This year on Christmas, we enjoyed a quiet, early morning with Harry. (All our presents were opened by 6 am).  
In the afternoon, as is tradition, we met up with the whole Betel community at Windmill House (the residence for the men in recovery). Here we engaged in a rowdy Secret Santa gift exchange, followed by an evening of games and tournaments. Being able to spend this significant day with a group of men and women who are not able to be with their own families and/or haven't been sober enough to remember this day for years is one of the greatest privileges of the year.
Our family was unfortunately sick during the week, and we missed being together with our own extended family. But, just as on the first Christmas day, the LORD came near, right to where we were. On Christmas Eve, my spirits were lifted as our local flower shop gifted me one of their most expensive bouquets. In the end, we enjoyed a year of sweet fellowship shared with our Betel family. 

2025 was unexpected in many ways.

From my hospital visits for different infections, to Evan's India visit, things happened that we could not have imagined ahead of time. 

A lot of things that we planned for happened as well. We made our first return visit home in the summer, we finished our first year of study with WTC, we celebrated birthdays, watched as Harry hit milestones, built new relationships, and grew in our areas of work. 

As we look into another year, we have some certainties, some uncertainties and some not-yet knowns. 

We have decided that this April we will be renewing our visas for another 3 year period. In the last 3 years, we have felt that there is a greater purpose to being here than we can yet put our fingers on. As the LORD has led us here and not given any indication of a change, but actually a greater sense of belonging and mission within Betel, it only makes sense for us to continue on. 

- This weekend we are going away for 4 days of in-person classes to begin the semester. During this time, a fellow Aussie missionary will be looking after Harry. Please pray for us to engage well with the new topics and professors, and for peace of mind as Harry is being looked after in a new location. 
- Along the same lines, we would like prayer for the semester as a whole. This is my (Cambry) last semester with WTC, which is both exciting and bittersweet. I want to gain as much as I can from the remaining studies, knowing that the time is limited. We are expectant of fresh encounters with the LORD through our upcoming classes and personal studies in the coming months. 
​- As mentioned above, we will be applying for another visa this spring. Please pray that we will have all the details and finances that we need for our applications, and for continued discernment towards the direction of the LORD in our lives. 

Mark your calendars, and wish Evan a very happy 30th birthday on August 19th! We are planning a weekend away from the city, along the southwest coast of Wales to celebrate. If you have any words of encouragement that we can ponder for the start of this new decade, they will be gladly welcomed. ​

• YEAR 2 of WTC: Please pray that as we begin a new year of study, we would be engaged with the topics we are discussing and that our personal research and essay writing would clarify ideas for us in a way that resonates and carries into our ministering. Pray also for my parents as they travel and for good bonding with Harry. 

• Betel WEC Conference: At the end of this month, we are traveling to Spain for our annual Betel WEC conference. This is always a powerful time as we seek the Lord together and refocus our vision on what he has both already done and what he is doing now in Betel International. The last couple of years have felt like open heaven experiences, with worship being an easy place to enter. Pray for Evan and our friend Becky as they co-lead worship for the week. May the Lord connect them to what is happening in the spiritual realm so that the group can collectively engage with what the Lord is speaking to us.​ Along with this, we want to acknowledge that this conference will finish our 2 year probation period as WEC missionaries, and we will be prayed in as official members! Your additional prayers of support and recognition of God’s calling will be appreciated as we wrap up this “trial period” and gain more of a voice in the way Betel and WEC look moving forward.

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• Betel Community: We want to finish this blog by discussing something that is going on in our local Betel community. In a recent sermon, Kent observed a spreading mindset for many of the residents right now in which Jesus becomes simply another lifestyle choice, something that can be thrown away when things don't go as hoped. In spite of proclaiming to have faith in Jesus, when faced with temptation or difficulty, many seem to have a faith which is only words. Our prayer is that this hypocrisy would be met with the kind conviction of the Father God that what confessed would be matched with authentic lives lived for Jesus. Pray that more people would be transformed into Christ's image, living sacrificially and authentically, that through true surrender to Him now, they would move into the call of the Lord on their lives.

