Holly's Homepage: A Day the Changed Our Lives Forever!

Twenty Nine years ago on September 27, 1987 Vern, Caleb, Seth and I stepped on a plane in Chicago and we headed to Venezuela, South America. In our high school years Vern and I both felt God leading us to serve overseas as missionaries. Although we lived 2,000 miles apart, God brought us together at Bible school and when we were 20 we got married. Six months later we entered the missionary training center.

When we got on that plane 29 years ago we were 24 years old and Caleb was 2 1/2 and Seth was 14 months old. We were filled with a mix of emotions as we said good-bye to our family and friends and headed off on that plane to the unknown. (Back then there was no email and it costs $1.50 a minute to call back home. Therefore, with limited support, phoning home did not happen that often.) Once we stepped off that plane in Caracas our lives would forever be changed. I don't think I can put into words everything we experienced during our years down there. There were many, many hard challenging, lonely, and discouraging days. However, we met God in a way that we would never have if we had not stepped on that plane. It is amazing to me how God delights in using the weak things of this world to be his hands and feet. God stretched us and we found ourselves doing things we felt ill prepared for and in ourselves incapable of doing. But through God we made it through the valleys and experienced some amazing mountain top experiences as well. God gave us a love for Venezuela and the people and we made Venezuela our home. God blessed us with three more children: Zachary, Ruth, and Titus who were born down there. So although there were many challenges we loved our time down there and we made some incredible memories as a family and missionary team. There is nothing in this world that can compare to having a front row seat in seeing God work. How amazing it is to see the gospel change lives and to see it go to places the gospel has never gone before.

When we left 29 years ago we thought we were going to live until we died on the mission field. Little did we know that God had other plans for us. As many of you know in 2002 while we were on furlough the work we were involved with closed down. We would never be able to return to where we were living and working. It was a crazy time in our lives as we lost our jobs, house, pets, and everything we had owned. As hard as that was to walk through, we had such peace that only God can give. We started a "new normal". It was through that move that God brought us up here to Ontario to work at Emanate. As you all know God has many twists and turns in this life. Great has been God's faithfulness to us through the years. As we start creeping up in age with more years behind us then ahead of us we just thank the Lord for allowing us the amazing privilege of being his ambassadors. Our lives have been so richly blessed as we walk with Him in this journey God.

We also do not want to fail to thank the many people who have been on this journey with us. In those early years all the snail mail letters were our life line to the outside world. I thank the Lord for those who sent packages knowing that they might end up stolen. On our furloughs we have had cars givens to us, apartments furnished and stocked with groceries. So many have and continue to, faithfully pray and support us. There have been so many people who have encouraged and spurred us on to keep pressing on and to keep our eyes on the Lord. We thank-you for the countless ways you cheer us on. So as we celebrate this "Ministry Anniversary Milestone" we hope you can celebrate with us. YEA GOD!!!!

Our Family Summer 1987