It's Happening: We're Moving To Belize!!

The time has come for us to move to Belize! And would you guess what?! Our house is scheduled to close this week! PRAISE GOD!! There is a minor detail that needs to come through for the closing to actually happen, please pray for a successful closing this week!

Mark left this morning and made it to Rawlins, WY. The vehicle is doing good. He detected some smoke at one point going up a hill, got it checked out by a mechanic with no problems found. Please pray for continued smooth and safe travel for Mark! Avi and I (Sarah) will fly to Belize early next week. It is tough to make this journey separately, but it will be much easier on Avi to not be stuck in a car seat for several days (easier on her parents too)!

But that’s not all!! There is a team arriving in Gales Point on Thursday, December 20^th (the day after Mark arrives). We are very excited to serve alongside this team, the other missionaries in the village and the community of believers in Gales Point. The team is a group of seven young adults who will be painting two houses, doing some children’s ministry, and participating in the Christmas programs at Galilee Gospel Chapel in Gales Point. Mark and I remember our short term mission trips and the excitement and concerns that come along with the experience. We would ask that you would pray for this team, that they would have safe travel and open hearts for the ministry they are about to participate in.

We want to thank everyone for your support in prayers, donations and encouragement. We still need more of each! Now that we are officially embarking we would appreciate end-of-year donations and new supporters to join our team. We only need $300 a month more to reach our goal. Please click on the “donate now” button on the right to set up a monthly or one-time gift. You may also send a check made out to “Origins Faith Community” with “Bradbury Mission” written in the memo (mail to: PO Box 629, Ontario, OR 97914).

Stay tuned, our next blog post may be coming from Belize! We can’t wait to fill you in on what’s happening!

Loss, Illness, and Our Move

Here's a quick update about our progress in getting to Belize and the recent events you can be praying for…

As many of you may have seen on facebook, there have been some illness and loss at the mission and in the village. Basil, co-founder of Belize Mission and Retreat came down with a serious infection and was in the hospital for about two weeks (in Belize and then in the states). He is home now with Vera recuperating. He now has long-term susceptibility to infection in the brain. Please be praying for protection from infection and for Vera as she cares for him at home.

Also, Shannon (decon of Galilee Gospel Chapel) and his wife, Amanda, just lost their 10 month old daughter. This is such a tragic loss and we would really appreciate if you would lift them up and the entire village as they grieve the loss of precious Annalayah. Pray that the Holy Spirit can comfort this family and strengthen the community of believers there.

Annalayah was a light to the village and had a sweet loving spirit.

Shannon and Amanda Welch with their precious Annalayah.

As things stand now, there are two teams coming back-to-back to the mission base this month for short-term mission trips, but with Vera and Basil in the states the base is being manned day-to-day by villagers and missionaries from the village. We are trying to be there mid-December to help prepare for these teams. So that’s our goal, God willing.

The sale of our house is moving forward and my parents are going to sign paperwork for closing. Mark is getting new parts installed in our “Belize-mobile.” We just found out the title for our vehicle will be in the mail to us this week (we need this to cross the border into Mexico). So it seems the progress we need to get there is happening. Praise God!
 
We will post an update as we know more about a departure date. THANK YOU everyone for supporting us and praying for us. God is so good and HE IS ENOUGH. Our hearts have already become entwined with the village of Gales Point. They are our new community and we aren't even there yet. We continue to be drawn to trust Him with this journey and give Him our hearts as we prepare to embark.

Changing Perspectives

Over the course of this year God has been transforming us. He is making us more aware of what He values, and of course, what he does not value. Since getting married Sarah and I have both held good jobs, and made good money for people our age. We made what we thought was an investment and bought a house, hoping to secure our financial future a bit while living the American Dream. A lot of our monthly income went to that house. The other money went towards all the “stuff” that we needed wanted. Throughout the years we were demonstrating to God what we valued, a nice house and a lot of possessions. Now we have turned over a new page. We are delighting in letting go of stuff to devote ourselves to ministry.

On our fundraising journey we have had many surprises of how friends, family and even strangers have stepped up to support us. To date we have received 75% of our need. We still are waiting on another $500 per month to reach our goal. We cannot achieve this alone. We understand that funds often run out before the end of the month. We have been there. However, we all will continue to get the same results if we don’t change something. Our hope has been, and continues to be, that others will join us in faith on this journey with a financial gift, showing in a tangible (and sometimes uncomfortable) way that they believe in us, believe in God’s work in the broader world, and believe that God provides for what we need.

We are asking for your financial support. Christ spoke often about money, yet too often topics like money, especially tithing and giving, is made taboo. We believe that what we spend our money on shows what we value. Will you join us in valuing ministry over stuff? Maybe that means you give up daily Starbucks runs. Maybe you don’t need 250 television channels. Maybe you don’t need to go out to eat every weekend. Give up eating out just one time a month and you could easily support us for $30/month. We are giving up these comforts for a whole year (maybe more) and hope that you can join us by stretching and giving up some of your comforts for this ministry also.

