En Route to Ecuador

Good morning everyone. We hope that you all had a very wonderful Christmas! We are happy to report that we are on our way to Ecuador. The closing on the house went well. We (Bryan and Jonathan) made it safely to Georgia where we met up with Heather, Rebecca and Will. After spending Christmas with my parents, we drove down to Florida yesterday where we will reconfigure our belongings and make some last minute purchases for our journey down to Quito next month. Right now Jonathan and I plan to fly out on January 15. Heather, Rebecca and Will will follow a couple of days later.

We are so excited to begin our ministry down there and to share with you all the impacts that your support is making. Thank you for your prayers and financial support. So far, our relocation has been mostly uneventful. The only challenge encountered thus far has been a bearing in my car wheel that has evidently gone bad.

We will update you soon. We love and miss you all!!!

Packing up

I can't believe that we will finally be on our way in one week. The house closing is still on track to close next Thursday, though we will sign the documents Wednesday afternoon. All of the hurdles have been cleared on that end. All we need to do is to sign the paperwork and move the rest of our belongings into storage. We are so thankful to all of you who have been a tremendous support to us over the past several months. Now the big journey begins.

Our plan is for Heather, Rebecca, and hurricane Will to leave early Thursday morning and fly to Atlanta where they will stay with some friends for a few days. Jonathan and I will stay behind and do some last minute cleaning and packing on Thursday. I'll work Friday morning and then take off with Jonathan around 11 am and begin our drive across country where we will meet up with Heather, Rebecca and Will on December 22. We will spend Christmas with my parents in Atlanta and then drive down to Jacksonville on December 27 to spend time with Heather's family, rest up, and make final preparations for going overseas. Jonathan and I will fly out of Orlando to Quito around January 15. Heather, Rebecca and Will will follow 5-7 days later. This will allow for Jonathan and I to get some basic necessities (food, potable water, crib, bedding, chocolate etc.) for living down there and to learn our way around a bit. Our moving coordinator was able to locate a temporary place for us to live while we wait for our permanent home to become available in mid-March. We have already repurchased airline tickets for Heather, Rebecca and Will to fly to Atlanta. What a blessing it is to see the gas prices fall like a rock. There's a fair chance that we might see gas down to about $2.00/gal by the time we travel cross country. The decrease in gas prices alone is going to save us more than $100 in moving expenses.

Jonathan and I had an idea that might be neat. We are thinking about recording and posting short video clips to our blog that detail the move, our arrival in Quito, getting set up, starting work, plugging into the community outreach ministries, etc. We also plan to post pictures. Our initial thoughts are that we will do this throughout our time down there.

Moving Forward

Things are going well with respect to the move. We have completed our home inspection; the well test is done, and the appraisal has been completed. We are all getting so excited. Bryan is set to begin co-teaching the Physics class on December 1 online. He is looking forward to getting to know his students and also very much looking forward to plugging into the school's community service outreach program once we all get settled in. One of our new friends down in Ecuador is looking for an apartment for us to live in near the school. Please pray that she will find one that fits our budget while meeting our need for a 4th bedroom (or 3 bedrooms with an office will do.) We plan on holding off on purchasing airline tickets to Ecuador until after we close on our home. However, we will probably need to go ahead and purchase ones for Heather, Rebecca and Will to fly to Florida for Christmas while Jonathan and I drive across country.


Thank you all so much for your prayers during that difficult period between late July and early November. They made a huge difference.

One last thing, we are attaching a RCE support coupon to this post so that we will have one in case they happen to get lost in the move. Also, some of you might need one in the future. I tried to find a more visible spot to post it on the blog, but couldn't find one.

Please mail any support donation to the address listed on this coupon along with the account #3815

A New Buyer :-) and Elk Meat

Hi there. We've got some good news to report!!!

We've got a new buyer for our house as of yesterday afternoon. There are still a fair number of details to be worked out, but it looks like a good offer from a solid lender. The closing date is tentatively set for December 18. We plan on hanging out and not leaving until around January 2. The reason for delaying our departure is that we want to wait to purchase airline tickets to Quito until after the closing paperwork has been recorded. This choice to stay a couple of weeks longer is largely based on a desire to be extra-extra cautious given what happened to us back in July. My guess is that we could come and visit with you and the class on January 11--assuming that this timeline holds. I feel really good about this (peaceful).