​On April 14th, Harry turned 1! I (Cambry) threw a small evening party in our church’s soft play with the other “mums” and toddlers. We had milk and cupcakes and Harry had his own fruit and veggie smash cake that he so carefully picked at. Following this event, we spent a long weekend with our friends in Betel Nottingham as a little respite around Harry's and my birthday. We did what we enjoy: good food, good coffee and fellowship in friends homes and around a fire. Harry’s actual birthday was spent touring Newstead Abbey. ​

​Over the Easter weekend, Infinite Arts put on several “immersive” showings of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was a powerful show that took the audience to different rooms and scenes and really made us feel like we were a part of each experience, from partaking in communion at the last supper, being part of the crowd during the crucifixion, and experiencing the joy of the empty tomb and Jesus’ reappearance. Following were stations for reflection: drawing/writing, nailing statements of repentance to a cross and communion. The hope of the resurrection has been shining into our lives in more angles than one. Our current studies have us looking deep into a gospel account and looking at how Jesus as King shapes it’s presentation of the Kingdom. Please pray for us as we accept His gospel afresh, that our hearts and minds would not be blocked to know the depths of His love - understanding the mystery of His Kingdom invading our world and lives in present time! ​

For the second year in a row, we were abroad for all of the holidays. But, this time we were more familiar with Betel and its traditions. Tom & Karen (mom and dad) joined us for a very restful 10 days over which we celebrated the end of a very busy few months of work, the completion of our first semester of theology school and Harry's first Christmas. ​

Baby Life 
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​This past week began our first full week back into our regular schedules. But for Harry and I, the new year is coming with some adjustments. Harry has now transitioned into three consecutive days of childcare each week. This will allow him to be in an environment where he can thrive alongside his 2 and under peers. As one of the moms, I will be helping in childcare one day out of each month. Harry brings a lot of joy to our lives. As he gets older his personality is beginning to show through his sense of humour and the smiles of recognition when he sees us. 

WTC Studies

​Our break from working in the Betel businesses was extended a few days past New Years as we attended our second "residential" with WTC. At the beginning of each semester, we drive to Nottingham University where we stay for 4-5 days and receive a majority of our class lectures for the semester. This has been made possible through people generously giving of their time to look after Harry while we're in class. In September, my parents were with him and this January our friend and ministry peer, Becky, came along. Both weeks, this allowed me to attend a majority of the class time, which has been invaluable to my studies.

Evan and I are both very much enjoying being in the world of academia, improving our study skills and ability to articulate what we believe. Last semester we focused on Old Testament and this semester we will be writing essays around the topics of spiritual formation, doctrine and New Testament. The first half of this year will see the completion of four essays and the first year of our 2-year certificate in Kingdom Theology.  We see how all the effort of study is worth it and plays a practical role in our lives here and now. Many of the residents we are living alongside are so hungry to know the Word in person and understanding. 

Betel and Anchor Point

Anchor Point Church is thriving and growing. We meet twice a week; Friday evening and Sunday morning. The Friday evening service is still much the way it has been for years being mostly comprised of members of the Betel community. But the Sunday morning service is growing significantly with members of the local community, young families, university students, and young adults joining. The church is beginning to take on a wonderful character, through the worship, preaching and fellowship, and it is such a joy to be a part of.
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Evan continues to be a part of the Events Team at Anchor Point. As this is a new business for Betel, they are still figuring out how they want the venue to function and creating rhythms for the various tasks around the facility. This requires a measure of flexibility and good communication within the team, which is why they meet together weekly. In the last year and a half, there have been events ranging from concerts, events ceremonies, weddings and other. Outside of Anchor Point Church, there are 2 other congregations that also hire spaces on Sundays. Evan is in an exciting position of getting to interact with customers through tours of the building and day of event communications, through which he is able to share about why the building and exists and the hope of Jesus. 

I returned to work from maternity leave in July and have continued doing the things I had done before,  with a shorter week and the ability to have Harry with me. I am still baking 2 days a week with Rising Cafe and do some admin work and writing newsletters. Here is an excerpt from the most recent Betel newsletter:

Many of you will have just been in the UK at the reveal of Betel’s national headquarters, Anchor Point. Last month Anchor Point hosted a special conference called ‘Reviving the Call’ in which 500 attendees from all over the world came together to see the fulfilment of a God-birthed dream carried by the pastors, for a facility able to host worship and the arts, provide training and act as a community hub. Together, some of the very first residents of Betel’s recovery work worshipped alongside some of the newest to walk through the door.

Over the duration of the weekend, attendees were inspired by various leaders and friends of Betel, calling all to remember the formation of Betel and to champion the next generation of leaders to engage with the Lord in what He is doing at this moment. Interspersed between talks were theatrical highlights from Infinite Arts, creatively sharing stories of hope happening in real time in the UK. 

A highlight from the weekend was the retelling of the beginning days of Betel through the perspective of some of the first ever residents in Betel Spain, followed by an exhortation for the next generation to not waste time doing what the Lord has called them to do.
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Click here to watch these inspiring true stories.

