A Change of Direction

The last number of months Jeff and I have been on a sabbatical, taking an extended break from our regular responsibilities with Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Wycliffe Global Alliance. With guidance from others as well as time in prayer and reflection, we have decided to bring our nearly 20 years of ministry in Wycliffe to a close.

This journey has taken us from the US to Kenya to South Africa to Germany and to many other countries. Making this decision to move in a new direction was very difficult; however, we feel confident that God is calling us this way.

It has been a privilege to serve so many in Wycliffe with our skills in computer technology and communications. We are thankful for your partnership in our ministry over the years. Together with you, we’ve been part of helping hundreds of millions of people gain access to God’s Word in a language they can understand. That is something to celebrate!

So, what’s next? First, it looks like we will have our home base in the US for now. We’re hoping to stay in the New England area (northeast US), but we are being flexible to see where God may take us. How about for our jobs?

Working with Colleagues – 2014.  Jeff works with his supervisor, Martijn, at an event in Germany. Jeff worked with Wycliffe’s Europe Area for eight years. He worked for one and a half years for the Africa Area and worked for Wycliffe USA for four and a half years before that.

Social Media Training – 2010. Heather leads a training session for a group of communicators from YWAM in South Africa. Heather worked for the global communications team for nine years working with numerous Wycliffe organizations as well as other organizations. The previous nine years she worked for Wycliffe USA.

What’s Next for Jeff

Jeff is looking for a new job. Right now he’s considering employment that will give him the chance to work constructively with his hands rather than return to office work. He’s been building basic pieces of furniture as a hobby and doing repair work on our appliances and cars for years, and recently completed a knife sharpening course. These were skills that were useful to us while we lived overseas, and recently at English L’Abri he used them helping with building maintenance. Pray with him as he considers what kind of job God wants him in next.

What’s Next for Heather

Heather will continue in missions work as an independent missionary using the many skills she has learned during her service with Wycliffe. She has been accepted by Global Services Network. This agency helps independent missionaries with practical services like processing financial gifts.

Heather’s focus will be on helping individuals and organizations to understand God’s story, see their part in it, and share it with others. Practically, she plans to do this mostly through communications consulting and training, photojournalism, speaking, writing, and editing. She desires to put her focus for this on ministries that are unable to afford professional communications help. Click here to go to her new ministry page.

Scenes from our work with Wycliffe.  Our journey has taken us from the US to Kenya to South Africa to Germany as well as many other countries around the world. Top Left: Heather takes photographs during an event in Chad (central Africa). Top Right: Jeff advises colleagues in South Africa on their computer needs. Bottom Left: Jeff helps Bible translation colleagues in Kenya with their computers. Bottom Right: Heather speaks at a Wycliffe banquet in Oregon.

Transitioning

Our last official day with Wycliffe is September 30, 2018. Heather’s salary and benefits in her new role will continue to come from ministry partners just like it has in Wycliffe. In addition, she will no longer have access to a corporate budget for business expenses like she has had in Wycliffe. So, her ministry budget will now also go towards business expenses like travel and equipment.

If you’d like to partner with Heather in her new ministry, you can give by check to Global Service Network, PO Box 1809, Apex, NC 27502. Include a separate note in with the gift specifying that your gift is for the preference of Heather Pubols, Acct. #50518003. Or click here to give online. Find more ways to give here. Gifts to GSN are tax deductible.

Thank you for your participation in ministry with us!