A New Direction

Dear friends and family,

It has been such a blessing to have you praying for us! We believe God has used your prayers in so many significant ways in our ministry with eDOT and TEFL, as well as the opportunities He’s given us to minister to our neighbors and friends in Germany.

Please excuse the method of writing to you. We wanted to send out a letter to each of you, but due to a shortage of time, we thought it best to send this via email. We are writing to share with you how God has been leading us to a point of transition in our lives and ministry which is both exciting and sad. (We realize that this letter is a long one, but please read it through to the end! Thanks!!) Laura and I have been seeking God’s will for a number of months and we’re sensing that He is making some significant and unexpected adjustments in our journey. We would like to ask that you pray with us as God continues to reveal His future for us in ministry as a family.

I have always dreamed of someday going to seminary to further my education with the hope of becoming a pastor and ministering in a local church. While we were serving with GEM in Germany, this calling was put on the back burner, but never far from our minds. We thought that once our commitment with GEM was over (2012), we would begin to pursue seminary education.

As you know, we’ve been back in the U.S. these last few months reconnecting with many of you as well as working on raising more support. To date, we are still $1800/month under what we had hoped to raise by February 2, 2010. While we have told many of you Germany has become “home” to us, there has been one area where I have felt my skills were not properly being utilized and that is in the area of TEFL. While we believe in the vision and mission of TEFL, we feel God wants to use my gifts and talents elsewhere. After seeking much counsel and receiving confirmation, we believe TEFL is no longer the calling God has placed on my life. We believe it was a necessary step in the process of preparing us for seminary. While finances are not an obstacle in God’s economy, we believe that this, combined with a lack of fulfillment in my duties with TEFL, is God’s way of leading us to seminary sooner rather than later, and more specifically, this fall.

Obviously, this will be a big transition in the timing of things. Though I will not be working with TEFL anymore, Laura is praying about returning to a her role with the technology team of eDOT while I go through seminary in order to continue to impact Europe through this important ministry. Even though we will be state-side, we will need continuing partners (like you!) to pray for us and support us financially in Laura’s ministry role with GEM and my education. We are excited about this transition even though it will be difficult. We will have to say goodbye to many in Germany we have come to know and love.

We originally hoped to return to Germany on February 2, which we will still do, but now with the purpose of moving out of our apartment and allowing Laura to attend eDOT’s annual planning meetings. We plan to move our belongings back to the U.S. and return to San Diego March 17 to continue the discernment process and raise additional funds. There are still many details about our future that we do not yet know, but we are confident that God will lead us forward.

We also believe that God uses His people to minister and counsel when needed. And so we are asking you to email us or call us (858.926.5674) and let us know what you think of this new opportunity. We are hoping that God will confirm and refine His direction for us through our conversations with you. We are really excited about this opportunity, and want to be wise in how we proceed.

Since we will be extremely busy from now until March when we return to the U.S., we may not be able to communicate with you as often as we’d like. Know, however, that once we return to the U.S., we would really like to connect with you, answer any questions you may have, and see if this new direction resonates with you. For now, please pray specifically for the following:

• that God would give us clear guidance through His Word and your input in upcoming decisions.
• for continued prayer and financial support for our ministry.
• that God would make the path to the right seminary clear.
• for the logistics of moving and “closing” our life in Germany. Pray for good “goodbyes” with our friends in Germany – this will be very hard for us.
• for Laura, Lilli, and me as we go through a significant amount of transition from now until we’ve settled next fall.

Thank you so much for praying! So many of you have expressed your love and support of us while we’ve been in the U.S. We are very thankful for that. We hope that we will be able to continue in partnership with you on behalf of the peoples of Europe!

In Christ,
Thadd, Laura, and Lilli Davis

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