We plan on holding off telling the school in Ecuador and my employer/dear friends here in Missoula the good news until after the home inspection which will be at the end of next week. We don't anticipate any significant problems given that the house was inspected just 4 months ago. We just want to play it as safe as possible.

Thank you all so very much for your prayers and support over the past 3 months (in particular). They have made quite a difference. It has been a trying time for our family. Please pray that the closing process will go much better this time around.

One last thing to mention is that earlier this week, before the new buyers showed up, I spoke with the school. We decided that I should begin teaching my Physics course online December 1. In hindsight, it looks like this will make a great transition for me. Pretty neat how God works

On a different note entirely, Jonathan got to go on his first real hunt last Saturday. 15 minutes into the season on opening day, he shot a cow Elk that weighed about 530 pounds. It's at the butcher. It looks like we will be bringing a cooler or two full of elk meat to Florida in January. I, Bryan, have been hunting the mountains around here for the past 6 years often driving to the remotest of locations to try to find an elk with no success. This year I drove 10-15 minutes down the road from my house, walk 2 1/2 miles, sit down with Jonathan. The sun comes up and there are 30 elk standing in a field 150-200 yards away from me. To enhance our chances of seeing an elk, I held off on buying my elk license hoping that they would know that I didn't have one. That way, Jonathan could get a shot possibly. It worked!!! Who says that reverse psychology doesn't work.

Making the Most of the Situation

Looking out the window sure makes me grateful that we have been placed in limbo in such a wonderful area with great friends. The fall colors are now at their peak with the Cottonwood and Aspen trees displaying bright yellow leaves. The mountain tops are glazed with a fresh coat of snow. The afternoons are still fairly mild (60s-low 70s). Perfect.

I've taken the time to get out into the woods a good bit over the past week or so. Jonathan and I got to see a big bull moose and cow moose running side-by-side on one of the mountain roads that I frequent. The deer are out and running all over the place. So are the bears, though I haven't seen any yet this fall. (It's always fun to sit back and watch the black bears lumber around looking for food in the fall.)

Jonathan's first hunting season begins later this week. In past years, he has had to watch me hunt. This year, he gets to try for a deer, elk or bear. This should be a lot of fun.

Regarding a status update to our move, nothing has changed since our last posting. The real estate market has begun to slow for the winter months. We will likely take the house off the market temporarily next month and list it as FSBO and on Craigslist through February before relisting it with an agent. Our thoughts are that it is becoming increasingly likely that the house will not sale until spring 2015 given the trends in the market conditions. When the market revives in March, we do not want a house that shows on the MLS listings it has been on the market for a year. (It might turn off some potential buyers.)

As noted in the previous post, we thank you so much for your prayers and support during this very difficult and trying time. If you are a monthly or occasional donor, we ask that you suspend donations until we can sell our house and be en route to the mission field. (It doesn't feel right to us for us to continue to collect support while we wait to go into the field.) Thank you especially to the two families who have allowed for us to use one of their extra vehicles while we wait. It's a bit difficult to get by on one vehicle now days since I work in town, some 20+ miles away from home!

Still in the Holding Pattern

Hi everyone. It's great to touch base with you all again. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been in contact with AAI working out a plan "C". We are relieved to report that they have been able to find a qualified substitute teacher to fill my position until we are able to move down there. We have also been able to give our apartment to another family in need of a place to live. This will prevent us from having to pay both a mortgage and rent payment each month while we wait. This is another answer to prayer. Thank you all for your prayers an support during this challenging time.

For now the plan is for us to stay put here in Montana until the house sells. As soon as it does, we will purchase plane tickets and be on our way! We have had several showings over the past month, but currently the market appears to be slowing back down following a brief uptick in traffic earlier this month. We hope that this is not the usual slowdown for winter, but are willing to accept it if it is. There is an increasingly real chance that our home might not sell until spring.

Financially, we are at full support. Thank you all!!!! That said if you are a monthly donor, we ask that you suspend donations until we are able to leave. (We feel awkward accepting new donations while being in this holding pattern.)

