About Us

We live in Soroti, Uganda where we are working for Resonate Global Mission (an organization of the Christian Reformed Church in North America).  We work mainly in partnership with churches from the Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG).  This means that we are working with pastors and churches in the region around Soroti.  Anthony facilitates a curriculum he helped to write called “Helping Without Hurting in Africa” based on the book When Helping Hurts, runs a podcast, teaches on the radio, and mentors local pastors.  Sara works with churches and communities to connect their Christian faith to everyday life, particularly in the area of agriculture, caring for creation, and nutrition.  She also teaches skills like building clay ovens and baking.  While living in Uganda, we occasionally travel to support the work of Resonate in other East African countries.

Our Vision and Mission

We believe God has called us to long term ministry in East Africa in the areas of theological teaching and agricultural development. In our years of service in Uganda and in Kenya, God has used us to change the lives of many farmers and pastors and we learned so much from them as well. We long to see the good news of the gospel spread across the world so that more people will join in worshiping Jesus, the risen Savior. It gives us joy to be involved in this task through encouraging others in their relationship with God and by helping them to glorify God in all aspects of their lives. We are confident that God will continue to use us, his imperfect vessels, to accomplish a small portion of his Kingdom work through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and through the gifts he has given us.

History
Both of us are from Michigan - Sara grew up in Midland and Anthony in St. Johns.  Even before we met each other, when we were in 10th grade (2000), we separately felt God calling us to be missionaries.  This was one of the things that attracted us to each other when we met at Calvin College.  In college, Sara studied Environmental Science out of a love for God's creation.  Anthony studied Theology in preparation for seminary.  We got married in 2005 and then both attended Calvin Theological Seminary.

We started this blog in 2009 when we spent a year in Uganda as volunteers through Christian Reformed World Mission.  We taught at Pentecostal Theological College and enjoyed getting to know our students and traveling to visit them in their homes.  This experience confirmed to us our calling to missions and made it clear to Anthony that he would like to teach and disciple pastors and to Sara that she would like to work alongside people improving agriculture and caring for God's creation.

After the year in Uganda, we headed back to the US and were surprised by God's plan to send us to Renville, MN for almost two years, where Anthony was the pastor of Emden CRC and Sara spent a year teaching high school science.  It was a time of growth and our experiences there were great preparation for our future mission work.

Another formative time of preparation for Uganda was the year we spent in Waco, Texas where we both had some hands-on agricultural development training at World Hunger Relief, Inc.  Sara was a livestock intern there and cared for the dairy goats, pigs, cattle, chickens, and turkeys on the farm.

After this we spent two years in Soroti, Uganda, through World Renew (2014-2015).  You can learn more about the work that World Renew is doing in Uganda here.  Sara worked in the area of agricultural development with two Ugandan Pentecostal development organization called KIDO (Katakwi Integrated Development Organization) and KMDP (Kaberamaido Mission Development Programme).  Anthony taught pastors and church leaders of PAG churches.  We learned so much from the Ugandans we worked with and made long lasting friends.

Continuing with World Renew, we taught for two years at Berea Christian College and Sara worked at Berea Farm (2016-2017), both in the same place near Nakuru, Kenya.  World Renew partners with Nakuru Diocese of which these two institutions are a part.

We returned to Uganda in 2018 and worked for World Renew for two more years.  In 2020, we joined Resonate Global Mission, Anthony in the position of Leadership Developer and Sara in the position of Cultivator of Community Transformation. 

Some fun facts about us:
Sara has been a birdwatcher since she was nine years old.  She likes to read, garden, jog, and make things.
Anthony enjoys playing all sorts of games (even the kind that go on for hours and hours), playing the drums, ping pong, and reading.
As a couple, we are passionate about studying the Bible, being good stewards of God's creation, trying to live simply, eating healthy good food, and hiking/spending time outside.  Our life has joy and meaning because of our relationship with God through Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and we try to give him glory in everything we do.

If you are not currently on our email list and wish to directly receive our prayer letters and email updates, please email us (anthonysytsma@crcna.org and ssytsma@crcna.org) and we will add you to our list.