MIKE AND LYNN CARAWAY’S LETTER
Dear Family and Friends,
We are so grateful for the wonderful opportunities we have had to be part of GMI’s Tanzania missionary team over the past 15 years. Perhaps our lives have been impacted even more so than the lives of the people we’ve been privileged to minister to and with along the way. We are especially thankful for the support you have given us – prayerfully, financially, and emotionally.
Last year we came back from Tanzania not knowing if we would be returning full-time or not. During the past year in the States, we have had the privilege to be close to our parents and help them through many medical issues. We can see now that the Lord brought us home at this point to be helpful to our parents in this season of life.
After much prayer and many discussions we have come to the conclusion that it would be best for us to resign from full-time missionary service with Grace Ministries International (GMI). This was not an easy decision for our family to make, and we are grateful for opportunities to stay connected with GMI, the people and ministries we have been involved with.
Late last year we spent a couple of months in Tanzania working with Grace Community Development and Education (GCDE) which we were excited to see was continuing on well. It appears there will be many more opportunities to continue mentoring and encouraging GCDE, its staff, and board members as they minister to the people of Tanzania. This fall we will be making another trip to Tanzania in partnership with GMI, GCDE, and St. Martin’s Kids (a group committed to working with the orphanage in Sumbawanga).
Michael participated in a survey trip to the country of Ghana for GMI last fall, and in the next couple of weeks we will be in Belize investigating possibilities for future GMI ministries there. We are excited to continue in a volunteer capacity for Grace Ministries International as opportunities arise.
Thank you again for your greatly appreciated support over the past 15 years during our time in Tanzania. We appreciate your continuing prayers for our family.
With love from Michigan,
Mike, Lynn, and Luka Caraway
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JEREMY CLARK’S LETTER
May 2018
Dear Friends and Family of the Caraways,
It is much easier to see missionaries leave full-time service with Grace Ministries International when we know they are still going to be around! Mike and Lynn Caraway have exemplified the self-sacrifice necessary to serve on the mission field as they have invested far more in GMI than we could have ever given to them. Likewise, you have blessed Mike and Lynn through your financial support, prayers, and encouragement over the years. Thank you for that. As you read their letter you get just a sense of the enormous impact they have made in Tanzania and elsewhere around the world bettering the lives of others for the sake of the gospel.
I don’t like to think about Mike and Lynn leaving GMI, but they will be doing ministry in a different way which will continue to bless the work the Lord has given us. This month Mike and Lynn will do survey work in Belize. As part of GMI’s Vision 2023, one goal is to open eight new fields by 2023. Taking survey trips to potential new fields, as Mike did when he traveled to Ghana last fall, are essential to this vision. He will remain connected to GCDE in Tanzania and will assist our fields, as opportunities arise, in developing Christ-centered business training, ministries, and outreaches.
Mike and Lynn’s last official day as GMI missionaries is May 31. That date is soon approaching and I would ask you to consider ways you can continue investing in their ministries and the work of GMI around the world. The following are some ways you could direct your support starting in June:
● Caraway Ministry Fund – This will help Mike and Lynn with travel to Tanzania to continue work with GCDE, potential new fields, and GMI’s established fields to help develop business training/ministry models.
● GCDE – You can help the ongoing ministries of GCDE which includes, among other ministries, literacy programs, cleft palate surgeries, agriculture training, and business training in Tanzania.
● Mwanza Outreach – Methodi Mwendapole, a Tanzanian pastor respected by his peers and the GMI missionary community, is planting churches and directing a Bible school program in the strategic region of Mwanza. Because this work is both new and growing rapidly, monthly funds are necessary to keep pace with this vibrant ministry.
● GMI missionaries Tom and Michelle Sanchez are serving in Zambia in the short term before relocating to Burundi to open that new field for GMI. In order for Tom and Michelle to continue serving in Africa without having to return to the States in the middle of their term, they will need to raise additional monthly support. Tom and Michelle are veteran missionaries, having served in Congo from 1987-2001 with GMI, and are doing a tremendous job working with church leaders and pastors in Zambia.
If you would like to support any of these ministries, please let us know by mailing back the enclosed return slip with your next gift. After May 31, any gifts we receive for Mike and Lynn’s personal support will be designated for one of these four ministries mentioned above.
Thank you again for investing in Mike and Lynn as they have invested in others. We are thankful for the work they have done and the firm foundation of ministry they have built which will bless the Lord for years to come!
Pressing towards the goal,
Jeremy Clark
Executive Director