In the interim, we do have a critical need. In preparation for our departure in late July we sold our second vehicle for well less than it's value. We were 5 days from leaving town and needed to unload it. It was a 1996 Suburban, quite old, but good and reliable. So, the financial loss on it was not great. Thankfully, some dear Christian friends at our church let us borrow a vehicle of theirs thinking that our delay was going to be short-lived. We need to give it back to them very soon. This means that we need for God to provide us with another vehicle. Since we still plan to go to Ecuador as soon as possible, we would prefer not purchasing another vehicle only to have to turn around and sell it too for a loss in a several months. Besides, the financial situation that Farmer's State Bank put us in back in July makes it difficult for us to be able to take on a car payment.  If you know of anyone who is able to help, could you please put them in touch with us? Thanks.

Finally, could you pray for God to send us some encouragement? This is a difficult and discouraging time for us.

Thanks.

Bryan

Waiting in the Wings

Good afternoon. The past month has been a good lesson on learning to be content in our circumstances as we continue to wait for another buyer to come and purchase our home so that we can all hop on a plane and complete our move to Quito. Everyone has been such an encouragement to us during this stressful period. Over the past month, we have had only two showings. Several people have driven by to look at the outside of the house.

Our partners down in Quito have been an encouragement and support as well. Over the past month, we have had several conversations with them developing alternate plans to deal with our delay in getting down there. School is set to start in 4 days, and they are in a real bind. They think that they have someone who will be able to fill in for me until we are able to complete the move. They are going to hold our apartment for us for 2 months, which helps. The furniture purchased has already been delivered and set up. (We will still need to purchase a good bit more when we arrive, but at least there will be a bed and two sofas to get started.)

From a support level standpoint, we are at full support. We are truly humbled at the love and support that you have shown us through your giving. Thank you so much! Our plan is to not begin using any of the support funds until after we arrive in Ecuador. By waiting to utilize the support raised, the funds will be used in the most efficient and economical way possible.

Our friend and realtor has told us that the real estate market is beginning to show signs of life again in the area after the mid-late summer slowdown. She anticipates that the market should remain active through October before dying down for the winter. Hopefully, a buyer will come along sooner rather than later. We are starting to feel the pressure of needing to make a Go/No Go decision so that both my employer here in Missoula and AAI in Quito can make the needed plans for the upcoming year. For us to go, our house has to sell. The former buyers bank's actions have cost us so much that renting our house out is no longer an option. We probably will need to make this decision by mid-late September.

Please pray that we get a buyer for our house very, very soon.

Thank you,

Bryan

Waiting to Go

Here's an update of what is going on with our effort to get down to Ecuador to serve.

The morning after the sale fell through, a realtor showed up in our driveway with two potential new buyers. The next day, the family made a contingent offer on our house, and we accepted. In order for the deal to go through, they had to close on their house in Iowa which was supposed to happen last Friday. Problems arose on their end with closing on their home, and they  had to withdraw their offer at least temporarily. Their closing date in Iowa was reset to today, and it did not happen. They are working to resolve the issues on their end and plan to come back to make a new offer if our house is still on the market.

Meanwhile, we had to cancel all of our plane tickets and tell the school that our arrival has to be delayed. This puts them in a real bind, but there is nothing else we can do at this point until we close on our house with a buyer. They are going to have to find an interim teacher until I get there and have a chance to get semi-settled.

Thank you all for your tremendous support in helping us get to the mission field. Once we clear this hurdle, we can go. We even have our visas ready to go! It will be interesting to look back at these two most recent postings in 6 months to see how everything worked out.

Setback...

Heather, the kids and I went to closing on our home this morning at 10 am. After signing the documents, we learned that the lender for the buyer withdrew their funding. The deal fell through. To be honest, it was devastating. Jonathan and I were set to leave a couple of hours after signing. Later in the afternoon, we had learned more about what had happened to sway the bank. Someone who new the buyer walked into the bank to spread false information about him and the business that he worked for. The really sad story in all this is that earlier in the morning the (former) buyer and his wife had learned that they were expecting their first child. Please pray for the health of the wife and the baby and for God's provision for them.


The plan for us remains mostly unchanged, though there is now going to be a delay in getting to Ecuador. Our house is immediately going back on the market. Hopefully a new buyer will come forward in short order. As soon as the house sells and we close, we will be on our way.


