Australian Officers Serving in Canada: Captains Chris and Nichole Maxwell

For Captains Chris and Nichole Maxwell, two Salvation Army officers from Australia, moving to Canada was a leap of faith. They had never visited the country prior to moving here, they'd be bringing three young children with them, and it was in the middle of a pandemic. But trusting in God’s calling to overseas service has been an immense blessing for the Maxwells and for their church, Kingston Citadel in Ontario, where they have been corps officers since January 2022. 

On this episode, we talk about their calling; about some of the biggest and most surprising differences between The Salvation Army in Australia and Canada; and about their church’s process of rebuilding after Covid and how Kingston Citadel has a renewed vision and is thriving today.

Transcript

Kristin Ostensen

This is the Salvationist podcast. I’m Kristin Ostensen. Can you imagine moving across the world to a country that you’ve never visited, where you have no connections, with three small children in tow? And can you imagine doing that during the COVID-19 pandemic? Talk about a leap of faith, but that’s exactly what Captains Chris and Nichole Maxwell did when they came to Canada from Australia in January 2022. Daunting, yes—but trusting in God’s calling to overseas service has been an immense blessing for the Maxwells and for their church, Kingston Citadel in Ontario. On this episode, we talk about that calling, about some of the biggest and most surprising differences between The Salvation Army in Australia and Canada; and about their church’s process of rebuilding after Covid and how Kingston Citadel is growing and thriving today.

Hi Captains Chris and Nichole, so great to have you on the Salvationist podcast today. Thanks for joining us.

Nichole Maxwell

Hi!

Chris Maxwell

You're welcome. Good to be here. 

Nichole Maxwell

Good to be here.

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah. So, to start us off, can you tell me a little bit about yourselves? Where are you from originally, and how long have you been officers?

Nichole Maxwell

Well, we're from Australia, and we're kind of from all over. I grew up in a military household, and Chris was—Chris’ parents are officers themselves. So, we grew up moving around all over Australia, but we were commissioned as officers in December 2014.

Kristin Ostensen

Very good. So, you've been officers for a little over a decade now?

Nichole Maxwell  

Yeah.

Chris Maxwell

That's right, yeah. Still feel like newbies, but yes.

Kristin Ostensen 

And how long have you been in Canada? Because I think it's been almost half your officership at this point. Is that correct?

Nichole Maxwell

Not quite—close to it, though. So, we arrived on a three-year contract exchange in January 2022, but we requested an extension. So, we're at the end of our, we've just finished our fourth year, so we've been here for four years now. 

Kristin Ostensen

Wow. Very cool. And can you tell me a little bit about your ministry unit, because you're at Kingston?

Nichole Maxwell  

Yeah, so we're at Kingston Citadel. So, we have the church fellowship, which is a wonderful place to be. We also have the thrift store and community services as well. It's quite a busy place, yeah, but we love it here. The environment is great. The people are loving and welcoming. The work is fulfilling. It can be hard. There's a lot going on, but we love it here.

Kristin Ostensen  

Awesome. Well, I want to hear more about how you actually experienced that call to international service. You mentioned you moved around a lot, so I guess moving is not new to you. But did you always want to serve internationally, and how did you experience God putting that on your heart?

Chris Maxwell  

I wouldn't say we've always wanted to serve internationally. I'm a homebody, and I'm not a very adventurous person. But when I felt the calling to officership, I always kind of felt this drawing to overseas service, even though it goes completely against my personality. And when that happens, I often think that's God speaking to me, when he pushes me to do something that that's not comfortable for me sometimes. So, when we were at college, we had to fill out the forms of what kind of appointments we think would suit us, and one of them was international service for me. So, I would say that ever since I've been on the track towards officership, it has been a calling that I've had. Nichole’s story is different.

Nichole Maxwell  

Yeah, I was a little bit different. I am different in that I am quite adventurous. I like experiencing new things. And yeah, so in our conversations, before becoming officers—really, before we got married—when Chris sort of said, “You know, just so you know, this call I feel that God has on my heart might include one day serving overseas,” I wouldn't say it was a calling for me at that point, but I was certainly up for the adventure of experiencing something new. But probably about three years before we put in our application for overseas service, just really randomly, God placed Canada on my heart for no particular reason. We've not been to Canada before. We didn't know anybody here, but it was just this really strange but really clear feeling that Canada was somewhere we needed to start praying about. And then, so we talked about that, started praying about that. And then again, there seemed to be a sense of clarity around, was about January 2021, wasn't it? We felt God's just impression on our hearts again, that now was the time to start looking into what that might look like. And so we submitted our application for international exchange, and in that process, we're able to list countries that would be our preference. And while we were open to anywhere, we listed Canada as number one, simply because that's what where we felt God leading us. So we were thrilled when Canada came back and said, we have a place for you.

