As we have shared in our last blog, we have been seeking God about our direction. We knew that He has called us here to do ministry, but He also gave us a company that we otherwise wouldn’t have. As I have been here for almost 10 years, having this company has given me both a new legal and social identity — I’m no longer an aging foreigner who after 10 years is still a student, but I’m a person who has studied here and decided to live here and start a business here.
We have struggled with our original vision for our company and making it work. However, as we kept praying and seeking God about it, we feel he wants us to keep this company. This has helped us. We now see a new way.
Ever have many different people all talk to you about the same thing around the same time? We had this happen to us this past month. An older couple here asked if we had thought about starting an English school through our company, and talked about its potential of serving as a screen for the Bible school they are working on starting. In our meetings with the other leaders in CT a few weeks ago, the issue of more of our long-term workers needing a work visa was brought up, and the idea of an English school was thought to be a good solution. Also, before either of these events, lots of Roxanne’s friends and family members have been telling her that she should teach English and make some money that way.
At the end of our annual retreat, we sat down with our organization’s leader and talked about what to have us focus on. The consensus was that we should work on starting an English school and through it get visas for team members who need them. Several of our team members have been here for almost 10 years; it no longer makes sense for them to be tourists or students. To continue to be here, they need a working visa. An English school will allow them to get it without having to work long hours, therefore still have the majority of their time to do ministry.
So we have been back for about 3 weeks now, a lot has been happening! While we were in Malaysia and during the first few days we came back, almost 20 people have contacted Roxanne about wanting to study English. A local sister who recently just came back from America shared with us that she has been having this same idea for years. We had some further discussions with our city leader, and agreed that the focus of the school should be “teaching English to college students.” We came up with plans for recruiting students and the class schedules, and also decided that the location of our class should be near the college campus.
It has been hard to find a good location that is near campus, decent for what we want to do and is within our budget. But two days ago, something cool happened. We came across a café 5 minutes away from campus that is closing down. The owner agreed to let us rent the café for one month, and if we like it, they are willing to sell it to us for about $4,285! We are super excited about this and the ministry opportunities this café might bring. At the same time we are unsure about how well our classes will sell and if the company can afford to buy this place.
We see the team here at least 3 times a week. We are praying and standing with them in their work. We will be leading an outreach Bible study for people who are seeking. This is new for us and our organization because we have mostly relied on direct evangelism for outreach. Also, we will be doing a seasonal role of helping to coordinate our national events. Roxanne is also helping to translate for the local Bible school that we mentioned above.
All of this is in addition to raising our two kids who are both doing great. Our oldest will be 2 in April and is learning new words every day, her speed of learning amazes me. Our son is 5 months old now and can roll over but he really wants to crawl!