Dear Friends,
We would like to inform you of a big decision we have made over the past few weeks. For Averil to have the best possible chance to recover from stage three breast cancer, we have decided to move back to the United States and will do so in the next few days. We made this decision in late February after an online discussion with Averil’s doctor at the Riordan Clinic in Wichita, Kansas.
We have been saying goodbye to the brothers and sisters of Riverside Chapel, Cornerstone International Bible Church, and Caversham Community Church, as well as to our friends and colleagues of Precept Ministries NZ and Thinking Matters.
We are pleased to say that most of the ministries God helped us to begin will continue and very likely multiply, especially the Precept inductive Bible studies, the Thinking Matters worldview and apologetics camps, the Tu Kaha youth group, and several discipleship groups happening in the Dunedin area.
Thank you for enabling this ministry through your prayers, encouragement, and giving over the past seven years. God has made all this possible through you. We have worked together as a team to produce fruit pleasing to him.
By the way, at Abraham’s request, we baptised him on Sunday! He wanted to be baptised in a small church in New Zealand before we moved back to the U.S., so the elders at Riverside Chapel made it happen. Abraham (10 years old) has been a believer for about four years, but it was awesome to see him take the initiative to be baptised before our return.
Our plans over the next few months are to travel as a family to Alaska for one month in April for me to work for the U.S. Air Force at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson. I will fly on Easter morning, March 31, and Averil and the children will follow two days later on April 2. We will stay with good friends in Palmer, Alaska.
Then we will fly to Wichita, Kansas, on April 28 for Averil to visit the Riordan Clinic from April 29 to May 2. We have a place to stay in my hometown, Salina, Kansas, thanks to my dad, Phil. He has also purchased a van for our family to use. Thanks, Dad!
Then, from about May 8 to the middle of September I will likely work two reserve tours for the Air Force, one at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, and the other at Buckley Space Force Base in Denver, Colorado. During that time I will also be seeking a full-time ministry position either as a local church pastor or assistant pastor, or in parachurch or missions ministry. Of course the main focus during this time will be Averil’s health recovery.
In terms of financial giving, you may continue to support us as a family up to the end of June 2024 through ICC-Eurasia. Any giving now will be used to help pay for our relocation expenses and for worldview camps in New Zealand that will continue to run. I encourage those of you in New Zealand to keep contributing to the Thinking Matters worldview camp ministry, which is now being led by our faithful co-workers Annalise Copland and Nic Blackie.
Finally, we have set up a breast cancer recovery fund for Averil at GiveSendGo that you may want to read about and contribute to. Any funds given through GiveSendGo will be used exclusively for Averil’s medical expenses.
Thank you for reading, friends. Here are some final prayer requests.
Praise God for:
The love of the believers here in the Dunedin area, who have supported us and helped us greatly with our move
Giving us hope and good morale in a time of transition
Helping us to sell most of our belongings
The helpfulness and general obedience of our children in helping us clean the house and property where we live
The realisation we have been able to make a difference here in New Zealand over the past seven years
Abraham’s baptism in the Taieri River near Riverside Chapel
Pray that:
Averil will heal, even during this time of transition
God will help Averil and the kids fly from Christchurch through Honolulu to Anchorage on April 2 (with ten checked bags!)
Our two vans and the rest of our furniture will sell quickly and at a fair price
I will get back into the groove of serving as an Air Force attorney and officer
God will direct our steps in finding a good fit for our next ministry position
We love you so much. May God be with you and encourage you today. Now we’ve got to pack!
With love,
Jeff (and Averil)