I (Ryan) will never forget the moment I walked in the door of our apartment in late April of 2020 after a long day at work. “You won’t believe the text I got today!” I told Kindle. I shared that Rich Franzen, the director of Impact Africa, had offered us a job as the internship directors for his ministry in Johannesburg, South Africa. “Wouldn’t that be the perfect job for us?” I asked with purely conversational motives.
We, at this point, were the furthest thing away from looking into moving overseas from our beautiful lives in Virginia and the jobs we loved. The offer was unsolicited, and when I received it I really didn’t think much about it. We had received job offers in the past, but in this season we were planted, serving, and loving every minute of it.
The look on Kindle’s face, at the moment I read her that text, is certainly burned into my memory. She stood with her small, copper watering can hovering above a houseplant, with an expression of what I can only describe as terror on her face. “I have that feeling in my heart,” she said. “The feeling that I have when I know God is transitioning me. I think we need to pray about this.” We sat on the couch and prayed. We felt God moving our hearts. We were afraid. We were freaked out. We had the peace of God in our guts. I’m sure you can sympathize, or at the least empathize with the fact that we slept very little for the next several nights.
Thus began a months-long journey of prayer and seeking counsel as to whether or not this was truly the will of God for our lives. Decisions like this are made with the fear of God in your heart. They are never made impulsively, emotionally, or devoid of counsel from those of spiritual significance in your life. Even though we felt the pulling of God on our hearts, it was profoundly important to us that we do our due diligence in testing the word in the prayer closet, and in the multitude of counselors.
The next months were a whirlwind of emotions, but the final decision to accept the position in the fall of last year was made in complete confidence and peace. That certainly does not mean void of trepidation though. One of the core values in our marriage, and our lives individually is this: always follow the peace of God, even if it is scary. He confirmed that Africa was His will for us in miraculous ways during that seeking period. He showed up in too many ways to be chalked up as coincidence or confirmation bias. Praise God that He speaks to us and guides us by the Holy Spirit!
Preparing to move cross continentally is not an easy thing, emotionally or logistically. Currently, we are filling out visa applications, selling belongings, transitioning out of jobs, bracing for goodbyes, and a million other things. But each and every day we get more excited and each day God continues to show up. Time is drawing close for our projected launch date in July, and things are falling into place. There are certain aspects of our jobs in South Africa that we have already taken on: such as interviewing prospective missionary interns, preparing for the classes we will teach them, and preparing for the evangelism we will do alongside them. It has been an absolute joy.
From the bottom of our hearts we want to say thank you. Thank you for the prayers, finances, and kind words. God wants to transform hearts and minds in South Africa, and we know we will be so much more effective in partnering with what He is doing there as a result of the wonderful people cheering us on, supporting us financially, and praying for us from the United States. South Africa is a deeply wounded, divided, and spiritually confused nation. We will send out a newsletter soon detailing some of the details on the ministry we will be doing there and the unique challenges South Africa faces. We can’t wait to share the testimonies of lives changed when we get there. The harvest is so very ripe.
As mentioned earlier, our July departure date is fast approaching, and we are still in need of monthly financial partners to send us to the field. Through the generosity of God’s people, we are $1,500 funded out of our $5,000 monthly goal, and we have $10,000 raised for our $20,000 startup cost goal. We can’t leave until we are fully funded, so your prayers and support are greatly appreciated.
Also, thank you so much for praying for us! We need favor at the South African Embassy as we apply for our visas. Please pray that God gives us wisdom on how we can best disciple the missionary interns we are preparing to lead. Lastly, pray that God will continue to reveal His heart for the South African people to us so that we are prepared to love and minister well on the field.
Here are some links for giving or for more information about us and what we’ll be doing on the field:
Our website – https://thebridgfords.com
Giving link – http://www.launchinternational.net/ryan—kindle-bridgford.html
The ministry we are working for – https://www.impactafrica.org
Blessings,
Ryan and Kindle Bridgford
The Bridgfords in South Africa 