We’re asked many many times if we’re missionaries, or on a mission trip. As followers of Jesus, we believe that our mission field is around us where ever we are.   So, we are just as much missionaries in the woods in Michigan as we are missionaries in the rice terraces of Bali.  Seeking to serve others domestically and internationally.  We want to live our lives/life as a mission. No matter where we are.  We desire to daily serve Jesus by serving others. Answer:  Yes, we are…but we always have been so not much has changed there!

We spent 2014 touring south east Asia south Africa and parts of Southern Europe.

2015 Was in an RV through the US.

2016 finds us exploring Mexico and Ecuador with potential stops in between. We plan to spend anywhere from 3 weeks-4 months in each location. Plans may have changed since we wrote this, we’ll keep our Itinerary page updated.

These duration difference are dependant on projects we may undertake in a specific location or the lengths of visas we are able to acquire for our stay. However, we know that God’s plans are bigger and better than our own so we are very open to alterations to this plan.  We are just the travelers.  He is our travel guide.  We plan to take God’s lead on how things really turn out.

Our first international trip as a family of 6 was a fact-finding trip for us, we wanted to know if travel as a lifestyle works for our family or if we need to establish a base to venture out from.

This next leg will be much longer, between 12-18 months until we return to the states.

Everyone says, “But this is the “best country” in the world, we rule the world, and we have the best economy, the best insurance, the best medical professionals”… And the list goes on and on.

We are very blessed to have been born in the US and will continue to be thankful for the blessings that come with being a US citizen.

That said, here are some of the reasons we are leaving:

• We can! (God has opened doors)
• It’s cheaper to live in certain parts of the world.
• We want to broaden our kids’ worldview through experiences.
• We want to live under an assumption that not everyone around us is a believer.  It’s too easy here to think otherwise.
• There is a lot of pressure to ‘keep up with the Jones” and follow the ‘American Dream’ success pattern here in the States.  We want to be free of that pressure.
• We want to place ourselves in a “NEED to rely on one another” kind of living situation to create strong bonds and in some ways ‘begin again’ as a married couple.
• We want to challenge ourselves.
• We love international travel.
• We know from experience that living overseas causes you to rely on God more heavily since you are out of your comfort zone.  We desire that greatly.

Like many Americans, we owed a lot of money on our house and while we had a sweet financing deal (and were only 7 years away from paying it off)  we sold it to be truly free.  We feel our money can be better invested in the lives of others we meet rather than in home equity.

We’ve always wanted to do this, but we were never released from the US. However when we expressed our strong desires to sell the family house to Becky’s family her brother Mike decided to buy our house. This enabled us to begin seriously considering a move.

That was late summer 2013. It was September when the idea of moving overseas hit us as a valid option. In October we started making plans, doing research. January 1, 2014 is when everything kicked into high gear.

We however didn’t broadcast this move during that time as we weren’t sure that this was going to happen. Things have changed a lot since then and we now live a very public life via this blog.

Read more of the back story here.

In case you didn’t know, Paul runs a location independent business called Connex Social. By location independent we mean that he is only dependent upon a laptop and an internet connection to perform the work he does for his clients. He rarely meets with clients/prospects and has a few clients whom he’s never met face to face.

Paul will still be running Connex like before.

Paul is open to new clients, so if you know of a medium or large business looking for digital/online marketing help feel free to make the connection!

We’re also running a new business together called NomadTogether. This business is also location independent and seeks to help other location independent families live the lifestyle of their dreams. Check it out here!