2013 – Blessed Beyond Measure
To view our year in pictures, click here
What a year 2013 was for our family. It was by far one of the most difficult years we have faced, yet at the same time on of the most blessed. We saw the hand of God working in so many incredible ways. In the good times and bad, he was with us every step of the way. This morning as we looked back at all that happened in 2013 we were overwhelmed with thanksgiving for what He has done. Here are just a few of the events of our year:
- The passing of Paul’s mother – Last January, Paul’s mother became very ill and passed away. Even though it was a very difficult time, we praise God that we were able to care for her while she was in the hospital and be with her in her final days. I blogged about it here http://rikels.with.sim.org/index.php/strength-for-today/
- Raising our support – We began the year with only 30% of our support needed to move to Zambia and yet we knew 2013 was the year we would go. As we met with people and shared our heart and vision for serving in Zambia, we were so encouraged to hear how God was working in their lives as well. Through the process, we reconnected with friends that we had not seen in years, got to know others much better, and made some new ones along the way.
- McKinley graduating – McKinley graduated in early May and began the next chapter in his life. Velda blogged about the prospect of leaving McKinley. You can read more here. http://rikels.with.sim.org/index.php/i-aint-grievin-til-im-leavin/
- Trip to Chicago – We wanted to have one last vacation as a family before we headed to Zambia, so we asked McKinley where he wanted to go. Expecting to hear something that involved sandy beeches, we were surprised when he said Chicago. What a great idea! We had so much fun and are so thankful for the time we had enjoying the city and each other,
- Quitting our jobs – Both of us resigned from our jobs before we were completely funded.That was quite a step of faith. Here is a quote from our blog about that, “So there it is. 53% funded May 7th. Resign from city July 5th and we are believing to leave for Zambia some time in August. Plenty more reality check points ahead; stay tuned.” You can read how God lead us to this by clicking here. Velda also gave a heartfelt farewell to her co-workers here http://rikels.with.sim.org/index.php/veldas-farewell-to-her-co-workers/
- CIT training – In the early May, we had to make a decision. We were required by SIM to take a second language acquisition course at the Center for Intercultural Training in North Carolina. The courses were filling up fast and there were only a few openings left for the course being offered in July. SIM suggested that we not take the course until we were 80% funded, so that what we learned would still be fresh on our minds when we got to the field. On top of that, I did not have enough vacation time to cover the 2 week course. So we trusted God, set my resignation date from the city for July, and enrolled in the class. When we were at CIT, we reached 78% funding. It was a great course and we enjoyed our time there with some great people who are now serving all around the world.
- Moved McKinley into his own house – This was another hard day. The realization that soon we would be leaving our sweet boy behind and moving to Zambia became all to real. We had several rough times in the following days, but God was always faithful to remind us that we could trust Him. Here is an amazing story of how He did just that .http://rikels.with.sim.org/index.php/from-the-pit-to-the-petals/
- Fully Funded – Our bags were packed and our airline tickets were purchased, all we needed was the remaining 10% funding. Just days before we were to leave, we reached 100%
- The passing of Velda’s father – This again was one of the hardest times of our lives. He had been suffering from dementia for some time and in August finally took his life. Although it was a difficult time, we were so thankful that we were still in the US and were able to be there for Velda’s mom and family.
- Boarding the plane – The day had finally come. All the packing, all the goodbyes, all the preparing was complete and it was time to board the plane. Tears filled our eyes several times from so many mixed emotions as we left all we knew and headed into the relative unknown http://rikels.with.sim.org/index.php/mixed-emotions/
- Arriving in Zambia – Lots of adjustments and new things to say the least. http://rikels.with.sim.org/index.php/oh-yeah-i-know/ Began doing ministry http://rikels.with.sim.org/index.php/happiness-is-a-wet-blanket/
All in all it has been a great year and we look forward to seeing how God works in 2014. Thank you to so many who have prayed for us, financially supported us, and encouraged us in so many ways. We are blessed to walk this road together.
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