These McKinleys Are Going

We have been invited to serve with Hands at Work in South Africa and we're excited to finally make known our plans to move there this August. It's just around the corner, I know, but because of so many crazy elements in life, we just kept putting off announcing to everyone because we just didn't have enough information to share yet. If you had asked us a few months ago, the announcement would have been something like this... "Hey guys, we think we're going to Africa this year, but we're not exactly sure where or when or with who, but yeah we're thinking about it." So now that we have a target time and place we feel more confident to share our current plans with you. I'm still afraid to share this news for several reasons. One, if we fail and for whatever reason God decides to keep us here, I don't want to look like a fool. Two, if we stay here, I'm not going to be sad because I LOVE living here amongst the friends, family, and community that are so familiar to us. Three, if all of this really happens, I'm totally excited and nervous all at once.

A little backstory over here... Over a decade ago Eric and I made our first trip to Africa. Tali went too, but she doesn't remember any of it (because she was just enjoying the free ride in my belly). Since that initial trip, God has given us the opportunity to build relationships, grow in our faith, and grow in our church family both at home and abroad. Two years ago while Eric was in Malawi, God called Eric to come to Africa in 2023. Time flies, and 2023 is now upon us.

We'd really love your prayers for a few things that we're currently working on tackling. We are applying for schools for our kids and getting our volunteer visa applications in order. We need your prayers and your encouragement as we take this big leap from one side of the world to the other. We need wisdom, help getting rid of and selling some things, always prayer, and we'd also love to keep all of our friends long distance (or just come visit us in South Africa!)