Twelve hours later, Christi got a phone call.
On the other end was Eric, and she heard him
say, “I lost my job.”
The family attended OneWeekend at One
Mission Society and felt led to Africa. Without
much knowledge of the country, they decided
to take a vision trip to Mozambique.
Christi, an occupational therapist, will work
with Helping Hands, a ministry that assists
children with disabilites. While working with
the ministry for a short time during their vision trip, Christi met Bulson. Bulson couldn’t
walk. As Christi worked with him, he stood up,
grabbed the back of her hair, and
gave her a hug. In that moment,
God told Christi, “This is what I’ve
created you for.”
Eric will work in several areas,
including OMS Mozambique’s
sports ministry. After time spent in
fellowship and prayer with some of
the Mozambican families, Eric said
being there just felt right.
When they returned to the
United States, they began praying.
After some time, Eric and Christi
shared their call to move overseas
with their children. Emma and
Meredith were not at all shocked
about their parents’ news. But the
news they had for their parents did
come as a shock. Both girls, who had also been praying about what God wanted them
to do, looked at their parents and said, “We feel like we’re supposed to stay here and
go to college.”
After years of homeschooling, serving together, and being such a close family,
this was devastating news. The unknown often outweighs the known in the Dutchess
house. Even though they are often unsure of tomorrow, “Christ permeates every area
of our lives,” Christi shared.
Both Eric and Christi admit that this
plan is pretty crazy! But when they sit
back and see the Lord’s hand at work,
the crazy begins to fade, and the peace
of God sets in.
photo page 12: The Dutchess family
photos page 13, top: Bulson hugging Christi
middle: The Dutchesses in Mozambique with
the children of the Helping Hands ministry
bottom: Emma, Meredith, and Matthew enjoy the beautiful landscape in Mozambique.
13