We knew this journey would not be easy. When the enemy sees good he gets angry and combative. We think Satan loves the American Dream. He wants us to be comfortable and complacent. He wants us to be inwardly focused, both in our lives and in the church. He wants us to turn our eyes away from the hurting, the broken, and the poor.

Thankfully our Lord is greater. Our Lord is stronger. And with the Holy Spirit we have His radical power. We are guided by the One who created all things. God delights in using us to accomplish (for His glory) more that we could ever imagine in our own strength. That is pretty amazing to ponder. The gift given to each of us on the cross is not to be taken lightly. Christ expected great things from His Disciples, and He expects such great things from us.

Praises and Prayers Update

In this phase of fundraising and preparing to go, we are learning that this is part of our ministry, as well as the actual work in Belize.  Mark and I were privileged to share about our mission on 94.1 KBXL “The Voice.” We have also connected personally with a lot of our friends, family and community about the call God has put on our life. We are hoping that others will be encouraged to step out in faith for whatever journey God might have before them.

As for some updates...

Our fundraising has been a whirlwind! We are at $1675 a month!! FANTASTIC progress! However, that leaves us with a gap of $525 per month of funding still needed (side note – our former goal was $2500 per month, but we have decreased that by $300 by determining we can pay off our adoption loan early next year with our tax return).

Many friends and family have stepped out in faith to support our mission (maybe you’re one of them – thank you!!!). They are investing in God’s work in Gales Point, Belize. We are so grateful for our enthusiastic senders and their faithfulness to God’s call to serve the broader world we live in.

PRAISE! This past weekend we purchased our “Belize Mobile!” We are so excited to have a sturdy 4x4. Mark has some adjustments to make it even more capable of withstanding the rugged dirt roads we will be traveling the majority of our time in Belize.

Will you please join us as we pray for the final BIG hurdle? Our house. The sale is pending. We are in negotiations with the bank regarding the amount of money we will pay for the short sale. We are hoping for an amount that we can afford. God knows what we can handle and we need to trust Him with this area of our finances. We appreciate your prayers this week in regards to this matter!

Lastly, we have two precious cats looking for homes. Charlie and Eowyn are declawed in the front and are strictly indoor cats. Let us know if you are interested or know someone who might be.

We Are Half Way There

We have reached the halfway point of our fundraising, having secured 50% of our monthly need. We continue to shoot for a departure date around the first of November, but that will depend on several things. First of all we must complete our fundraising. We have had many folks step up and provide monthly donations, but we still need around $1200 more a month to complete our fundraising. If you have decided to give but have not yet done so please let us know so we can add your support to our thermometer. If you have not made a decision to partner with us, we encourage you to do so soon. If you would like more information about our ministry, or would like a phone call or personal visit, let us know.

Secondly we need to finish selling our house. We are in negotiations with our bank, as we are having to do a short sale. We thought the closing was about done, but the bank decided they now want half of our savings. I let them know that was not an option since we will need much of our savings for this move. Please be praying that the bank would be generous in this matter! We are hoping to close the sale by October 15th.

And finally, we still need to find and prepare a vehicle to take. We have continued to look at many options, but are now leaning towards a Jeep Cherokee. With a Cherokee we will still be able to carry several additional people, but will have the off-road qualities needed to navigate Belize's wonderful roads. If you know of anyone who might be interested in selling a Cherokee please let us know. We are looking for one that is in good condition, with under 150K miles, a straight six 4.0 liter, 4x4, and must have AC.

This week we will be meeting with a CPA to plan for our tax preparation while we are gone. We also get to go to the doctor for some recommended immunizations. Fun stuff.

Our Story Can Be Yours Too

I (Sarah) was encouraged this morning at church. The current sermon series is about writing a new “story” in our life. It was so applicable to our life right now! We are moving forward in this new direction without looking back. We have sold many of our possessions (some furniture, various household items, two cars now and almost a house). Soon we will say goodbye to friends, family, and hot water (among other modern comforts). However, the more we let go and take steps forward, the more we are experiencing God. I am continually reminded that He is all we need and our security and worth come from Him! This new story is already filling our life with blessings. It has been so encouraging to hear from others who have been touched by missions and believe in what we’re doing.

God has called us to a ministry that is already well established and by His grace and power we can help build it and sustain it even more. Several youth from the village where we are going made a commitment to Christ at camp this summer. It is evident that God is working and we are so privileged to go support and serve. The impact of this ministry – working with short term teams and supporting the growing community of believers in Gales Point– we believe will grow into something far beyond what we could ever ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20).

We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resources that God has given you – your energy, prayers and money – in this work God has called us. Through our collaboration, drawn together by God we can build the kingdom and this can become your story as well as ours.

