This is a story of two missionaries who gave up
everything they knew to be true and constant. They laid down
family and friends; laid down comfort and entertainment; they even laid down their
education to enter unknown lands. And it wasn’t even
their call.
This is the story of Baylee and Julia.
Dean and I understand you know who these two girls
are but we want to introduce you to them, to our children, so that you can know
them a bit more personally. Up
until know our mission to both Rwanda and Thailand has been about other people,
that has been what our call was – to serve the hurting and lost, the abandoned
and forgotten, and Baylee and Julia have followed us wherever we have gone. They have done what has been asked of
them even when they didn’t understand it.
Baylee is fifteen years old and is currently
teaching herself sign language.
She is a computer whiz and loves music and cooking. She has a huge heart and attracts small
children to herself wherever she goes.
She has held children in her lap as they are tested for HIV, fed
undernourished babies to bring them back to a place of health and she has woken
in the middle of the night to feed abandoned newborn babies.
Thirteen-year-old Julia is a lover of all things
four legged. She is hands down the
most easygoing person we know, always ready with a hug and a smile. She loves to rough and tumble with the
best of them but will also hold a child on her lap so that they can reach the
crayons in the middle of the table.
Her heart’s desire is to be an animal conservationist, to save the
Indian Manatee and the Ethiopian Wolf from extinction. She knows the Latin names of just about
every reptile we can think of and she knows what the ideal habitat for a
tuatara is and how a quagga lived while it was alive.
These are great kids, kids just like yours. They need love and stability, they need
constant friends, and they need a really great education. And now, they need to be our mission.
We have come to a point in Baylee and Julia’s
education where they need more than what we are able to give them through
homeschooling. Baylee is very
technical and is thinking about a career in computers and Julia has talked
about attending the University of British Columbia since grade school. Right now, more than anything else they
want to return to traditional school where they can graduate with their
peers. We know their hearts but
God knows them even better and He has brought us to a place of release where we
can bring them back to Canada. And
because God is God, he can,
and does, deal in the miraculous so it looks as though we will be home before
the end of the year…maybe even in time for Christmas!
There are many things that still need to take place for
us to return home, many of them here in Thailand but also many of them in
Canada as well. Our family
has lived in a place of complete reliance on God for many years and we know
that He will continue to provide for us, but it is also our experience that He
provides through people! We have
always appreciated the support of our faithful friends and we ask that you
continue to seek God’s leading about continuing with us prayerfully and
financially as we integrate back into life in Calgary.
When we left for the mission field we gave up
absolutely everything we owned, but that transpired with peace because we knew
where we were going, what our jobs would be and where we would live. This time, there is still peace but we
don’t know any of that! No jobs,
no home, no furniture…. yet.
Please pray about ways that God may be talking to
you about helping our family, whether it is financially, or with a job, a place
to live, or even furniture and household items. Please also pray that things in Thailand come to a timely
end; we need our car and motorbike to sell and we have a few large household
items that need to be sold or given to the right people. We are also praying for the full return
of the $1600 deposit on our house that is not due to us before April. We are completely at God’s mercy and
grace – it is a great place to be as it is a front row seat to His greatness.
From our hearts, all of
our hearts thank you for your faithfulness, your friendship and your love
towards our family. We love you
right back…
If you have any questions at all, please don’t
hesitate to email us anytime.
As always, all financial giving is tax deductible
and can be given through “The Lighthouse International”. Please make sure to mark contributions
to “the Torgersons”. For materialistic
donations please email Pastor Dave Meyers at dave@rovc.ca
