Changes for the Wilsons in 2016

Happy New Year!


Take a look at our videogram to catch a glimpse of what we were up to in 2015.

 The other day at the dinner table I asked everyone to come up with one word to describe the year that we're having from June 2015 through June 2016. Seth right away piped up with "Exciting!", then Kyle said "Fun!", so Joel thought he would follow suit with "Fun and Exciting!". With some additional thought, Kyle changed his to "Eventful... in a positive way", and Sarah summed it all up with "A gift", for that is the essence of what we feel. The time that God has given our family to venture out and experience another culture has been nothing short of an amazing gift from God.

Two years ago this January when I started to work for Food for the Hungry, Sarah and I had a growing desire to use the flexibility that virtual work provided in order to live overseas as a family. While the thought of "living somewhere else for a while" seems fun and interesting, the mechanics of how and when to make that happen with a family of five are quite a bit more difficult. Starting in February of this year we were amazed to see God bringing the pieces together as FH started to look at Costa Rica as a location for a new software development team (which I would help lead) and a house-sitting option opened up that would provide a good home base for our time in Costa Rica. Since we had planned on moving to a house with a bit more space anyway, it also made sense to sell our house and put things into storage while we were away.

That sounds simple and straightforward on paper, felt anything but simple at many points along the way. Almost all of August was like that. Our house was half taken apart, our to-do list seemed to be following the rule of "2 steps forward... 3 steps back", and I was in Bangkok for a 10 day business trip. The driving thought in our minds was not so much "This makes sense" but rather "What have we done!?". And yet now, in the moments that I see the boys exploring a trail through the rainforest, or when I see Seth naturally use a phrase or gesture that he only could have learned from a Latin, or when I see Joel learning to ride waves on a boogie board, a clear gratitude for what God has done rules our minds.

And yet there is more (to borrow Kyle's word) "eventful" living ahead! In November, I was asked to consider the role of Director of Technology for the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) in Colorado Springs. This was a very difficult decision for us. Because I love my work and the mission of Food for the Hungry (where I work currently) I was not overly eager to leave the job. We also dearly love being close to many friends and family in Grand Rapids. All 5 of us talked many times about being excited to resume relationships with people that we'd grown to love in our 9 years in Michigan. However, the opportunity to lead the technology strategy in a global organization is something that I've been thinking and praying about for years, so in the end, we decided that our family adventure will continue on to Colorado in April of 2016.

The list of questions is growing quickly - when should we buy a house? How will we move our things from Michigan? How can we possibly have the stamina to make it through the next year? Who will we be when all this is over? We'd certainly appreciate your calls, house-hunting tips and most of all your prayers in the months that are ahead.

Although we don't know the words we will choose a year from now to describe 2016, we do know that God has gone before us and prepared a home, community, and work for our family. In the midst of uncertainty and questions, this is such a comfort. We pray that throughout the transition, He will open our eyes to see the gifts He offers.

Thanks for the valuable part you play in our lives.

Kevin (and Sarah, Kyle, Seth, and Joel)