Even in the midst of attacks such as this, I marvel at God's provision and the kindness of others. Shortly after the deal fell through, I called my former employer. They were so kind and compassionate displaying true friendship an support. They are going to allow for me to come back to work for several months while we wait. I am beyond words with gratitude.


We contacted the school in Ecuador to bring them up to speed with what transpired today. We are in the process of developing a game plan to have someone cover for me until we can get down there.

On the eve of departure

Hi friends. We are on the cusp of departing. Thank you so much for your support. It is amazing to see God do the seemingly impossible over the past two months. On the eve of departure, we stand at 91% support. We are so very touched by people's open hearts and support.

Saying good bye to our dear friends in the area has been so hard to do. It has brought us a deep sense of appreciation for the relationships that have been forged at church, at work, and in the community. At the same time, we are eager to see what is in store for us next in Ecuador. To be honest, I (Bryan) have been so busy over the past 3 months that I have not had the time to get excited. I am looking forward to the excitement that the next couple of weeks brings.

We do have one significant prayer request. The bank who preapproved the buyers of our home, Farmers Bank, got a case of cold feet less than 3 hours before closing. This presents a huge dilemma for us. Evidently, they want to see more information regarding the buyer's employment before giving the final green light to proceed with closing. This is something that should have been done weeks ago. Please pray for the situation to resolve itself and for the buyers whose nerves are shot at this point. Quite frankly, we are a little stressed as well. We really need a favorable solution withing the next 48 hours or I don't know what we will do. The cool thing is that God has brought us this far. There's been a lot of impossibly good things that have happened leading up to this. It would be odd if all of a sudden, the home sale fell apart--just 3 hours before closing.

Moving the Mountain

Over the past couple of weeks, we have been watching miracle after miracle occur. As soon as an obstacle appears, it is blown away. This is all very encouraging. God has been good to us. We currently sit at 75% of our total funding needed. The house is under contract, and we are well into the packing and storing process. Plane tickets have been purchased, and we have just sent away for our visas. We were able to find a home for our dog Kodah. It was great to know that he's going to a good home.

The plan is for Jonathan and I to leave Missoula immediately after closing on the house on 7/22. Heather, Rebecca and Will will fly to Atlanta and visit family and friends where we will meet up a few days later. From there, we will all travel down to Florida where we will prepare to fly down to Quito at the end of the month.

We are so sad to be leaving our dear, dear friends but excited to see what the next step in our journey has for us. I am hopeful that at least Jonathan and I will be able to travel up here next summer to give a report and see everyone. I hope that Heather, Rebecca and Will can come as well. We are really going to miss you all!!!

Our goal will be to update this site at least once every two weeks. We will be sure to post pictures when we can. Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement.

Some of you have requested information on how to make an online donation to our upcoming ministry. Here's a link to RCE, Resourcing Christian Education: http://www.rce-international.org/donate/. They will be handling all of our administrative duties. When making a donation, be sure to include our account number 3815 so that RCE will know whose account to deposit the funds into.

The Transitioning Begins

We've got some good news to report. After just a little over two weeks on the market, our house is under contract. Given the recent upturn in the market around here and the ensuing busyness, the closing process will take around a month and a half to complete. This could not fit better with our timeline. We were under the impression that the whole process between accepting and offer and closing on the house would take a month to complete, not 6 weeks. Based on that, we were under the impression that the ideal time to sell the house would be about a week and a half from now. God knew better. I'm glad that He's running the show on this. Pretty cool, eh?

Last Sunday my pastor, Jeff, was gracious to allow for me to present our vision to our local church body. It was a great encouragement to hear and feel the support from our friends in our dear church. Another friend of ours, Matt, has invited us to come up to his church to speak on July 6 in Thompson Falls, MT. That all said, we are at about 50% of what we need in financial support to be able to go in August, but the gap is steadily closing. We are able to conduct a follow up mailing last week and hope to hear from more partners in the next week.

In Ecuador, there's good progress to report as well. Our contact with the school has located an apartment near the school that will meed our family's needs just fine for a good price. We will see photos of it next week. Hopefully, we will have something to share that you can see. It's on the first floor and has a patio. Where there's a patio, there's usually grass/dirt. Where there's grass/dirt, there's going to be a garden. Here in Montana, I have to think of ways to keep moisture in the soil. In Ecuador, I will have to think of ways of keeping the moisture from saturating the soil (raised garden?) We have been able to tentatively get our hands on some furniture.

