the move is on!
After 16 years in Botswana building a ministry to children, God impressed on our hearts that it was time to scale GEMS to reach children across the African continent—and even beyond. If you’ve been following our journey over the past few years, you know this transition has been years in the making. We received clear direction for the next step in the fall of 2025, and the first half of 2026 has been filled with the beautiful chaos of transition.
During February and March, we packed up our home of 12 years and gathered with pastors and leaders to say our farewells. After 16 years in Botswana, the relationships run deep, and our hearts are full of love for these dear brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we’ve served side by side in building God’s Kingdom. Botswana will always hold a special place in our hearts because of all He has done there. We were deeply moved as these friends prayed over us, laid hands on us, and commissioned us to go wherever God opens the door in the years ahead.
April and May were spent in northeastern South Africa on the campus of Blessman International, where we began getting acquainted with the area and preparing for our move later this year. Before that can happen, however, we need to obtain long-term residence visas, which has brought us back to the United States for the summer.
VISA VISIT
SOUTH AFRICA EMBASSY, WASHINGTON D.C.
The Republic of South Africa requires everyone desiring to live and work in the country to appear in person for an interview at the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C. Months ago we scheduled our July 2 appointment, but the day we arrived we were told the embassy was closed for the day due to the extreme heat in DC! What were we to do having flown from Africa and driven from Iowa for this appointment?
Thankfully, the kind man made a phone call to his superior and was told to take our binder of information (passports, bank statements, birth certificates and lots more personal information) and they will waive our interview and process our visas. He gave us his business card verifying his identify and position as an official of the embassy and we put it in his hands. We are at peace because its actually in God’s hands. We are trusting Him for a favorable response and should receive our 3-year residence visas within 6–8 weeks.
Our return to South Africa is scheduled for September 15, so we’re praying there are no unexpected problems or delays. As with every step of this missionary journey over the past 18 years, we deeply covet your prayers. Your faithful partnership in prayer is what has made this ministry possible, and we are so grateful for each one of you.
GEMS GOING GLOBAL
To prepare GEMS for the nations and serve children of all ages, we are contextualizing our existing three-year curriculum so it can be used not only in Botswana, but wherever God opens the door. We’ve also been asked to adapt our primary school lessons for preschoolers and develop new lessons for middle and high school students. It’s a significant assignment that requires many hours of writing, editing, and creating—but one we are genuinely excited to tackle.
While we await the processing of our visas, our Iowa office has become a curriculum development center. The task before us is great, but so is our confidence in the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Would you pray with us for fresh anointing, wisdom, creativity, clarity of thought, and uninterrupted writing sessions as we step into this exciting new season?
