For those of you who have been following us and our blogs, we wanted to give an update on what we are doing currently and what the future holds for us regarding the World Race and international missions.
For the past 4+ (!!) months, we have been back in Minnesota. Our friends Blake and Shelby have generously opened their home to us and we have enjoyed lots of time with our friends and family. Anna has been working as a nurse and has really enjoyed the chance to get back to what she does best. She was at a long-term care facility for an 8-week contract and now she is at Hennepin County Medical Center, a large safety-net hospital in downtown Minneapolis. In the meantime, Seth is taking classes full-time. He is finishing off his pre-requisite courses needed to prepare for a potential application to medical school.
About 3 months ago, we were approached out of the blue by an organization about moving to Tanzania, Africa full-time and running their orphanage and ministry operations over there. We were in an intense season where it was increasingly clear that the Lord was creating something new within us, yet this opportunity came as a bit of a shock. Both of us were hesitant at this concept of moving to a 3rd world country full-time. In the following weeks, we prayed for guidance and clear confirmation as to what the right move for us was in this decision. Almost immediately, the Holy Spirit started giving us all sorts of confirmations that this is indeed the right next step for us. After a month or two, we gave our yes and committed to moving to Africa later this year.
The ministry we will be serving with is called STEMM (Siouxland Tanzania Education & Medical Mission). It is an organization that Seth is familiar with as he went on a trip with STEMM to Tanzania back in 2015. It was founded by an orthopedic surgeon in the 90’s as a way for him to give back through his medical practice. It has grown over the years and now includes an orphanage with 50+ children, a large education & scholarship program, self-sustaining agriculture, a daily meal program, as well as its original mission of providing medical care and community development to the under–served population in Tanzania.
We will be based in a rural area just outside of Arusha which is in northern Tanzania – roughly an hour from Mt. Kilimanjaro and in the middle of Safari country. STEMM hosts trips frequently, so if COVID-19 ever slows down, feel free to come out and visit! This is obviously a big jump for us, and is quite intimidating, but we are able to rest with confidence in knowing that God goes before us, beside us, and all around us.
Our World Race mentor, Keith, talked about the idea of “coasting” and how easy it is to continue to go through the motions in life without intentionally pursuing, or even evaluating, how God wants you to actively live. Committing to the World Race was our first step as a couple off of the treadmill, this move over to Africa is our second, and we will continue to keep our eyes and hearts zeroed in on our Creator.
We are immensely thankful for our time with the World Race. It was incredible. We cannot imagine a better thing for our marriage and our lives. The people we met, the things we experienced, and the way that our view of God grew are things that will never leave us. We wish our time on the Race could have been longer, but it is so cool to know that this has been his plan for us all along.
Now it’s time to learn some Swahili. Hakuna Matata.
For those who have supported us financially:
Thank you again for your generous support of us. In our new role with STEMM, we will be raising support for our salary. Because our time with the World Race was cut short, we have funds remaining in our “account”. We are able to transfer this over to STEMM and it will go directly to supporting us in Africa.
If you would instead prefer to receive a portion of your money back from Adventures in Missions, please let us know and we can reach out to their donor relations team on your behalf. Please do this by September 1st as we hope to have our remaining funds transferred by September 15th. Thanks again & we love you!
– Seth & Anna
