This means that technically, we actually visited Slovenia!

We spent time praying for Slovenia; their government, their people, the spiritual climate there, as well as our transition to moving there.  It was a very special time that stood out in our minds as an ordained moment.

3. Many, Many Itinerating Car Selfies

We have spent countless hours in the car together - it's a good thing we all like each other and shower regularly! Thankfully, Aidan is a terrific traveler; he LOVES hotels, snacks, sleeping in his own "big boy" bed, and watching Paw Patrol in the back seat.  We have great talks on the long drives, listen to music or even audio books.  We've been able to see some amazing and spectacular things along the way; Ocala National Forest, the Southernmost point of the US, a sunrise in Miami, orange groves and manatees at the Tampa zoo, to name a few.  We have met so many kind and generous people along the way.  Countless people have partnered with us on this itineration journey, and are making it possible for us to be moving forward towards moving to Slovenia. 

2017 Top Three

1. Getting the All Clear

We cannot wait to use these passports to board a big plane, with all our earthly possessions, and move to the country God has called us to!  We are ready to go!  The moment we hit that "magical" 100 mark, we will be on our way to the next adventure!

2. Meeting Our Slovenian Brothers and Sisters

We are so excited to meet our Slovenian brothers and sisters in Christ.  The Slovenian Pentecostal fellowship has invited us to come, and we cannot wait to be there, worshipping and working alongside them.  Please be praying for them with us!

3. Start Learning Slovene

 One of the questions we get asked most at churches is if we've started learning the language yet.  We would love to!  The challenge is that Slovene is not a widely spoken language, so there are only a couple options for taking classes here in the States, and none of them are near us.  So we will be spending the first year (at least) in full-time language school.  We are both very much looking forward to learning Slovene!