Hi Everyone,

We made it to America! To our well needed break. Let me tell you it was strange at first to meet Amy’s family in person after knowing them only over the phone, but I really enjoy being here with the whole family, getting to know her parents, going on trips with her brothers and meeting my nieces and nephews.

The weeks leading up to us leaving New Zealand were full on. We house sat for friends of ours which was the biggest blessing, because we got to do life as just Amy and Silas instead of living in a big community. I was desperately trying to finish up some projects, some of which had been on my plate for months, others were part of me helping in the office with our new marketing software, which has been really fun for me, but quite demanding. For Amy the biggest job was to clean our old house, because we had to move out and fit our entire life in not much more than a few storage boxes. You don’t realize how much stuff you accumulate in 20 months of marriage until you need to move everything and reduce it by probably 30%. Either way Amy did a great job. Living in a tiny space has taught us how much less stuff we actually need and that living more minimally brings us peace.  

In between cleaning and packing, Amy was able to take advantage of the beautiful house we were living in and invited students from our July DTS and DBS to visit us. We both had fun inviting over some of our dearest friends for a meal. Amy and I have been blessed many times with having dinner at our friends the Kirkwood’s (they have 2 little girls and new baby boy), as well as the Price family with their small daughter and son. They are so precious to us and it was such a gift to be able to have enough space to have a whole family over for dinner and be able to serve them for a change.

Our entire marriage had been in New Zealand so it was a big deal for us to leave. It was really exciting to land in New York and to be picked up by Amy’s parents. We hit the ground running, a few days after we arrived in New Jersey we drove to Ocean City for a week of family vacation. It was great to be able to hang out with Jeremy, Lorelai and Wade (my nephews and niece) and meet lots of Amy’s Friends and Family.

Besides being able to catch up/getting to know everyone (if I got a dollar for each person, I met in the past 3 weeks…lol) we also had the amazing opportunity to share what we have been doing in New Zealand with the young adult’s group at Amy’s church. It was encouraging to see how hungry to learn they were and much they wanted grow in God. We spent over an hour after the bible study just talking to them. We are excited to have connected with old friends as well as making new ones.

Today we will be flying to Georgia, to see Amy’s oldest sister Sara and her family. I am excited to meet Leah and Collin, the remaining two of my five nieces and nephews that I’ve yet to meet.

And in a few weeks, we are headed to Germany to see my family and friends! I am looking forward to seeing the roles reversed, now I get to introduce Amy to everyone and she has to explain where exactly she lives (if I got a dollar for each time, I got asked the question where exactly I lived in Germany and upon saying ‘Stuttgart’ I was met with blank stares…).

Though the most frequent question we got asked was if we will stay in the US or head back to New Zealand (if I got a dollar…Just kidding : ). Yes, we will head back to New Zealand after our furlough to continue our ministry with Marine Reach.

Thank you all for being part of our journey and for being so gracious with our infrequent newsletters as we recover and rest. Thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to see our families after an eventful three years (if I got a dollar for every time Amy told the story of our overseas-covid19-wedding… Well we need more support so maybe you could be the person giving me a dollar each time ; ).

While I have put it as a joke about money, in all seriousness Amy and I are looking to grow our support team by about $1,000 USD a month. We are believing for 20 more people to join our team at $50 a month to help us be able to meet our basic needs. Amy and I have been living in a very small one room space since we got married and we are realizing it is time for us to find a more permanent home. In order to cover the increase in rent we will need additional funds. We long for a space that can serve and minister to others. We want to host Bible studies, invite students, friends, and family to come stay with us, not to mention our desire to have space for a future family of our own. We would be honoured to hear from you or answer any questions you might have. If you feel led to give, please checkout the link below to our funding page.

Prayer requests:
– Rest for Amy and myself

-For Amy to easily adjust to the language change in Germany
– That our times catching up with supporters would be fruitful
– That we would be able to bring hope and God’s truth to our friends and family

Be blessed,

Silas and Amy