The Preparations Continue

We were blessed to spend the past week-and-a-half with family, spending a week on the beautiful Oregon coast and some extra days with the Bradbury clan. This was out last hurrah with family before our departure to Belize.

We have begun the fundraising process and are pleased to have one-third of our monthly budget raised so far. This amount was raised prior to us even sending out donation information. We have been so excited to see people stepping up to partner in our ministry. 

Our search for a vehicle to take to Belize has been unproductive so far. We found a van we were interested in, but when we went to see it we learned it was at the shop waiting for a part, so we were unable to test drive it. A week later, they still didn’t have the part. We continue to look at all options; a passenger van, a 4x4 SUV, etc. We have been praying that the Lord would provide us the right vehicle to take. Hoping his provision comes soon.

Yesterday we received Avi’s passport in the mail. One more thing we can cross off our lengthy to-do list. We still need doctor and dentist appointments before we go. We need to find a good tax guru to do next year’s taxes, preferably someone with experience with missionaries and adoptions. (We would love to hear any recommendations.) We need to sell our house. As of today, we have a buyer who is intending to accept the bank’s bottom line selling price. It’s looking good!  We also have shopping list of things we will not be able to purchase in Belize. I am looking for a five gallon bucket of Off Deep Woods, but apparently they don’t sell it like that. And the list continues. Moving to a foreign country sure was a lot easier when I (Mark) was 18 and single.

Eowyn

Charlie

Another great need we have is for someone to adopt our two cats, Eowyn and Charlie. They are strictly indoor cats, as they are declawed in the front. We want to see them kept together. Eowyn is the stoic elder and Charlie the lover. Eowyn is very autonomous, but gets in bed to cuddle for a bit each night. Charlie is much more social and has a purr that sounds like a diesel engine. Both are great cats, and we will hate to say goodbye, but taking them to Belize is not practical.

Anticipation continues to build for our departure. Despite the many preparations we have yet to complete, things continue to fall in place. We thank you for taking the time to read about our ministry adventure. If you have not yet done so, please check out our website at MissionariesToBelize.com.

Not What We Expected

I haven’t experienced the Lord move so noticeably as He has in the last month! First we received Avi’s birth certificate in the mail after finalizing our adoption (a process that could have delayed our ability to apply for a passport for Avi). Then we received two offers on our house (one we accepted and are waiting to hear from the bank for approval since we are short selling). Meanwhile, we have been toying with the idea of getting a dependable 4-wheel drive vehicle to use in Belize. Last weekend we went up to Sun Valley to look at a Wagoneer that Mark had found. The owner knew we were coming to see it. When we arrived in town, we called the guy and he said he sold it that morning! We were so bummed (and disappointed he didn’t give us a heads up)! After that fiasco we decided we might as well just make some repairs to the Durango, take it to Belize and hope for the best.

Then last Wednesday, out of the blue, we received a call on our Craigslist ad for our Durango (it has been posted for at least a few months). The couple came out to test drive it and made us an offer we couldn’t accept (especially since we were undecided about whether to take the Durango to Belize or not). We told them we were firm on our asking price and with mixed feelings, watched them “walk away.” They ended up contacting us the next day, offering us our asking price! We cleaned out the Durango and it was gone within an hour! It’s funny how sad I was to see it drive away. I was more tearful about this car than I was about our house (of course we technically still own the house so grief over that may still be yet to come).

Sometimes things just work out differently than you think. We've been looking for just the right vehicle to take to the mission in Belize, Wagoneers, Scouts, etc. Well, this morning Mark began looking at a seemingly less conventional option… 15-passenger vans!! These are completely unlike what we’d been wanting, but as we’re learning in this mission process the Lord is lining up our hearts up with His.

Belize Mission and Retreat has a 15-passenger van, but it is on its last leg (or wheel). Basil (one of the founders of the mission) calls it his 1-wheel drive van. The back doors have to be wired shut, the side sliding door hardly opens, every time they make a stop someone gets out to tighten the bolts on the wheels and there is a hole near one of the wheel wells in the back of the van that sprays muddy water on passengers and the ceiling whenever they go through a puddle!

With a van of our own we could assist in transporting teams visiting the mission. But what we’re most enthused about is providing villagers with a ride to the city. Most don’t have a form of transportation so they sit at the edge of the village hoping to hitch a ride with whoever is headed to the city. On the last day of our visit Basil picked up about half a dozen ladies who needed to get to town to do some shopping (there are no stores in the village). With a large van of our own we will be able to accomplish more for the villagers and the mission. The Lord is lining our heart up with His… this search for a new vehicle is now about serving the Lord better and less about what we’re comfortable in. I’m so grateful the Lord is working in the logistics of our journey and that He is moving us along in our mindset and heart. Please pray for the perfect vehicle to come across our path and that the Lord continues to open our eyes so we can open doors beyond our expectations.