me + them

That's us. We are an American family living abroad in the beautiful country of Portugal, and for now, this is our corner of the world.

My name is Tiffany, and that handsome husband of mine of 4 years goes by Hodge. And you see that little person? Yeah, that's Zeke. He was born in the northern town of Porto on June 14 of this year.

We hail from the good state of Tennessee. While I was growing up in the Eastern part of the state, Hodge was making his way in the world in the Middle, Without realizing how God was carving our paths for us, we both ended up studying at MTSU after high school. After meeting, our individual passions for foreign mission work initially brought us together, but our love for Jesus and our love for each other have kept us going. Very shortly after marrying, we began a two year process that brought us to a point where we were selling just about everything we owned to move to the not-so-familiar-land of Portugal to share the incredible love of an extraordinary man named Jesus with those we live among.

Yes, we are those people. We are foreign missionaries. That word, missionary, often time puts a bad taste in the mouth of those who hear it. So, admittedly more often than not, we try to distinguish ourselves from the plethora of religious people trying to convert others to their faith. Because while we would love to see people come to the faith that we believe, the faith in Jesus Christ, our job is not to convert people. Our job, simply put, is to tell others what we know about the truth of Jesus and the truth found in the Bible. Sometimes that  means we start the conversation. Sometimes, we instruct and teach those interested to know more. Sometimes, we are here to encourage those who already believe as we do. And sometimes, we just wait and see how God is working.

No, we don’t force our faith on others. But yes, we are open and honest about what we believe. Because, really, our faith is that important to us. Jesus has changed our lives, and we know that He can change the lives of others also.

Beyond that, we do enjoy a many other things in this life such as hiking, camping, hosting barbeques, playing hide and seek with our dog, making our son laugh, and a good skype conversation.

This blog is meant to keep our family and friends updated as well as anyone else who is interested in following along with us. It contains our adventures and our thoughts. If you ever wish to get in contact with us, don’t hesitate to email us at wearethehodges@gmail.com.