Kristin Ostensen  

That's awesome, and it's interesting, too, that you said you'd never been here before. 

Nichole Maxwell  

No, no. [laughs]

Kristin Ostensen  

Like, totally trusting God, like, “This is what you want for us—OK!” What were sort of your impressions before you came here? What were your thoughts about Canada? I know there's obviously lots of stereotypes. [laughs]

Nichole Maxwell  

We did a lot of research in the lead up. And obviously, it's a beautiful country. Climate-wise, very different from where we're from, and that's probably one of the things that excited us most, was just experiencing completely different.

Chris Maxwell  

We still, after four years, enjoy the winters here, but nobody else does. 

Kristin Ostensen

That is wild—I have to say.

Chris Maxwell  

We love it when it snows. 

Kristin Ostensen

We’re all trying to escape!

Chris Maxwell  

Even after four years, it's still a novelty for us.

Nichole Maxwell  

Yeah, we have a lot of similarities, Australia and Canada, but we were probably surprised at the amount of differences there were, too. Culture is such a strong lens through which we see the world and experience things. So, it's been—there weren't a lot of things we were expecting to encounter that were different. We were just, I guess, eyes open knowing that things would be different. And it's kind of hard to put your finger on, with two cultures that are so similar. It's kind of hard sometimes to put your finger on exactly what the differences are. But it's been a great learning experience to see, yeah, just how much the culture in which we grow up affects the way we see the world, and even the way we interpret other people's actions and reactions. And, you know, getting to know people is completely different when you're not quite sure of what's going on in the background that have led them to, you know, respond the way that they do. So, it's been wonderful, but very eye opening, hasn't it? 

Chris Maxwell  

Yeah, absolutely.

Kristin Ostensen  

Do any examples come to mind for you?

Chris Maxwell 

I think just even in our daily interactions with people, we need to be mindful of how we come across, because Australians have a tendency to be blunt and just say it how it is, and then we can deal with the problems. But sometimes our Australian bluntness can come across as rude. So even just daily interactions, we need to be mindful of how we're coming across, because I don't think we were rude people—we definitely don't intend to be rude people—but we can come across that way if we're not careful.

Kristin Ostensen  

Yeah, I can see that. I mean, Canadians have a reputation for apologizing to a couch when you bump into it, so there’s a bit of that, a little bit maybe overly polite at times. So, I can understand where you're coming from. And I'm curious, too—so obviously there are broader cultural differences, but I'm curious to know, how would you say The Salvation Army is both similar and different to The Salvation Army in Australia?

Nichole Maxwell 

Again, I think on the surface level, what you see, everything is very similar. I think regardless of what we look like, The Salvation Army feels like The Salvation Army wherever you go, you know, which is wonderful and it's beautiful. But we were surprised. We were anticipating that systems and things like that—I guess I'm talking about the under-working, you know, the behind-the-scenes stuff. I think we assumed that every Salvation Army worked and operated the same way. So, we had a steep learning curve when we arrived, because there wasn't a single system that you use here, that we use, other than SAMIS, that we use in Australia. So that was—

Chris Maxwell

Even SAMIS—we use it differently in Australia. 

Nichole Maxwell

Yeah, and there definitely are differences, and there's negatives and positives to both. So, I would say the workload, particularly the administration workload, on the front line in Canada is significantly greater than the weight that we bear in Australia. So, we have a lot more flexibility and freedom with our time and what we invest that in, I would say, as officers in Australia. Obviously, that depends on the appointment. But at the same time, we probably have greater autonomy here, because so much more rests. So, you know, there's some pros and cons to both. We feel the tension in both spaces, of how to manage that well and how to be the kind of leaders that God called us to be, while also managing the demands of the role that we're in as well. Definitely the big change is kettles. We don't do kettles in Australia. [laughs]

Kristin Ostensen

OK—

Chris Maxwell

No.

Kristin Ostensen

—I did not know that. So, what do you do instead for Christmas appeal?

