things have changed...

hello all. well, i realize i just emailed a few days ago but there is a lot that has transpired and we feel that it is best to let you all know so that you can join us in prayer for the next steps in our lives. i don't really know how to start this email, so i suppose i'll just start to explain.

last week, bud found out that his work was willing to cut his contract in half, meaning we would not be bound in hong kong for his contract at work. with that offer, we talked and prayed about it and decided that this may be the best course of action. we have decided to come back to america much earlier than we had thought. we spoke with ritchie, our pastor at crossweave in california, we spoke with both of our families and the general consensus was to come back, regroup and see what the Lord would have us do at this point of the journey towards Hope's Refuge. so we threw out some ideas of moving back to california and even back to my hometown in maryland. but none of these were feasible, due to financial constraints.

with that said, we spoke to our good friends daks and cami kellenbarger who live in wichita, kansas. cami and i both have the same heart for Hope's Refuge and would be able to collaborate ideas and study together. daks and bud have been good friends for quite some time, daks was even in our wedding - so that will be great fellowship for both of them and we will all be able to work together to see where the Lord is leading us in our next steps in our lives. daks and cami have a very big heart for the chinese church and for chinese children. it will also be great to be around another married couple with missions on their heart!

so with all these things and factoring in that kansas is much more affordable (face it - california AND maryland are just ridiculously expensive and almost unlivable in some places) - we decided to move to kansas. it was a hard but not a hard decision. its the best step for us right now and we have a vision of returning to california in the future when and if we are able. it all depends on how the Lord continues to lead us. i know that this probably comes to a huge shock to a lot of you, if you have any questions about anything, please let us know!

with all of this laid out - please be in prayer for the following things:
* that we will find someone to replace us at our flat.
* travel mercies. - i am leaving january 31st with monster truck and will be spending a month and a half w/o bud, trying to get a job and get a head start on things before bud returns. bud will leave march 1st and go to california for a couple weeks.
* please pray that bud will be able to find a cheap but good car and get some things settled in california
* that he will have a safe trip back to america and to kansas as he drives there. (thankfully it should not be winter anymore by the time he comes and he will not have to deal with any snow on the roads!)
* please pray that bud and i will remain strong during the time apart as it is going to be hard for both of us.
* please pray for the Hong Kong church, the children that we will no longer see, our friends we will miss, our neighbors and people who we planted seeds in.
* please pray that the Lord will bring us back quickly, even if its just for a short trip to take literature to mainland.
* please pray that all the logistics of leaving here will be taken care of and that we will have no further surprises.
* please pray that the transition will be as smooth as we're hoping it will be, that i will get a job and be able to help out with daks and cami (as they are being amazing and letting me stay with them for a little while. love you guys so much!), to help provide and get things started.
* that both bud and i will get good paying jobs that we'll be able to at least enjoy until the Lord brings us back to Hong Kong/China or wherever He feels is the next place to show us.

please let me know if you have any questions. you can email me or bud. he checks hkmissions@gmail.com on a day to day basis, so if you want to talk to him, you can email him. we love you and ask that you join us in prayer as we make this next step in the journey the Lord is laying before us. we love you all so much and are so thankful for all the prayers and support you have given. we will continue to update hkmissions for a little while, but we will most likely be switching to a more Hope's Refuge focus, i think bud is going to make a Hope's Refuge website. we'll keep you updated.

agape,
christin joy and bud newman.