Our main tasks for the next week are to begin packing and to find a home for our Malemute, Kodah. He's been a great dog, but we can't take him with us. A dog with 9" hair + an undercoat would probably not do very well down there. He's 5 years old and likes to play with mountain lions at night if anyone is interested. He appears to be disinterested in bears and deer.

Moving along...

What an exciting time this is. It is also so very busy and hectic. The main challenge right now is to find balance in the middle of all the change. We have finally been able to get the house on the market to sell and have mailed out letters requesting both financial and prayer support for our upcoming ministry in Quito.

I have gotten a little bit more information about what our ministry down there will look like. I am to teach one class of Physics, one Physics lab, and two General Science classes. I am looking forward to meeting the kids that I will be teaching and to building relationships with them. Most are not Christians. They come from a variety of backgrounds. Some come from wealthy families of international business leaders or government officials; some come from the middle/working class; and some come in from villages along the Amazon river basin. What a variety. I hear that kids from 30+ nations are represented at the school. As excited as I am about this ministry, I am just as excited about the school's outreach efforts into the community to the poor and street kids and also to villages along the tributaries of the Amazon. I cannot wait to join with them in this ministry. Heather is excited as well to join in this.

 The support from friends and family has been great. Thank you all. If you are partnering with us through prayer, please continue to pray for strength and courage as we navigate through this radical change. It can be exhausting at times. To be honest, I am pretty tired already from getting the house ready to put on the market to sell and from sending out the support letters. Thankfully, Heather and the kids have been a tremendous help and support all along. Please also pray  that we will be able to raise the support needed ($2000/month total) so that we can respond to God's call. There are potentially some minor setbacks in that department. Right now, we have about 1/6th of what's needed for fully funded support. Finally, please continue to pray that our house will promptly sell and that we will have a contract on it from a buyer no later than 3-4 weeks from now.

I have been given an opportunity to share the vision for our ministry more in depth on June 8 at our church (Lolo Community Church). If you are able to come, we'd love to see you there.

Breaking News!

Heather and I are excited to announce that with God's help, we will be moving to Quito, Ecuador, in August to serve at Alliance Academy International (AAI). I, Bryan, will be serving as a high school Physics and General Science teacher as my principle mission. Alliance Academy International is a Christian, English-speaking, multi-national school that educates and ministers to nearly 600 students from more than 30 nations. The socioeconomic background of the student body is wide-ranging. Some students come from extremely affluent families from around the world, some from middle-class families, and some from extremely rural/impoverished areas, including tribes in the Amazon basin.


AAI is heavily involved in the community through various Community Service Outreach (CSO) ministries. In fact, all extracurricular activities are suspended each Wednesday afternoon to allow for the staff and interested students to go into the community and serve. More than 85% of the high school students at the school are involved. Through the CSOs, students and staff minister to street kids, orphans at a local orphanage, and the poor who live near the Quito trash dump. Other staff and student-involved ministries reach out into the surrounding communities--including villages in the upper Amazon basin along the Napo River (a tributary of the Amazon River) near the area where the Waorani tribe resides. The Waorani tribe is the same tribe that was documented in the movie "End of the Spear."


Quito, a city of approximately 3 million, is a city full of contrasts. While the city is striving to become an international city of commerce, there remain significant areas of poverty and need. Demographically, the city is divided into three sections. The northern portion of the city is the most modernized and affluent. The middle portion is the historical district. Southern portion of the city is the area of greatest need, the area where most of the poor reside. AAI is located in the central portion of the city.


We are humbled to be called into this ministry and are eager to serve. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us in our mission? In order to live and work in Quito, Ecuador, we will need your prayers and financial support. AAI provides teachers a stipend that covers nearly one third of living expenses. As full-time missionaries, we need to raise $2,000 a month to supplement the stipend. Bryan received a formal offer yesterday, May 15, leaving us approximately 10 weeks to raise financial support. We know that with God all things are possible. If this is something that you are able to do, please contact us  richardhenry2011@gmail.com for more information. Thank you so much. We look forward to sharing much more with you in the coming years!