Internship Opportunity for You
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If you have been encouraged by what you have read and watched and know anyone who may be interested in serving at Betel, there are two programs offering an opportunity to spend a season in the community, alongside Betel's recovering men and women. Find out more about Betel UK and Infinite Arts internship programs. We would love to tell you more! 

Prayer Points

• Between school, new parenthood, work, and life in community, our lives have become quite busy. We knew this is what we were signing up for, but we need God's guidance in order to do this the right way, being filled each day with eternal hope and maintaining a pattern of living that is sustainable as a family. 

 

• Harry is a little boy for whom we see a wonderful and bright future. Please pray that as he grows in body and mind, he would grow in spirit, having eyes and ears to see and hear the Spirit speaking and moving.

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• Pray for those on the fence, who have not chosen to fully commit to Christ and his life-changing power. Pray that all hidden lies of the enemy would be exposed and people who have simply been hanging on would find true healing and restoration as sons and daughters of the King. 

All our love,
Evan, Cambry, and Harry

Hi all!
It's been a little while since our last update. Our life is full of wonderful, challenging, and exciting things. God is regularly confirming His call on our lives and we are more sure than ever that we are doing what we're supposed to.

Please click on the link below for an update on the last few months of our life.

Cambry and Harry don't make an appearance in
​the video so here are a few photos of us :)

In the short video below, Evan shares our latest updates and family announcements:

With Thanksgiving being one of the biggest celebrations in the States and in both of our families, it was difficult to spend the day working while knowing all of our loved ones were gathering together. But alas, with the influence of America in Betel UK leadership, the whole team of missionaries enjoyed a large Thanksgiving feast together. It was a special evening of fellowship and to some, an introduction to the long-standing American holiday.  

During the month of December, street carolling is the ministry's largest source of income while most of the other businesses are in a slow season. Residents and missionaries pull together to form teams comprising of carol singers, dancing elves and a santa clause. Multiple days each week, 5-7 teams of carollers are sent to different nearby shops and town centres to spread Christmas cheer and be living stories of hope. Between the teams, thousands of pounds come in each of these days to keep the ministry sustained. These are considered work days. 

Evan was able to participate in a few of these outings, sometimes taking him to fun places like Oxford and Stratford. Being in my 6th month of pregnancy now, I was given a pass from carolling, but still worked extra as part of the front of house cafe team on Fridays and Saturdays, which also turned out to be extremely profitable this year.  Working full days on my feet in a busy environment was fun for a time, but I am happy to get back to my regular schedule as our baby is growing and becoming more active. 

Every year, on one Sunday in December, each of the Betel centres hosts a "Christmas Family Meal". Each of the residents is able to invite a few family members or close friends that they want to celebrate with, as most of them will be spending Christmas Day at Betel. This year was extra special in Birmingham. Not only did we provide a meal, but a highly skilled madrigal show consisting of both residents and missionaries. And, it was the first Betel event to take place in the Headquarter's newly renovated auditorium and foyer that has been slowly coming together over the course of this year. The whole event was a celebration of the goodness of God. We both had a role in the event: Evan opening the morning with worship, and me baking cakes and taking photos of the production. 

On Christmas Day, Evan and I, baby and Ellie enjoyed a low-key morning and afternoon together in our home before uniting with the whole community at the men's house for a gift exchange and games night. Between Christmas and New Years, we are getting some much needed days off to just be around the house, and have been able to make some more advancements towards creating a comfortable home. 

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement after our last update.
- Evan successfully took on the administrative roles that he was given temporarily through the end of the year, and was even praised for his professionalism.
​​- I have become more comfortable with the health system here and have been having regular appointments at my new GP, which is a 5 minute walk from our house! Just this week, I had my 25 week appointment and heard a strong heartbeat. We're happy to announce that we will be having a baby BOY. 
- We wrapped up the Alpha course at the end of November, and hope to be able to host another study in the coming months. In the meantime, we have started to host residents for dinner - a more intimate gathering where they feel more free to open up about themselves. ​

 As mentioned in previous updates, we are required to both attend 1 year of higher education in biblical studies. In January we will be officially applying to WTC (Westminster Theological Centre) which is a part-time 2 year theology course that gives students the equivalent of 1 year of study. This course, starting in September, is designed for those who work full time to be able to continue their education, so it would be suitable for us. 

Thank you for following along in 2023. We hope that you will continue to follow our journey and stay in touch this coming year. 

2024:
Please remember us in April as we meet our son and start a new life with him, and again in September when we plan to integrate WTC into our schedules. We are grateful to be with a ministry that places high value on both family life and an increasing knowledge of the Word. 

