Dear Friends,
It is with a conflicted heart that we tell you that it is time for us to close this chapter of living and serving in Costa Rica and start a new chapter of living in the United States again. We are both extremely sad but also excited for the next journey that God is leading us on.
We wish it was a simple answer to tell you the reason why, however, this whole process has been anything but easy. There were multiple factors in coming to the decision to make this transition. First, there have been a lot of changes in the ministry here in Costa Rica that have affected us. With the pandemic, we have hosted one team since March of 2020 and have no teams for the rest of 2021 team season nor for the 2022 team season. There have also been changes in our roles since the switch from children’s homes to single mom’s homes and there isn’t a defined future for us at the Abraham Project. Second, after the passing of Angie’s father, there is a definite need to be closer to family and with the pandemic on the rise (again…) we are concerned about international travel and border closings or restrictions.
With all of that said, we don’t want to leave Costa Rica. We have family and friends here that we do not want to leave; however, we also have a peace about this decision and know it is the right thing to do at this time.
The decision to return to the States has been a wrestling match and one of the most difficult decision to be made was “where?” After much prayer, it was made clear to us to move back to the city where both of us said, “we will never move back to”—Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is where both Bruce and I grew up and our families are (mostly) there.
As of right now, there isn’t much of a definitive plan. Here is what we know:
· We have tickets to return October 22, 2021.
· We will fly into Atlanta and drive the rest of the way to Fort Wayne, because we will be taking our dogs with us, and it will be less stress on ALL of us.
· We will be shipping some of our personal items (no furniture except a dining room table).
That’s all we know for “sure” (I say that with caution—everything is fluid right now). There are still a lot of things we don’t know/have:
· We have no place to live in Fort Wayne—we are still working on details.
· We do not have jobs.
· We do not have a support community in Fort Wayne—church, friends.
· We do not have furniture or anything except what we pack and a few things to ship.
With all the unknowns, we do know that God is in control of everything, and He has already revealed Himself to us in many ways. We KNOW He goes before us, behind us and all around us, so we just need to continue to TRUST HIM. With that being said, we have a lot of one-time expenses that will come with this transition: living expenses, furnishing a whole house, school preparations, buying winter clothes (eek), and just the general start-up costs of building our lives from basically zero. If you would like to help our family in any way, our church
will continue to receive our support for at least 6 months.
Financial support can be sent online at:
Southside Christian Church
Online giving: https://sccky.org
Or support can be mailed in to:
Southside Christian Church
1950 Danville Rd
Harrodsburg, KY 40330
We want to thank you for being a part of our lives here in Costa Rica and we hope that the relationship will continue. We covet your prayers for our family and for all of the changes. If you would like to know more information and/or how to help us during this transition, please reach out to us and we would love to connect with you. The best way to catch us is on social media (blog, Facebook, Instagram) or to email us at: crawfords4him@me.com.
