The Journey Begins...
12 Years ago, our little tribe moved away from our home in South Carolina with the intention of following the Lord of the Harvest wherever He would take us. We had been set apart by our elders, encouraged by our brothers and sisters in Christ, and sent out prayerfully to take the Gospel to the least reached peoples of the world.
Along the way, we have had the privilege of serving across the globe, from the Andes to the Wicklow Mountains.
In the Winter of 2017 we had the privilege of moving to the Republic of Ireland with the intention of staying for the long-term, hoping to see God plant a new faith community in a small rural village. God, it would seem, had other plans; after being there for 3 years, on December 19th of 2020, with the expiration of our Visas and the rejection of our fourth year renewal, we packed up a portion of our belongings and flew back into the United States with hope that we would be able to return to our home in Ireland shortly.
Waiting on God
Returning to the US has proven to be a difficult season for us; we had buried our hearts in Ireland, and coming back has not been easy by no means. While we grieved, we labored to find ways back into Ireland, but the “doors” seemed sealed shut. We looked into other avenues back in (i.e. work visas, through coffee business, etc), but without success.
We kept seeking God (in confusion at times), and both sensed that our time as ‘missionaries’ was not yet over, but could not find our “place”.
It was during this time that we found our own heart’s increasingly filled with a strong continued desire for rural missions and to go and shepherd souls for the sake of the Gospel.
We continued to labor in prayer and to seek much counsel (with each other and with brothers and sisters from both sides of the Sea), and, in time, we began to sense God had been preparing us and was now leading us in a new direction.
With the counsel and support of our Pastor (in Ireland), it became clear that our season there was coming to an end, and that a transition would need to be made for the health of our little family. With his encouragement we began serious conversations with Village Missions and received a formal invitation from them in October of last year. So we flew out to Dallas, Oregon in mid-November to spend a week in prayer and conversation with the leadership of VM and 7 other families. This week of deeper conversations and intentional prayer confirmed many things in our hearts and by the grace of God we were officially commissioned as ‘Village Missionaries’ by the end of the week.
Village Missions
We will be serving as missionaries in a rural community in North America with Michael serving as the shepherding/teaching pastor of a small church in need in that community.
Again, we have not made this decision lightly or without much prayer and much counsel. Although this has been a hard decision, we believe it is the best decision for our family (and for the church) at this point in our journey.
We are so extremely thankful to God to be set apart by Him for such a wonderful work. To be called and set apart by Him to shepherd His flock in an area of great need, humbles us and fills us with joy and hope.
A Season of Transition
Making this transition (from rural Ireland to rural North America) has us very much starting from scratch. As a family we don’t own much of anything and we will need everything from furniture and housewares, to 4wd vehicles and help with the move (when the time of our placement comes).
We will also need continued and ongoing Ministry Partners to hold the rope for us to be able to go and serve in this new field. When we have raised $750 of our needed monthly support, we will be given our long-term placement.
Our hope is to be placed by Spring of 2022, and we are intentionally laboring to that end.
We will be slowly transitioning from our current mission agency (CMC), to Village Missions beginning the first of February. This will give us time to sit down with many of you to share more about this Mission and to answer any questions you may have.
We do ask that you continue to support us, for now, through CMC until we can speak with you face to face or over the phone.
We need your continued financial support during this transition and on into the new Mission set before us.
Feel free to contact us through email, Messenger or by phone.
Thank every one of you for laboring with us for the sake of the Gospel; we look forward to continuing to do so in this New Year and in the Years to come!
Michael and Natalie Boyer
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