Nichole Maxwell 

So we do have a Christmas appeal, but it's not a front line-driven appeal. It's much more—

Chris Maxwell

It's corporate. 

Nichole Maxwell 

It's a corporate appeal, really. And there is a public element to the appeal. It's done through advertisement and things like that. They have a big—like, in Sydney, for example, there is a big outside carols event, because it's summertime there, and it's televised because it's the one that, like the biggest carols event in New South Wales. And so they're asking for donations to The Salvation Army Christmas appeal during that process. So, it's not carried by front line. Front line is, I guess, free to focus just on the community service side of things, which is great. But at the same time, we find that with kettles and talking to—it gives us the opportunity to get into the community a little bit more. And I think people are more generous knowing that the resources they give particularly right at that kettle location stays in their community. So it does give you the ability to build greater connections in your local community. So, it's great not having to worry about kettles, but at the same time, there's blessings that come with doing that as well, and opportunities.

Chris Maxwell 

And I would say that's true for community services across the board, because in Australia, our, you know, assisting people who are struggling is very centralized now. It's very much at the territorial level, and it's kind of divided out amongst the ministry units as it needs to be. But because a lot of corps here have their own community services centres, we have the opportunity to journey with people. It obviously makes it a whole lot busier for us, but we can be a lot more intentional and effective for ministry and for the kingdom by being able to connect with people one on one. And the amount of people that we've had come to our church through our community services centre is amazing, and it blew our minds when we first came, just how effective it can be when you've got, you know, the right people in the right job who are intentional about journeying with people and getting them into a faith community, it's a wonderful thing. And when you take that away and make it a centralized operation, you really pull the legs out from under people to be able to do what we really should be doing, and that is helping reveal the kingdom of God in our own spaces. So that is one of the real positives I find of Canada, is that you still have that ability to journey with people a whole lot easier.

Nichole Maxwell  

And it's not that the ability to do that isn't there in Australia. You just have to be a little more creative with the connection points, and intentional, in the same way that here, because it is all front-line heavy, it can be very easy to get distracted with just keeping up with the need, you know, and we very quickly slip into service delivery rather than more than that. We have a greater story to tell, you know. And so, yeah, having the right people in the right place with the right intentions and building structures around them, but also relieving the pressure that we as The Salvation Army just—we have such a great name in the community, we sometimes feel the burden of being everything to everyone, and we just can't be if we're going to make connections well and journey well. So it's been, again, a steep learning curve, helping our team figure out, not how can we be everything, but how can we do the things, step into the space that God is calling us to and focus on that, doing that well so that those connections are intentional? We're not just, you know, handing out a hamper, but we're making a genuine connection and saying, you know, “Jesus came to say, there's another option here. There's another way of life. And we want to share that with you.”

Kristin Ostensen  

Yeah, our territory has such a strong emphasis on integrated mission, and, of course, you know, being The Salvation Army editorial department, the comms team here, it's incredible how many testimonies we hear and share that are people coming in through CFS or one of our other community ministries. So it's really amazing and wonderful to hear that that's actually a strength of how we do things here. And, yeah, it's very encouraging to hear. And I know you're, I mean, you mentioned sort of right at the beginning there, your ministry unit is fairly sizable. You know, you've got a lot going on and, and I'm curious, now that you've been here for four years, and it’s probably an impossible question to answer, but I'm wondering, when you're looking back now, what have been some of your most meaningful experiences, and how have you seen God at work? Where have you seen him most sort of at work in your ministry? 

