2026 - A year of possibility

The start of a new year often brings reflections on the past year, along with hopes, goals, and dreams for the upcoming one. As I reflect on all that God has accomplished in the three years since Etwene became a reality, I want to express my gratitude to each of you who have prayed for, encouraged, and financially supported us. We recognize that you are instruments God has used and will continue to use to sustain and grow Etwene. Each of you has directly impacted these young men's lives, providing them with a hope for the future that they previously lacked.

I would like to take a moment to provide a brief summary of 2025 and give God the glory for His faithfulness. We began 2025 by welcoming our 6th student and getting everyone registered and started in their classes for the semester. All of our young men are discovering their gifts, strengths, and weaknesses. They are learning how to live in a community and communicate with each other despite differing thoughts and opinions on topics ranging from house chores to the meaning of life. They are learning to respect different personalities and interests and how to include everyone, thinking of others more than themselves (as with most of us, this is a lifelong process!). They are also realizing that this is a safe place to ask difficult questions and wrestle with their faith amidst the realities of this world. In August, the Lord BLESSED us unexpectedly with a donation that will allow us to purchase property and begin establishing a permanent home for Etwene. I never imagined that in less than two years, we would be able to start thinking about our own place!!! We then began the challenging process of getting established as a non-profit registered in Ghana so that we can purchase property there. Yaw, our director on the ground in Ghana, has been diligent in finalizing all the documents, and on December 23, we received our official license and certificates! This date is significant! On December 23, 2022, Etwene was certified here in the States and in Dec of 2023 we started our first student. This is God's beautiful way of showing that HE is doing this in His perfect timing.

Now as we look forward to 2026 and all the possibilities and exciting new opportunities awaiting us, we want to ask each of you to seek the Lord on our behalf for His direction, provision, and discernment. We will hopefully begin searching for property in the spring and our goal is to be able to move the boys before September when our current lease ends. Please pray for the Lord to provide the perfect location that can house at least 8 for now with rom to grow in the future. This will allow us to add 2 more young men quickly. We have paused on taking new students due to the current house being at capacity and not wanting to start a another year lease and have furnish an entire second house. Please also pray that the Lord prepare the community that we will make our home in. We desire to be a blessing to our future neighbors and be a light that shines Jesus to all that encounter Etwene through this entire process. A few of our boys will be wrapping up their last year of school this year and we will begin preparing them to exit the program in the next 18 months, this is a scary new transition for them. Please pray that we can establish good connections for them and that the Lord will give them a peace about their futures. Finally please pray that we can grow our reoccurring monthly and yearly donations so that we can confidently continue to grow and support these young men.

Thank you for continuing on this beautiful journey with us. We pray that our precious Lord Jesus will return your blessing 100 fold and that you will see the fruit of all you have planted in us. Happy New Year to you all!!