It all started one summer in a Historical Theology class at The Master’s Seminary. I was sitting next to this guy who I thought was the coolest kind of nerd as I heard he was the one developing dank summary memory sheets for Hebrew vocabulary and grammar rules. I had to get to know him. Then I found out he loves dad jokes, 90s rap, and missions.
A match made in heaven. 😁
Then we met his family and found out his wife is even cooler than he is (sorry Dave 😝), and they have those 4 very cute blond girls, 3 of which are almost exactly the same age as our daughters. Another match made in heaven.
We shared our ministry vision with them and unapologetically mentioned that we are looking for teammates. Next thing we know, they come for a exploratory trip 2 days after we returned home in August 2017. We were able to show them some of the realities of life and ministry in Madagascar, and as they left, we actually thought we would never hear from them again.
We were wrong. The Lord placed on their heart a burden for the Malagasy people and a desire to be involved in training men for a life-long ministry of the Word. 🙏🏽
The Salt’n’Pepper duo was formed. 😎 Pepper and I 🙄 started to pray together, dream together, and plan together. We have seen our plans delayed by the whole pandemic thing and yet know that now is God’s perfect timing.
Today, the Ellingsons are flying the 11,063 miles between Los Angeles and Antananarivo to come serve the Lord with us here in Madagascar. What a great sacrifice they are making for the sake of the Gospel. They are leaving family and friends behind, coming to a new culture, 2 new languages (French and Malagasy) and the weirdest teammates they could have picked.
Please pray for them as they transition to – literally – the other side of the world. As I write this article, they are at the airport, ready to board the plane, one hour away from departure.
Please pray for them individually and as a family to settle well, learn the language quick and to be mighty tools in the hands of the Lord here in Madagascar. 🙏🏽
We love them so much and are thrilled to have them here with us.
Madagascar 3M 