Nichole Maxwell

For us on a personal level, it was, you know, we have very three children—well, they're not so small anymore. They were, when we moved, when we came across, like the flight across, we had a four-year-old, three-year-old and a one-year-old in tow. So it was a little crazy. But coming into this space, not knowing anybody, not really knowing—having some assumptions, but not really knowing the culture, knowing it was going to be similar but different to what we'd grown up with, it was, you know—and there's been struggles along the way. There's been things that we know, that our family back home have enjoyed, and it's been difficult to be away—you know, I don't know that you can get any further away. You know, we're on the opposite sides of the globe. But we have also never felt such a strong confirmation that we’re where God wants us to be. So I think that stepping out in faith and having God really show up—not to say that he hasn't shown up in the past—but, you know, I really believe that God is no man's debtor. And I don't mean that in a financial sense. We're not, you know, prosperity gospel preachers. But I mean that, you know, the affirmation that we've received from God in, “This is where I need you. This is where I want you. This is where I'm going to use you,” has made the challenges of the distance and being away from home and out of the comfort zone and all that much—it's the only thing that's made it possible, I think, for us, you know. But it's also taught us a lot because we wouldn't want to serve anywhere where there, you know, where there wasn't that confirmation. It's kind of increased our faith, opened us up to, you know, what God is going to come through, regardless of where he leads us, whatever situation. And so, it's just given us a—I don't know if “confidence” is the right word, but a comfort in our leadership here. But also to see the things that—you know, we arrived right at on the end of—not at the end of Covid, but on the end of lockdowns, and things were just starting to open up, and everywhere experienced this need to kind of regroup and rebuild. And, you know, just what was needed here in this space, in this church, was so aligned with the way God has wired us and gifted us. It’s been really affirming for us as leaders, as well, to be in this space.

Chris Maxwell  

Like Nichole said, we arrived when, kind of at the end of Covid. And so, our first Sunday here, there was 28 people, and it was kind of sad. But we've never been as warmly welcomed as we have been here. It's been a really beautiful experience. And you know, since that time, God has just been slowly revealing to us, you know, what the next steps are. And so, we've done a lot of work with our church, in terms of our values—what's important to us; our vision—where we want to be heading; our mission—what we should be doing. And so, because we know we're here for six years in total, we know we've got an end point. So we know kind of our timeframe to work towards putting all the structures and processes in place to make that work. But as God has been revealing to us these things progressively over time, you know, it's become really evident that know we don't have, we can't do what God's called us to do with 28 people. And so, you know, we pray, not for growth, but we pray for people who would be willing to work alongside us, and as we've been doing that, you know, God has brought people, and it's a wide mix of people. It's people who have grown up in other churches that are looking for a new church. There are people who've just moved to the area, looking for a church. And then, alongside that, you've got people coming through community services or Alpha or the thrift store and all these different places. And it's wonderful to see, like, we've got our long-term people who have been here since the church first began. You've got new mature Christians who have come from other churches. And then you have all of these new people who are new to faith, don't know anything, and it's wonderful to see them all working together, particularly the more mature ones, to come alongside those that are new and help them grow in the faith and help them connect in. And so now our church is usually around 140, 150 on a Sunday, and it's a completely different group to what we arrived with. We had a gentleman in our corps who had been coming to the corps for a long time, but then he left in our second year to go and be a pastor for a year in a different church in Ottawa. And then when he moved back a year later, he said that the church that he left is not the same church that he came back to—like, there were half the congregation he didn't know. And it's wonderful, because majority of them are new to the faith, and they found a home, they found connection, they felt acceptance, and they're excited to grow. It's nothing that we've done; we've just been praying and going where God leads, and God's been doing the rest. And so that's been wonderful to watch.

Nichole Maxwell

But, and just to clarify, not 28 people, because that's all the people—we were still in, you know, social distancing and registering to attend and all of that. So, it's not that there was only 28 people here at the time, but it was just who showed up that particular Sunday. But what's been wonderful is, we were really hesitant. It was—like most Salvation Army corps, it was really, really, a really busy space, busy doing lots of things, pre-Covid. And so in the rebuild—“rebuild,” that sounds like a building project—but in the re-gathering, that after-Covid rebuilding, we've been really reluctant to race into everything being open again. And I think one of the things we do really well in The Salvation Army is program. But program, in and of itself, is not the answer—it is just a vehicle. And so, if discipleship, if intentionality, isn't there; if our people aren't pursuing Jesus themselves, then program is just going to be wheels turning, rather than movement. So our focus as a church has really been on health and individual discipleship, on discipleship as a church and really pursuing Jesus, and the expectation that as we ourselves grow in our faith and our character is transformed to reflect more of the nature of God and the nature of Jesus, that even without the program, that that will lend opportunity to connect with neighbours and work colleagues and things like that. You know, that it's not programming in and of itself that causes the church to grow or people find faith. It's the people that are running the program, running it with the intention of connecting and moving forward with people. And so, it's not that we don't do program. We certainly do. But we wanted to allow space for program not to be the crutch that we lean on, so to speak, you know. And so I think the church here have been really wonderful in allowing us to lean into that. And now that that we are growing and things are falling into place, there's a lot more intentionality. Not to say there wasn’t intentionality before, but things very quickly become “the thing we always do,” right, the unmovable thing that's always on the calendar. So, we've been quite protective of the calendar, so to speak.