Bryan and Heather

Moving Along

Over the past few weeks, I have had three interviews with Alliance Academy International in Quito, Ecuador. It appears that this may be a good fit for our family should an offer come in the coming days or weeks. I think that it will. I have been told that following the next interview an offer might be made. Regarding the other possibility in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, I have not heard from them in nearly two weeks. I am interpreting this as God's direction for us. Heather and I feel led in the direction of Quito, so this may just be God's confirmation.

We have been feverishly getting the house ready to sell. The inside of the house has been cleaned and painted. The decks have been redone. Our belongings have been downsized but will need to be further downsized prior to moving. Some nonessential items have been boxed. The house is finally ready to sell. We will first try listing it ourselves for a couple of weeks. If we do not receive any offers, then we will ask a wonderful friend of ours who is an agent to sell it for us. Passport documents have been filled out and are ready to send in. I have also readied my teacher's certification documents for submittal pending an offer. We have established contact with the agency who will be handling the administrative end of our ministry should we go to Quito: Resourcing Christian Education International. The time table is getting short to be able to make the move this year, but we have prepared as much as we can at this point. Soon we will be drafting support letters to send out. We also plan to list our home as well.

Here are a few prayer requests as we prepare to make the jump.

1. We need courage and physical strength to pull this off. This is a radical change from the "known" to the "unknown". Also, I am a little weary from preparing the house to sell, though not exhausted.
2. We need to sell our home for a decent price in a timely manner.
3. We need to close the gap on the support that needs to be raised by mid-July.

Thank you for your prayers! They have been a big help to us over the past few months while navigating the process.

Jonathan Henry, Clarence Jones and Alliance Academy International

Every so often something happens that stops you in your tracks. Most of you know that Heather homeschools the kids. As part of Jonathan's curriculum, he read the autobiography of Clarence Jones, a missionary who started a radio ministry in Ecuador that eventually went global. During the early years of his ministry the property on which the radio tower stands was split into two sections. One of the sections was given to missionaries to allow for the building of an international school.

Little did I know that the school mentioned in the book was the same school that I had previously researched about a teaching need posted on their website for an Earth Science and Physics teacher. Within an hour of contacting the school, I received a reply from a school administrator. She told me that moments before receiving my email that she and the director were discussing their pressing need for a person with my qualifications. There were no applicants at the moment that could fill the need. She sent me an application packet along with a YouTube video link that discussed the school, its history, and mission. I was blown away by all that I heard and read. The emphasis that the school places on outreach to the community, especially the poor, is great. There is a strong emphasis on discipleship and servant leadership. A great emphasis is placed on spiritual maturity among staff members. The school is well organized. Jonathan and Rebecca would receive a scholarship to attend. The school pays the teachers a stipend, which would offset some of the amount needed to be raised for us to go down there to serve.

They appear to be very interested in us coming down to serve. Heather and the kids are extremely interested in the possibility as well...as am I. They have asked for me to quickly fill out and submit an application package and also to submit references.

I think that this is probably where we are going to go serve.

There is a lot to do in a short period of time, but we have already started the process of preparing should God continue to open doors to serve in Quito.

Again this school, Alliance Academy International in Quito, Ecuador, is looking like a very strong possibility. I am scheduled to interview with them next week. I will let you know what happens. How exciting.

Bryan

The Beginning

So here we are at the beginning of the journey, answering the call to go overseas to serve in Latin America. Our vision is to move to either Guatemala, Honduras or somewhere else in the region where Bryan will serve as a teacher at an international Christian school. While there, we wish to also work with those living in extreme poverty in the surrounding ghettos to show God's love for them by building relationships, sharing our faith, and teaching skills that will improve their lives.

To accomplish this mission, we need your help. We need you to pray for God to direct us to where He wants us to go, on his timetable. We also need for you to join with us in praying that God will take care of the details that will free us us to be able to go. Specifically we need to sell our house, downsize our belongings, and put them into storage. To do all this, we need to fix up a few things on the house first.We also need for you to pray that Will will begin to sleep through the night. It has been nearly a year since we all have slept through the night for more than one night in a row. A rested mind is a clear mind. Finally, we ask that you consider supporting us financially once I am hired by a school and have been able to align with a sending organization. The cost per month for a family of 5 to live in Guatemala City is around $3600.

Thank you.