In the great words of Lizzo and GenZ - It's been a minute

So, how much do we skip in order to get caught up and just take it from here?

If you follow our "Barryletitiagager" Instagram you'll have seen bits and pieces of our lives in stories and posts. And if you follow the YWAM Zion Instagram you'll have seen updates regarding the ministry aspect of our lives. But when it comes to these posts, it's been a bit more tricky. We're still finding the distinction between who we are as individuals, as a family, and as people who have a role as ministry leaders in YWAM. And for a good while, we couldn't figure out if we were writing a ministry update or if this is a letter from us about what is on our hearts and minds.

The lines blur between who we are and what our role here is quite often. Honestly, there are times when we're protective of ourselves as a family in a sort of 'we're done here' kind of way because the ministry demands a lot and means less time to simply 'be' together. It's when we feed the narrative that we should live and breathe only to talk, think, and do YWAM. Other times we feel energized by the fact that we love what we do and feel total freedom to spend our time where we want. Since there is a time for everything under the sun, we just want to be real with ourselves about the times we are in when we are in them. Seems much wiser than bottling things up and succumbing to the bitterness that creeps and crawls around full-time ministers. Let's be honest, we all have countless opportunities to let it in or resist it. We are all people with egos who work with people with egos after all.

Just recently, with the first birthday of our son, Mau, we were reflecting on the year that has been. There is a good amount of 'sting' in there. Angst. Disappointment. And then again, plenty of rejoicing, prayers answered, and solid fun. It can be tempting to write everything off as too hard, to wonder if it is all for nothing, and to question whether we are right for this role. But despite the uncertainty of schools from 2020 til now, of staff coming and going, and the fear that our precious time as a young family could be snatched from us, we still love this job. We love the people, the ones that come and the ones that go. We love the mission, when it gets things right and even still when it gets things wrong. We love living by faith, our faith as well as yours. Try as we might to imagine ourselves doing anything else and we come full circle. When you know Jesus, you just want to be where He wants you.

So, because we aren't going anywhere and we're now in our third year leading YWAM Northland, we want to share more from us as a family. Our revelations, ponderings, hopes, and wildest dreams. It's not that anyone ever suggested otherwise, we just weren't sure what we were going for ourselves. The ministry is of course interwoven because that's a big part of us and like we said - we're into it, but for our own helpful process, we'll make more of an effort to share a broader picture of our lives.

Lastly, let us know If there is ever anything you want to know more about. We wouldn't be here without your support relationally, prayerfully, and financially.

Much love!

Barry, Tesh, and Mau