Kristin Ostensen 

Yeah, and there's a lot of wisdom in that. And it is interesting—I feel like, for so many of us in the church, Covid was almost like a bit of a reset. 

Nichole Maxwell

Yeah.

Kristin Ostensen 

Let's take a step back and, as you said, not just do things because we've always done them, but really having that intentionality. And so that's really, really cool to hear. Yeah, you would have gotten here sort of right at that tail end of lockdown. And what a challenge coming in from a different country and facing that. [laughs] So kudos to you both.

Nichole Maxwell

And, yeah, it was really strange getting to know people with masks on, and then six months later, when that was lifted, relearning their faces, because now [laughs], but that feels, like, so, so far in the past now.

Kristin Ostensen  

Yeah. Well, you mentioned—so you've been here about four years, and you've got a couple years left. As you're looking back, what are some sort of treasured or precious memories you're going to take with you back home when you do eventually say farewell to Canada?

Nichole Maxwell

What we have discovered is Canadians aren't slow in expressing their appreciation. And so, this church is our only experience of church in Canada. So I don't know if I'm speaking to—I'm assuming that I am speaking to Canadian culture here, but our experience at this church, at Kingston Citadel, has been the outpouring of love and support is unmatched to anywhere we have been before. 

Kristin Ostensen  

That's cool. 

Nichole Maxwell

Actually, I get quite overwhelmed when I think about it. And people in our church know that I get overwhelmed a lot by just the expression of love that we have experienced here. And God has really shown up in that. And so, at moments that we have really struggled—you know, my grandfather passed away while we've been here, you know, but our church family just rallied around us and held us up. And, last couple of years, through the kettle season, they've put a roster together to bring one night a week a meal around to our home, just to help support us through the busy period. My children have so many Canadian grandmothers and grandfathers, it's not funny—like, God steps in and fills the void through his people. And so, yeah, it's not that we have never had a difficult time in a church. I mean, there's been difficult days, that's for sure; always where humans are present things can get messy. But we've always been relatively well received and supported by the churches that we've been in. But this particular church has—it's just surpassed anything we've received before in the way that they show their practical appreciation and support of us. So yeah, I know that's not one particular moment, but we will remember that forever. 

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, it's beautiful. 

Chris Maxwell 

I think there's a lot of little things that we will miss. Even walking to school with the kids in the snow is one that we will miss, because our kids love the snow and, you know, they'll fall into it, and they'll throw it at each other. And so even those little everyday things we will miss. But I think one memory that I have that will always be special to me is, in our first year here, on Rally Day, we had what we call the “Conversations That Matter” night with our church family. And we had a meal together—there was about 70 of us or so that were there. And we had conversations around, we asked them three questions to discuss at the table, and we asked them to talk about: What is it that you loved about this church when it was in its heyday? Like, when it was—because we hear stories about how big this church used to be, and then all the things that used to happen, but we wanted them to talk about it, not in terms of the program that we ran, but the value behind it. And then we asked: What do they love about our church now? And then: What do we want to see for our church in the future? And for our church, I think that was a real turning point. It revealed things about our church that they were not aware of—good and bad—things to work on. And what made it special is that it wasn't just a night for a night's sake, or just having a meal together, but it actually changed behaviours. People responded. One of the things that that we found here, that we haven't found anywhere else, is just how responsive people are. You know, people are taking on board what's going on, and not just saying, OK, that's what's happening. But all right, well, we need to change this because this is not OK, or we need to, we need to keep doing this because this is fantastic. So, I don't know if this is a Canadian thing or if it's just a Kingston Citadel thing, but they're so responsive. They want to grow. They want to get better. They want to improve. And so, they keep leaning in, and they keep pushing, they keep trying to be better. And, you know, our church has a direction now, and they're excited by that, and they're on board for that, which is great. We're really excited for what God has in store for Kingston Citadel for the next two years while we're here, but also after we've gone and someone else can take it further than we can. God has just done so much, and we are so grateful to be able to be a part of it for a short period of time.

