Coming Home!

Dearest Church Family and Friends

We pray this letter finds you well and resting in the grace and love of our great God and Savior!  Thank you so much for you prayers and support and also recently your patience:-)  We have written this letter several times over the past few weeks but things seem to keep coming up and it gets put off.

For the last several months we have been in South Africa, Potchefstroom to be exact.  We have been working with a small church fellowship here and their counsel and support have been a real blessing and encouragement.  Also, we have been able to take several trips over to visit our friends and colleagues in Mozambique.  Recently, I was able to fly up to Nampula and participate in some team meetings and have an opportunity to share a bit of what we have learned and experienced these last two years in Maputo.  We are very thankful the Lord granted us the privilege of getting to know and work along side our Mozambican brothers and sisters: they have taught us so much.

- meeting with the Team in Nampula
The Last Two Years

We have been serving here in Africa these last two years, specifically in the capital city, Maputo.  Our focus has been to work with and learn from the National Church.  While it has been a very challenging and intense time, we were very blessed and came to appreciate some of what God is doing in Africa!  However, for our family, the time has come to make a change.  We need some time as a family to work through what God has for us in the future and to provide and more stable, nurturing environment for our children.  While we would prefer, according to our human wisdom, to remain with our dear Brothers and Sisters in Mozambique, but we have spoken with our mission leadership and it has been agreed that we will return to the States in December or January for at least six months.  Since we need to take some time to refocus on our family health and relationship, we will not be planning to travel much at first as the kids will be in school.  Ian has been in Illinois with my parents since July and is attending the local grade school.  Lord willing, we will join him and all four of our kids will finish out the school year there.

God’s Faithfulness in Trials

These past few months have been difficult for us as we have faced the possibility of a change.  We desire to be open to the Lord’s leading and will for us, even if it means serving Him somewhere else. Please do not misunderstand.  We are not discouraged or down.  God is good and He has been faithful to take care of us all along the way!  You will remember how, when we were in the US during 2007-8, we needed houses in different places. He provided.  When we were moving back to Mozambique in 2009  and we could not go ahead to choose a place for ourselves, God provided.  In June of this year, when we needed to move out of our current, somewhat cramped living situation, God provided a three bedroom house with a yard here in South Africa literally two doors down from a dear church fellowship who welcomed us in like family and blessed in innumerable ways!  We know He is GOOD and we can trust Him completely!

We have learned so much through these trials and challenges and praise God that He considered us worthy to go through them and so learn more of Him!   We have experienced the love and grace of God in deeper ways we never would have without the ‘fires’ we have passed through.  We are by no means relishing the pain but we can be thankful that God is taking us through this custom made obstacle course because in His perfect love He knows just what we need to grow!  We look forward to what He has in store for us in the future and ask that you would continue to pray with us as we seek His will and direction for what is ahead.

Love IN Christ,
Joash and Delia

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