We are preparing for the adventure of a lifetime! It is a big change to leave our home, our friends, and our parish community of almost nine years. We have been so enriched and blessed by so many of you! Thank you for loving us and supporting us.
We will be living in Los Angeles at the Mission House for almost five months. There will be eighteen of us in the house, including one other family with children about the same age as ours. While the kids are attending St John Chrysostom School in Inglewood, we will have formation and discussions in various topics to prepare us for mission, including theology, Bible study, missiology, cross-cultural issues, and personal and spiritual development.
It appears that our family will be sent to Cameroon, Africa, for three years, serving in the Archdiocese of Bamenda. Most likely, we will live on the grounds at the major seminary and Pete will teach pastoral theology. Joy is looking forward to getting there and gradually seeing how she can be involved in mission, while attending to the children's needs.
Amidst a lot of uncertainty, we are very excited about this opportunity to "share our gifts, live our faith, and change the world--and let the world change us!" (the motto of Lay Mission Helpers). We are confident that God is calling us, and that He will be faithful to provide for us and bless us in all sorts of new and exciting ways!
-Peter, Joy, Joshua, Jessica, and Emily