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, that's wonderful. It's so encouraging to hear, and I hope, too, as people are listening, that maybe there's that little spark of inspiration, you know—“That could be my corps, too.” Having that sense of direction, intentionality, you know, God moving in people's lives. As we wrap up, I'm wondering if you might share some lessons from your own life. It's funny, I'm sitting here—of course, people listening won't be able to see this, but on the back wall there, I see the Scripture, you know, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” You know, “The Lord will be with you wherever you go.” And obviously that is very true. The Lord is with you, wherever you've gone, and here, of course, you've gone across the world. But yeah, I'm just wondering, as we wrap up, if you have any sort of final thoughts on how God is speaking to you, and you know, a message of encouragement to other Salvationists here and internationally.

Nichole Maxwell 

I hear a lot of people talk about, you know, the things that God might be leading them to do, or, you know, the impression that God is giving them. And there seems to be a sense of, “Well, I just need to do this first.” Or, you know, they're waiting for things to fall into place. Or there's uncertainty because there's fear involved, stepping into the unknown. Or, you know. But my encouragement would be: There is no greater place—and not to say easy place—but there is no greater place than knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I'm here because God has led me here, and therefore I don't need to worry that I don't have the skills required, because me plus the people around me is what God needs to do what he needs to do in this space. You know? Yeah, it has been so affirming and so wonderful to—yeah, I mean, we said this before, but to see God just continually, in the good days and in the really tough days, there's not been a moment where we've said, “This is too much. We need to go home,” you know, because even when it's really tough, God has been there saying, “But I'm with you and given you what you need to do, what I want you to do,” you know. That's not overly poetic or anything like that. [laughs] So my encouragement to anybody would be to just to trust God. He knows who you are, and he knows your worries and your fears, but he also knows where he can use you for his kingdom.

Chris Maxwell

And alongside that, I think, particularly in these last four years, as we've been officers in Canada, it's become even more evident that—maybe I'm speaking more to officers here, but know who God has made you to be. Know the kind of leaders that God has called you to be, because there will be some people who will want you to be different, or want you to lead in a particular way. And that's fine. They can have those expectations, but we know who God has made us to be. We know the kind of leaders that God has called us to be and so we step into that. And we have found that incredibly freeing. And the wonderful thing is that wherever—we know we've got a lot of limitations as leaders, there a lot of things that we don't do well. But we have great people who have great skills and passions in areas where we don't, and they're willing to come alongside and minister with us. So, you know, work to your strengths, find people who can cover your weaknesses. But also, the other thing is—once again, I think I'm speaking more to leaders here, but we hear a lot of people talk about the fact that they'd like to do overseas service, but don't actually do anything about it. And I think a lot of it comes down to the, I like the idea of it, but when it actually comes down to it, they don't really want to do it. And whilst there are parts of being an officer overseas that is difficult, and of course, we miss our families and that kind of thing. And, like Nichole said, and like she lost her grandfather while we were here, I lost my grandmother while we were here, and we weren't able to go home to be with our families at that point in time, and that was really hard. But in saying that, for anyone who's considering overseas service, it has been probably the best experience of our lives in terms of our officership and our leadership and our growth. You get such a greater perspective of the world just by living in a different culture, not even doing anything, but just living in a different culture; it just broadens your mind and broadens your mind and broadens your perspectives, and it helps you—and whilst it broadens your perspective, it also helps you focus in on what's important. So for anyone who feels that God's calling to overseas service, we only have positive things to say.

Nichole Maxwell  

Even for our family and our kids—we've always been a close family. I mean, they were really little when we moved here, but it's been such a great experience as a family, you know, and to talk with our kids about, we don't know what's around the corner, but we trust the one who knows, you know, and that gives us the ability to talk about bigger things. I mean, they have such a greater understanding of the world as a whole than I did at their age, you know, and the idea that that everybody is different, and everybody comes from different perspectives, but that God is present everywhere, and that this is God's creation that he loves. And so, in that, we can trust him to be working for its good.

Chris Maxwell 

Our kids keep asking us what country we're going to move to next. [laughs]

Nichole Maxwell  

We hear people say, I want to do overseas service, but when my kids leave home, but I think it's been such a great opportunity and experience for our children as well.

Kristin Ostensen

Yeah, I can totally see that. And yes, may God continue to bless you, especially in these last couple years as you serve here. 

Chris Maxwell  

Thank you.

Nichole Maxwell

Thank you very much. It's been great to be with you. 

Kristin Ostensen

Thanks for joining us for another episode of the Salvationist podcast. For more episodes, visit Salvationist.ca/podcast.