We're Staying

Gina and I would like to thank you for all of your prayers, encouragement, and support over the last eight months! We have some big news to share with you.

We have made our decision about whether or not to remain in Europe for another year. We're staying.

No sooner had we got off the plane eight months ago than people almost immediately began asking: "Do you think you'll renew your contract? Do you want to stay?"

We kept responding with a flustered "Let's see how the year goes first."

As Gina and I settled into our responsibilities and became a part of the community, we increasingly wondered - sometimes aloud to one another - what we would do if we were seriously asked to stay. Earlier this summer, the question was in fact asked: Will you stay? At the time, we responded that we were leaning in that direction but wanted more time: time to allow God to change our minds, and time to see how the semester went.

Later, the question was asked a second time: Will you be staying? Again, we asked for just a little more time. Gina had just learned her grandmother had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, we were traveling in Switzerland with her dad over a weekend, then Gina had a friend visit from the U.S., then Gina got sick, then Gina went back to Ohio to spend a few last days with her grandmother who passed away just after Gina returned here. All the while, I was running to keep up with the class I'm teaching as well as being a support for Gina in various ways. It was not a good time to sit down and have a serious discussion, or make a concrete decision.

Realizing that those in charge of us here needed to know our decision soon, we talked a bit after Gina returned here and spent the weekend praying, and trying to be sensitive to the Lord's contradicting of our desire to stay. The following Monday, just last week, we informed our supervisors that we would indeed like to renew our volunteer contract for another year. As we prayed and waited on the Lord, it seemed that He, in fact, was simply waiting on us.

We will now plan to return to the U.S. on January 31, 2012.

With the extension of our contract comes the ever-present need for your encouragement and support. You can continue to be a part of what God is doing in Europe first and foremost through your prayers and encouraging words. You can read articles from the Eurasia Regional newsletter, "Where Worlds Meet," as well as keep up with "Engage" magazine in order to stay informed, as well as checking our Facebook group "Pottengers in Germany" and keeping up with this blog.

We also would like to request that you pray seriously about becoming a financial supporter of ministry on the Eurasia Region of the Church of the Nazarene. We are praying specifically for those who are willing to become regular sponsors since, as Mission Corps volunteers, we must continue to raise our own funds for ministry. Yet, there is no such thing as a small gift! We believe wholeheartedly in God's ability to multiply the sacrificial gift of anyone who will give any amount cheerfully and willingly out of your love for Him.

Giving to ministry in Europe is easy. Simply follow the link on the left-hand side of this blog, titled "Support our ministry." This will lead you to our secure Mission Corps website where you can donate online.

Checks should be made out to General Treasurer, Church of the Nazarene, and may be sent to: Global Treasury Services, Church of the Nazarene, PO Box 843116, Kansas City, MO 64184-3116. Your gift is tax deductible. Be sure to include Pottengers/MissionCorps/Switzerland on the memo line.

Thank you so much for your continued support of Gina and I as we continue giving our time and energy to His work for His purpose! We look forward to hearing from you in the weeks and months ahead. Keep checking back here for more updates!