We’re back in America! Just a couple of weeks ago we packed up our lives and hopped on a bunch of planes. It was bittersweet to leave Zambia, to say goodbye to so many friends and a beautiful, familiar place for an unknown amount of time. But we are so excited for what is ahead, and for our time here in the states to be with you all!

Our last month before leaving Africa was one of the busiest of the last two years! The first two weeks of August we made another trek to Angola (with Reuben!). This time, we got to see the farm where we will be based from when move to back, as well as returning to Namibe where our team is based. Ministry in Angola is so different than ministering in Zambia. In Zambia, most people live within walking distance of a church. They have very likely heard the name of Jesus, and while they might not know that he wants a relationship with them, they’ve probably heard that he “died for their sins.” In contrast, rural people groups in Angola don’t have a written language, so they don’t have Bibles. The closest our team there has found to someone knowing the name of Jesus was that once, a man was on a bus and he overheard someone watching a video that said the name of Jesus, but he didn’t know who he was. We won’t be trying to get people to give up religious traditions in exchange for a living relationship with God, we’ll be introducing them to God for the very first time, and teaching them from scratch what it means to follow Jesus.

We definitely left Zambia on an exciting note! The third week of August, over 250 leaders from all over Zambia congregated at the training center in Batoka for our Overland Leaders Conference. You may remember us talking about this conference last year (previously called the Sector Conference)! Men and women who are leaders in ministering to their communities gathered together for a week of worshiping together, encouraging one another, and learning new skills and ideas for ministry. Every year, this conference has more people, more resources, and more excitement as people come prepared for a move of God. Our prayer this year and always is that the change God makes in people’s lives at the conference won’t stop there, but that it will impact every community these leaders return to for the Kingdom of God!

We hope that our newsletters regularly convey this, but just incase they haven't-you are making a huge impact in so many lives. The people we meet, pray for, teach, hug, and share the gospel with might not get to know your face, or your name, but the reason they know us is because we know you. You put fuel in our car, pay for Tonga Bibles for our team, supply lunch for conference attendees, and provide transport money for our leaders to make it to the Leaders Conference. You buy the seed we use to demonstrate Farming God's Way, and your prayers encourage us through every moment of every day. We can't thank you enough.