-Cambry

November is here, meaning it has been 5 months since we arrived in England, and it will be just another 5 before the arrival of our April baby!

Time, especially over the last 2 months since our previous update, has been going at a rapid pace. What was a pleasantly soft landing among a busy community has become a welcomed increase in responsibility for each of us. 

Starting with an update of our home life, we did in fact move on September 15th, from a two-room guesthouse to a 4-bedroom house with a separate kitchen, living and dining area - plenty of space to host! On the day of our move-in, a couple of residents brought a van by to deliver some furniture from the Betel charity shop: two couches, a bed frame and mattress, and a wardrobe. While they were at the house, it was brought up that they had a refrigerator with them as well from a pick up earlier in the day. When they saw that we did not yet have one, they offered to leave it for us - the one thing we desperately needed as we were moving between houses that day and did not yet have a new home for our refrigerated goods. We definitely felt the Lord with us, helping us move that day! On top of this, the fridge is very large, unlike most of the other tiny fridges in the UK. This small fact has boosted our confidence that the Lord is going to continue to provide abundantly, that we might be generous and grow in hospitality. 

With the new house came more work. 
We have finished repainting our kitchen, living and dining rooms along with the entry-way. Our backyard, or "garden" as they would call it here, is quite large for UK standards and has required clearing and weeding this fall. There is still much more painting and garden work, and I have so much vision for what could be, but pregnancy has caused me to slow down and be okay with not everything being done at once. 

​Finally, our move into the house has already been a blessing to others in multiple ways. For a week, we hosted a young woman in one of our spare rooms while she sought out permanent housing in the area. Additionally, we have been leading an Alpha course for a group of some of the newest male residents every Tuesday evening, which started the week before our move. This has been a time where the men can (and have been) free to voice their thoughts and questions around the basics of the Christian faith.  We have watched an increasing openness and hunger within the men to know God themselves. ​

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​All within about a week in September; we moved, started a small group, became part of our church prayer team (after services 1x a month), and I both gave my first devotional for the women's house and got trained for a new temporary role in the office. If involvement started slowly, it all came at once for me! Since that week, I have added "deaconing" at the church to my monthly role and Evan and I are both on rotation to open church services, which involves sharing a relevant word from the Lord that leads into the time of worship. 

Now that I'm done listing primarily our weekend activities... 
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Both of our work roles have evolved and grown as well due to some permanent and temporary changes in the ministry. Two women had babies in October, leaving some extra responsibility to Evan and I among others for the remainder of the year. 

As you know, Evan created a position in event promotion for our headquarters building. With different changes going on, his role has increased into becoming an expert of all the technical aspects of the building as well as being an events manager and point of contact for many of the event hires. Over the past couple of months his capacity has been increasing, and just in the last few days he has taken on the temporary roles that are included in the administration side of the events team. 

I also have felt the increased responsibility of my roles in the café and on the creative/social media team. My work leader in the bakery, who has been serving long-term, is in the beginnings of handing over the responsibility of a physically high-demanding position. I have been working solo 1 out of 2 days a week and increasing my skills, particularly in cake decorating.  On the social media team, I have transitioned from someone who occasionally takes photos to a full member of the team with my own social media business account to manage and provide content for. 

As I list all this out, I hope not to bore you, but to increase intrigue in what our life looks like from day to day, and to close in on the gap between here and "home" in America. More than ever, Evan and I both need to feel connected and known. 

Prayer Requests:
Would you pray for us first, to become more attached to the person of Jesus as we experience highs and lows and the lonely places of living in a new culture.  We know that only He will fully quench our desire to be rooted, as living between two cultures so clearly enunciates. 
Pray for us in our marriage as we figure out our roles, even now as a mom and dad and work through our expectations together. 
Pray for us in all the new roles mentioned in this letter. It doesn't always feel like we can live up to what is required, but it's all growing pains (baby included). 
And of course, we ask that you pray for our developing baby to be well inside of me and that both I and the baby will receive the care that we need throughout the remainder of this pregnancy. 

​-Cambry 

Summer has come and gone, and although it has been a cold, rainy one here in England, we got to finish it off with a week of 100F weather in Spain. 
We arrived back from our trip last night to the men's property, but now with the news that our long-awaited house will be available for move-in by September 15th. We can't help but feel like our time in Spain was the closing of our first season here that involved all things temporary, and the revitalisation we needed to begin to move into a state of permanence. 

