New directions

Here is my latest newsletter with news about some big changes coming up...

Hi friends and family! I hope you’re doing well. The past few months have been pretty eventful here. The Strong family was blessed to celebrate my brother's wedding, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with my grandparents in town this winter. I’m always a fan of any excuse to get the whole family together. This holiday season was one of my favorites in a long time.

Before the new year rolled around, I knew something big would happen in 2016. I didn’t know what, when, how or why, but I wanted to be ready. For a long time I’d been wanting to do some further education, so at the beginning of January I attended a one week intensive Perspectives course in Pennsylvania. They jammed 15 weeks of lectures on Bible history, Church history, culture and missions into one week. Since then I’ve been working on completing the 15 weeks of coursework to earn a certificate. This has kept me very busy, but it’s been so interesting and good.

Merry Christmas and family fun in Florida

Happy New Year and studying hard in Pennsylvania

I thought Perspectives was the first step towards whatever lie ahead, but actually God had started taking the first steps long ago. When my friend, Dana, and I were in Thailand last summer we randomly met a young American lady in church one Sunday. We got to talking, and she was really interested in the English work we had done in Thailand and with Wycliffe Associates. Eventually, after some months of emailing, Dana and I were asked if we would come to Chiang Mai to develop an English language learning program for national servants in the region. This was a huge answer to prayer as I’d been seeking new opportunities to serve overseas.

In early January, I started the application process to transfer from Wycliffe Associates into my new role. The process is still in progress, but I’m set to become official on April 1st. I’ve already begun one of many online trainings and will need to complete more trainings in Orlando this Spring and North Carolina this Summer. Lord willing, I’ll be ready to go to Thailand by October at the earliest, February at the latest! This will probably be at least a two year commitment.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

I’m really excited about the journey ahead and that I was right about 2016 being a good year! There’s a lot I need to accomplish between now and then, but I know the time of preparation will be worth it. I’m happy to have a goal to work toward and something to look forward to. After my plans for Brazil fell through, I still wanted to serve overseas long-term, even if it couldn’t be in Brazil. I’m thankful that God made a way. And I’m thankful that I can do it with a friend…and that we get to continue the work of helping national servants learn English, which helps them do their work more effectively.

Thank you so much for your prayers and donations! ~Love, Kelly