Where Do We Go From Here?

Simply Risen Ministries-

Update 1

Thats the question we asked ourselves a month and a half ago… Life introspection was not on the agenda, and yet, God made it so.

Thats how He works right? One minute you think your life is on one trajectory and the next it takes a completely different turn.

And the thing is… once you realize it’s God working, it really isn’t that bad.

So let's rewind a second to show you how we got from point A to point G.

As many of you know, we transitioned out of YWAM (Youth with A Mission) in 2020 to start our coffeehouse, Simply Risen, and have been running it ever since. Fast forward to fall 2021, as most businesses take a few years to take off, we were presented with the opportunity to move the shop up to Fayetteville, AR, a booming college town at the best time possible. As it turned out, the want for coffee didn’t meet the demand for it, and it was hurting us, and hurting us bad. We pulled out of our savings to keep the place open until there was nothing left. So, hearing that we were going to have the opportunity to move up to a city that could potentially multiply our profit 10 times over was a relief. We planned the transition, told our employees, informed our church, and started packing our house for the big move… that would never come.

When we received the news that our hopes weren’t going to pan out, we were shook. We absolutely didn’t know what to do. On top of all this, we had a new employee in training that circumvented any cashflow from our family. Please, don’t hear us wrong, we were more than willing, after all, it wasn’t her fault the plan fell through. But it did put us in a tight spot. With our tail tucked between our legs, we decided it best to get a 9 to 5 in order to supplement our income.

The situation was incredibly undesirable and would put us into a hole that neither of us wanted to climb into in the first place. However, it is often in these dark places, where all hope seems lost, that God chooses to reveal His heart.

We were lost. The coffeeshop which once gave us zeal and passion was beginning to drive us away, and again, we were out of money and out of time. We had to face the question, was this really what God wanted? Or was this something WE wanted? In the end, we discovered the answer was yes and no. It was easy to get wrapped up in the business side of things, to measure success by the money in the bank, it took us getting to our lowest point to realize that God didn’t measure success by the World’s standards. In the end, Simply Risen taught us a great deal… leadership, stewardship, management skills, true and genuine hospitality, adversity and more. God counted it as a success based upon what we learned, not how much we made. We were supposed to be there, make coffee, spread the love of Jesus and be a safe haven in Ozark, however, we were not made to stay there forever but pass on the torch. But what then? What now?

The question was posed, “If you know you were meant for something else, why are you trying to be something you’re not?”

Hospitality has always been our first love and missions, our medium of choice, to spread that love to others. So why wouldn’t we go back into missions then?! It was a “duh” moment… There was this unexplainable peace that washed over both of us, and we knew what we were. Missionaries.

And so, here we are. A family of three, our lives shifting around to the next part of God’s moving trajectory. When all of a sudden, just when we were getting ready to shove everything we owned into an RV and travel anywhere there was a need for kingdom work, the Lord surprised us with an answered prayer we didn’t expect. A baby!

OH HOW THE LORD WORKS!!!!

By now we should know that a change of plan is normal.

With our new variable in place for 8 more months, give or take, we are happy to announce that YWAM Ozarks will be our hub for the next few years, at least, as our family grows yet again. More over, we will be involved heavily in our home church’s (Hope Church) missionary program, heading up several local/regional, national, and international trips over the coming years. We do have plans to eventually travel as a family, but not until our bundle can at least listen and use the bathroom… for obvious reasons.

We are so thankful to be sharing this news with you. I know some of this may come as a shock, we certainly weren’t expecting to pass on the coffeehouse and re-enter full-time missions, but rest assured, this transition is something that has been prayed into and something we are confident in.

Since we are going back into full-time missions, support from people like you is a big deal. As you may know, YWAM missionaries, such as us, are more or less freelance volunteers/ humanitarians for Christ and finances are key to the continuation of our ministry. We want to be open with you, our goal, as a family of 4, is a modest $2000 per month, which covers our fees at any number of campuses country wide, travel expenses, living expenses such as utilities, food, personal medical needs, etc…, and life events like car repairs, emergency medical expenses, and so on. For comparison, the poverty rate for a family of 4 is $26,500 per year, however, because of circumstances in our lives that have been a blessing to us, we believe we should be able to live at this average.

If partnering to further the kingdom with us is something you’d be interested in doing, please feel free to contact us. We would be thrilled to have you on as official partners and financial backers in our ministry, wherever the Lord may take us.

If you can’t, we understand. Times are tough, inflation is high, and uncertainty has never been greater. However, we do ask for your continued prayer for both our new baby’s health in and outside the womb, our current and growing family dynamic, ministry opportunities and that our support goals are eventually met.

Thank you for your time, your prayers, and most of all, for being a friend,

In Jesus name, may you be blessed

The Kellers

Angelina - Steven - Milo