SPAIN TRIP (August 20-28):
As members of WEC (see our post "Blessed As We Go"), serving with a Betel, we are required to attend an annual conference in Spain, in order to maintain global unity within the ministry. For four days, we sat in meetings with Betel missionaries from several countries across the world, including the original pioneers of the outreach. In addition, the directors of the whole organisation of WEC, who oversee 2,300 workers in 80 countries, attended as special guests this year.
On Monday night, we shared our testimonies and were warmly welcomed by the team. As we heard from others throughout the week, we witnessed first-hand the humility and grace coming from those who have gone before us. It has occurred to us that we are in a special place, getting to learn under the original pioneers of a ministry, and are excited to see how the Lord is building on our lifelong ministry to Him.

The second half of our week was spent at the same retreat center, but for a different conference. Betel's from several countries including: Spain, England, France, India and others, sent a few of their recovered addicts to come and worship together, giving them a bigger picture of how God has been and is restoring broken lives all over the world. We enjoyed spending quality time with the UK team, exploring the local city and the capital city of Madrid. It was deeply moving to hear one of the men express his gratitude, that he could go out and enjoy the company of "normal" people - something he never dreamed he would have because he was raised up and surrounded by addicts well into his adult life. 

Prayer points:

- Please pray for us as we move into a place of our own. Our heart is to be hospitable with our home, especially as it is more space than we have ever had. For the past year we have been "being hosted". We have not been entirely alone while we have walked through this long process of transition. It feels a bit daunting to be out on our own again, while desiring to take the reverse role of hosting others. 

- Along with another couple, we are setting up a prayer time with one of the residents, to help him walk through past traumas and habitual sins that have kept him bound for many years. We would like to ask for your help in carrying this burden with us for his freedom. 

- We have been watching in awe as the Lord has faithfully provided our day to day needs. Please pray for continued provision as we step in faith into a more permanent level of commitment. 

-Cambry

Over the past year, our sight has been fixed on the singular goal of getting back to Betel. All of our efforts: time, money and energy were in some way connected to what was ahead of us. We knew this, and we braced ourselves for the drastic shift that would one day come.
That time is now. 

Within the first couple weeks of arriving to England, we:​

• Purchased a car
• Retrieved our UK residency cards 
• Set up a UK bank account
• Toured a home
• Picked up our dog from the airport after a successful international flight
• Began our full-time involvement in the businesses and ministry of Betel 

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Having already established relationships in the community, we were overwhelmed by how many people immediately reached out and offered what they could to help us settle in. Though it definitely felt like leaving home, we arrived back in England with a sense of coming back home.

The only thing that is ongoing is our quest for a permanent place to live. But, through a man who attends our Friday night church services and loves the existence of Betel, we were connected to a house viewing of a "manse" or the home that a pastor would live in. We are still in the process of getting approval to live there, but we are pretty confidence in the Lord's leading, and waiting until that day. Our leaders have been generous to let us stay in the guest housing longer, and agree that it would be an ideal place for us to live. It is spacious enough that we would be able to host family and friends as well as guest speakers, and the yard is quite large and enclosed which would be ideal for Ellie. It is also located centrally to both the men's and women's residential properties where we like to spend some of our morning devotionals and evening entertainment, and the Headquarters building where we spend our days working. 
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With everything that we're given, we say it is for the Lord's use and we want to be generous with it. Since we do not currently have much space to host more than one person in our home, our vehicle has served as a place to host residents that need rides into work, which is a 30-40 minute drive each way. During this time we build more personal relationships with people, hearing their stories and explaining the Christian faith. 

Work for both of us has been entirely different than our short-term trip. We have both been given responsibilities that really suit our interests and abilities, and have been trusted to work out our own schedules given what needs to be done in our areas of work during the week. We believe that our current circumstance has not only come from us being known by Betel leadership, but something that Lord had been planning all along. He just needed our "yes" for it to be revealed. ​

I, Cambry have been added to the social media and creative team, and have been taking a lot of photos to help promote our businesses and photos of rentable spaces at the HQ facility. So far I have taken photos for a drama workshop, national conference, our restored furniture and cafe businesses, and mock setups of our event spaces. I am still baking a couple of days a week which is a good change of pace, and helping to write up reports for our donors to see how their money is being used. 

Evan's responsibilities have really become defined this week. Along with two others, he will be working in the "Events" department. His role is well suited for him, as they are asking him to be the one making connections and taking in bookings for the rentable spaces in our Headquarters Building. Having someone in this role will enable a more full use of the HQ facility and encourage community engagement. Outside of this, he is involved in music and theatre and is currently being trained to cook in the cafe occasionally. ​

Thank you for continuing to be interested in our lives.
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May we together be amazed at the God who knows and cares about the details of our lives, and who leads us to places that will help us to grow into the fullness of Christ, through both the favor and the testing. 

​-Cambry