May Support Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Colorado! With great excitement, I am delighted to share with you a recent development for the Burden household. It is amazing to look back and see what God has been doing in our lives over the past three years. At that time, Melissa and I were living in Oregon, wondering what the next chapter in our life would hold. We felt God leading us to the State of Colorado. Since arriving, there have been many changes in the Burden family. Hannah has grown into a playful 4 year old with endless energy. Our most recent edition, Emily, is growing fast and has started to bring joy with her playful attitude towards life. This April Melissa and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary.

Throughout my life I always felt God was calling me to do something with the talents and skills that He gave me. After years of searching and waiting, God has shown me how I can use those gifts for His service. In February, through some amazing circumstances, I received an email about an opportunity to serve in the IT department at OMF International. OMF International (formally know as China Inland Mission), was started 140 years ago by Hudson Taylor. In the 1950’s, when the political climate in China changed, missionaries left China and China Inland Mission became Overseas Mission Fellowship. Today, OMF International seeks to serve Asians in East Asia. http://www.omf.org/omf/us

I applied for the position and was excited to see what the Lord might have in store for me. I was offered the position and was encouraged by friends and family that I would be a perfect fit for this job. After a week of prayer and follow-up phone calls, I decided, on March 3rd to accept the offer. I can still remember the peace I felt when I said yes. The next day I began ministering to the people of East Asia as a technical support analyst.

You’re probably wondering what it is that I do in my new role. I will be serving the home staff at OMF’s national headquarters office and missionaries abroad, by helping to ensure that computer systems, email, network, printers, etc…, run smoothly. Over the past twenty years technology has become critical to OMF and its members. My job is to connect and network missionaries to each other and their support systems-from churches and parachurch organizations to aid workers and staff to friends and family-when they would otherwise be virtually isolated by time and distance.

My family and I are excited to see how God is going to use us at OMF International. If you would like to partner with me in prayer and possibly financially, please send and email to me with your address and phone number and I will send you a yellow support card that you can fill out and return to OMF. I would love to meet and share with you or your church. May God open all of our eyes to His wondrous people across the globe and where we might serve His purpose.

In Christ, Dale & The “B” Squad