Following is a copy of our support letter for our “Go Fellowship” position starting july 9th for 6 months. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the letter please respond with your address and we can send one within the next week or two before we embark on this great adventure.
Dear friends and family,
Have you ever had a moment where you thought, “This is it. This is what I was made for”? Have you ever found yourself so passionate about something that you knew you would go to great lengths to pursue it? What if this is the life Christ envisioned for all of us? I know that God created us to experience this in ways unique to each other, but for me this happened looking into the big brown eyes of a little Haitian girl curled up in my arms. Jon Foreman’s lyrics to “Your Love Is Strong” suddenly made sense.
The kingdom of the heavens is buried treasure
Will you sell yourself to buy the one you’ve found?
The kingdom of heaven is worth selling ourselves for and trading in our lives of comfort and self-seeking. So with LOTS of prayerful consideration and thought, we decided to trade in the life we know for a life in which we’re trusting God to cut the path for us.
The Ferguson’s are excited to share with you our new and upcoming adventures! As you may remember, we were given the wonderful opportunity to lead the Shelterwood mission trip to Haiti this past March. We have considered doing overseas work since we’ve known each other, but getting to lead that trip as a married couple and learn more of what life outside our comfort could look like confirmed this dream that we wanted to go and serve. After returning back to the States we contacted Global Orphan Project with our interest in their organization and last month we received a call from them asking us to join their Haiti field team for 6 months starting in July!
We can’t believe how good God is to give us this opportunity! Here’s a quick overview of our role with GO (Global Orphan) in Haiti: our position is called “GO Fellows”. We will be responsible for leading and coordinating Vision Trips (5 day mission trips that occur nearly every week of the year). The main purpose of the Vision Trip is to raise awareness of the orphan situation. Raising awareness creates a larger platform for GO to create sustainable programs in Haiti. We have a lot of training to do because it is essential that the GO Fellow be knowledgeable of the culture and understand how these trips impact the children in the villages, both short term and long term. We are also excited because Shelterwood will be going on another trip in November and we will get to see familiar faces and watch God go to work within that group!
We are sending you this letter for this primary purpose: we need prayer warriors! It has been a difficult transition leaving what we know for something we’ll have to learn as we go. During the past month we have stepped down from our jobs, moved out of our cozy apartment, sold a lot of belongings, and left friends and family. We know this is the season God is calling us to, but there’s still that part of us that desires the comforts of family, friends, and American living (hot showers will be very missed!). Will you partner with us in this next season? Will you pray for us as we will be adjusting to life in Haiti? Will you pray that the love of Christ will become so evident to these orphans that they can’t ignore Him? Our desire is that they will find their Heavenly Father sufficient despite not having an earthly father. Will you also pray for God’s provision for us, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and financially? Thank you for being in our corner. We wish we could adequately express how much it means knowing we have incredible people who are thoughtful toward us.
It is very important to us that you know how much your recent support has meant to us. From our wedding last September to our trip in March to this new season we’re entering into, it has all been possible because of your loving encouragement and support. We acknowledge that we are able to do the things we have because you’re willing to love us so well and join us in our service. We thank you for that! We want to keep an open door for you if you desired to give monetarily to GO or us. While it doesn’t cost us anything to go to Haiti, it will cost GO around $6,000. Our position will be voluntary so while GO considers that amount to be part of the cost of staffing they also ask that we raise support to help offset that cost. We have been very diligent in our budgeting, however, we will still have bills back home plus personal expenses for trip preparation (immunizations, travel/medical insurance, school loans, supplies, approximately $1600) that we will need to focus on. If you feel led to give to GO for our trip you can make your check payable to Global Orphan Project (tax deductible). If you feel led to help support us while we have taken this voluntary position you can make the check out to either Brian or Courtney Ferguson. We ask that all forms of support be mailed to Brian’s parents (Jim and Pam Ferguson). The purpose in this is so they can gather all the support and ensure that it is properly deposited, whether to Global Orphan’s office or to us individually. Their mailing address is:
Jim and Pam Ferguson
C/O Brian and Courtney Ferguson
7514 27th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98115
We thank you for prayerfully considering this, but mostly we are thankful for you. It’s so fun for us to know that we have such supportive friends and family with whom we can share life. We are currently working on an online way of keeping everyone back home updated. We will be sending more information soon on how to keep up with us, if you choose. Thank you again. We love you and are so grateful for you!
God bless,
Brian and Courtney Ferguson