We are humbled and very excited as we begin a new chapter in our life. We have lived in San Angelo, TX for the last 19 years and have attended PaulAnn Baptist Church for 16 of those years. We have had the honor and privilege of serving as Missions Coordinator for most of that time. Our passion has been to take people from our church on mission trips to Mexico, Guatemala, and Mozambique Africa. We were blessed to see God work in both the lives of our team members as well as those that we shared the truths of the Bible. Five to six years ago while in Mozambique we received a confirmation from the Lord that we should join Samaria Mission, which is the mission organization that we work with in South Africa. A year later we interviewed with the Staff and Elders of Christ Baptist Church located in Polokwane, South Africa. Samaria Mission is a ministry of that church. We were accepted and invited to come join Samaria Mission when the Lord's timing was evident.

Since the time of our confirmation to move to Africa, we have had the opportunity to be obedient in another area. Over the last 4 years we have adopted 3 of our great nieces/nephews. Jaylynn is now 9, Allie is 4, and Bentley is almost 2. Along with our sons Ben and Noah we now have a house full. With 5 kids at home and Merrit who is married with two kids (Elisha, and Kennedy) we have a full life. With the adoptions completed we are now ready to pursue our move to South Africa.

We began making our plans just after the 1st of the year. There is much to do before we leave and we are slowly but surely making progress. We have to get our three youngest kids passports, arrange airline tickets, arrange to ship our furniture and things, fix up our house, put the house on the market, get visas for South Africa, get the kids through school this year, and raise support. Most of these seem as monumental tasks to do all at one time, but we continue to take them one at a time. We are making progress and it feels good when we can mark something off the list. The Lord continues to give us peace about it all and we are continuing to move forward. Our goal is to move sometime this summer or early fall.

We would appreciate your prayers as we continue on this journey. Please pray that all of the tasks that we have to accomplish will be completed as the Lord wills. Please pray for our funding as we will be faith funded. Also, pray for our children as they prepare to move to a foreign country, and for Jill and I that the Lord will continue to grant us peace and wisdom. Also that we will be sensitive to His leading in making decisions.

Blessings,

The Hixon