Our Brief Story...

In early October of 2012, our family moved from Seattle, WA to Nashville, TN as the start of a new chapter in our lives. I (Joseph) was returning to full-time schoolwork in a doctoral program in Leadership at Lancaster Bible College. No longer would I have been able to work as an engineer, attend school, continue our work in Honduras, and be a halfway decent dad and husband. Thus, we decided to pack up our belongings and move to Tennessee, where I would have easier (and cheaper) access to Pennsylvania and Honduras, and Hailey could pick up some photography work to help support the family. Little did we know that about six months later we would be packing up once again, but this time to move back to Honduras.

On Super Bowl Sunday, we began our day like any other day. We woke up, drank coffee and ate breakfast with our children (the kids didn’t do the coffee part), put Abbey down for her morning nap, and then left for church. After church, I had a meeting to attend (at the church), so Hailey returned home to put the children down for a nap. Because we only have one car, I had to wait after the meeting was over for Hailey to return to get me with the kids. Then, it was off to Hailey’s brother’s house for a Super Bowl party.

Rewind just a couple hours to my meeting…it was a meeting for people interested in getting involved in missions at Brentwood Baptist (The church we have been attending since our move). At the end of the meeting, I had a couple hours to wait, and I spent it reading and praying. It was during this time that I felt God impressing upon my heart that He desired a change in our lives. Both Hailey and I felt like we were spinning our wheels here in Nashville, and weren’t serving in ways that God has gifted us. To make a long story short, I decided to write Hailey an email explaining everything that I was feeling and thinking.

At that same time (I didn’t know this until about 9 PM that night), Hailey was having a conversation with her younger sister about our lives here in Nashville. While it has been a joy to be around Hailey’s side of the family, Hailey explained to her sister that our family was not serving in ways that we would like to serve. Furthermore, Hailey felt that God would be opening up doors for her to move away from photography and back into service. She told her sister, “I just don’t want to be the one to push this, so I am praying that God speaks to Joseph.”

Reminder: The abovementioned paragraph occurred as I was sending the email.

So, Hailey now comes to pick me up at church and head to the Super Bowl party. We have a great time with family, but neither one of us mention what we had been feeling that afternoon. We left the party early (that’s what happens when you have two young kids) and went home. After getting the kids in bed, Hailey sits down to read her email. To her surprise (looking back, it wasn’t much of a surprise…that’s how God works), she had an email from me explaining why I think God is calling us back into ministry/service.

Over the next several days, Hailey and I spent a lot of time in thought and prayer (mostly individually). We both felt like God was opening up the doors for us to return to Honduras as a family. While there were several practical reasons to stay in Nashville through the summer, at least, we wanted to respond to God’s call as soon as possible. Thus, with weddings on the books in June and July, and a trip to the Northwest scheduled in July, we decided to pack up and leave at the end of April. We recognized that logistically this would present some challenges, but were reminded of the many great men/women in the Bible who did things for God that seemed crazy by worldly standards.

Since we made the decision to move to Honduras a few months ago, we have gotten a wide variety of responses. However, we have never lost confidence in God’s call, and not once have we doubted whether we should move forward with our move. We have had greater peace, and even though circumstances here haven’t changed, our outlook has. Both Hailey and I can truly say that we are excited and grateful to be responding to God’s call in our lives. While Honduras will certainly present many challenges, there is great opportunity as well.

Please feel free to share our story with others. We hope that it will inspire others to listen to God’s call. Also, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers – they are much needed and greatly appreciated! And if you ever find yourself in Central America, please contact us. We’d love to put you up for a few nights and allow you to experience our ministry.

Many Blessings,

The Rahm Family (Joseph, Hailey, Micah, & Abigail)

One Week Left

Well, we are down to our final week in the US before we depart on April 30th for Honduras. We still have our entire house to pack, phone calls to make to get things in order for our departure, money to raise, and much more on our ever-increasing list of "To Do's." Even in the midst of a busy schedule, we are at peace, and very much looking forward to our arrival in Honduras next week. As difficult as it is to leave our family and friends, we eagerly anticipate everything that God has in store for us in the coming weeks, months, and years (or however long we are in Honduras for).

It has been an interesting last few weeks for our family. I went to Honduras at the end of March to host a mission's team from University Presbyterian's College Group (The INN, in Seattle WA). Less than 36 hours after I returned, Hailey left for one week in Seattle to visit family and friends. In the middle of the hectic schedule, I was wrapping up the end of my quarter in school, and Hailey has been trying to work through all her photography commitments. Not only has it been a busy time for us as a family, but it has been interesting to hear the wide array of responses we have gotten when talking to family, friends, and acquaintances about our move. On one end of the spectrum, we have received some great encouragement and support. Whether from new and old friends, strangers picking up furniture that we sold on Craigslist, or extended family, it has been a breath of fresh of air to hear that we are in fact doing something noble and honorable. However, on the other end of the spectrum, we have received numerous confused looks, questions that doubt our motives for going to Honduras and our methods of delivering education, and more. While this has been a bit discouraging, it has not brought any doubt to our family, nor has it drained our excitement.

So, as we begin the last week here in the US, we remind ourselves of the things that we are grateful for: warm showers, unlimited electricity, the ability to cook/eat whatever we want, close friends and family, our own transportation, and much more. Yet, while these things are wonderful, they don't compare to the joy we will receive from following God's direction for this next season of our lives.

I have attached a recent picture of our family. It was taken by our friends Eddie and Chrissy who have a photography business here in Nashville (http://www.highfiveforlove.com). Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we take this next step in our journey!

-The Rahm Family