Extending our home assignment through summer of 2022

Christ is Risen! Happy Easter! Moving through Lent to Easter, we are reminded that..

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Collectively, we are discovering this truth as the whole world deals with the reality and effects of the pandemic. Personally, I (Erika) am learning to appreciate the wisdom and gifts from living with, rather than resisting, the season in which we find ourselves. Winter has been a time for deep reflection and expression of lament, grief and loss for us. It has been a time for sabbath and rest and allowing the seeds of lament to begin to sprout new buds of hope, just like the buds we are starting to see on the magnolia tree in our backyard.

Something we have been grieving is the loss of normal connection with family, friends, and all of you. We so appreciate our church partners who have reached out and connected with us through your mission committee or invited us to share or preach online, but we also know it has been a crazy season for churches and we understand those who have been unable to connect.

However, we are excited to share that, due to a variety of reasons, we have decided to extend our home assignment for one more year. That means we will be available, once COVID allows, to make in-person visits, starting first with local churches and then hopefully by the fall or winter with churches that would require more travel. We are really looking forward to this opportunity! If your church would like a visit in person, we would love to hear from you to start talking about dates and what that would look like. Below you can find our contact information.

During this extended home assignment, we will continue to connect with and serve the ministries in Mexico in which we have been involved (now made easier through zoom). Nils continues to serve with Covenant World Relief and Development with a special focus on Latin American partners and is expanding his role there, while Erika continues to stay connected with MAEM (Ministering to the Abused and Exploited in Mexico) and is excited to facilitate a Designed discipleship cohort in Spanish with women from Mexico this summer. We will both continue in our graduate studies at North Park Seminary/University as well.

We continue to be available to connect through zoom or other online ways with your church, mission committee or small groups, if that is something you are interested in doing. Please let us know how we can best do that for your church.

You have been in our prayers during this difficult season. We have prayed for God’s shalom for your congregation and for your church’s ministry to be a blessing to those around you who are suffering. You are a blessing to us! Your prayers and your continued financial support, even during this difficult time, have sustained us. May the Lord bless you and keep you!