Will & Delaynie Shirey Newsletter (Winter 2026)

Hello Everyone,

I am trying to remember where I left off and what has happened since the last time I updated you. October, November, December, and January… prepare yourselves—we have a lot to cover!

October

October is always an exciting month because both Will and I celebrate our birthdays, and this year we had plans! We met up with both of our parents in Boone, North Carolina, where we were able to relax and quietly celebrate together. I ended up getting a little sick during the trip, but UNC Urgent Care fixed me right up, and after a couple of breathing treatments I was shipshape.

Will got to watch football with his dad and cook trout over a fire, and we played so much Mexican Train with our parents!

For Will’s birthday, we drove to Venice Beach on the Gulf Coast to go searching for shark teeth—and wow, did we come home with a great haul! The Gulf Coast is absolutely beautiful, and it was amazing to see a beach sunset. On this side of Florida, you can only see the sunrise, and nobody wants to get up that early.

October ended with surgery! That’s right—I got all four of my wisdom teeth removed, and if you asked me a single detail about that day, I could not tell you one thing that happened. What I can tell you is that it was not an enjoyable experience, and I wasn’t able to chew comfortably for a good two weeks.

November

At the end of October and the beginning of November, Will and I had friends from home visiting us, and it was so nice to share what our life in Florida looks like. We showed them around the Teen Missions property and Merritt Island, and it was such a refreshing time.

On November 3rd, the Lord opened the door for me to serve alongside my home church in Asheville, North Carolina. Another staff member, Ellie Petersen, and I served as KP for a group of men doing hard, labor-intensive “manly men” work. Ellie and I were also able to see firsthand the devastation still left behind by Hurricane Helene.

This trip was only three days long, but it was probably the most impactful trip I have ever been on. CC Asheville’s community outreach ministry is such an encouraging group of staff and volunteers, and the people of Bat Cave and Chimney Rock have truly come together to rebuild their towns. Please continue to pray for the surrounding areas that are still feeling the effects of Helene. If you are interested in continued hurricane relief, contact CC Asheville or Spokes of Hope (Bat Cave, NC)—they are still working!

After I abandoned Will in Florida while I was in North Carolina, he returned the favor and went up to Virginia a week before Thanksgiving for a tough, manly hunting trip in the woods with his dad, his brother-in-law, and my dad. Even though the trip didn’t produce any… “game”? “Fruit”? I’m not sure what it’s called—they didn’t shoot anything. Still, they had a wonderful trip!

I met Will in Virginia for Thanksgiving with my family, which was wonderfully uneventful.

While Will was in the woods, he found a Christmas tree for us. It was small and adorable, and we hauled it all the way back to Florida. We decorated it and set it up nicely in our dining room!

December

December was tough. We were working hard, and the days and weeks felt long because we were all looking forward to our two-week Christmas and New Year’s break. Will had many projects on the property that needed to be completed, and I had a lot going on in the Finance Department as we are currently in full swing of our financial audit—which requires a lot from me. Even though we were excited to head home for the holidays, we were still very busy with work.

On December 20th, we headed up to Virginia, where “auntie mode” was fully engaged. I soaked up as much time as possible with my nieces and nephew. While Will was out in the woods freezing, gun in hand, being silent and shootin’ squirrels (or something like that), I was at the discovery museum with Evvie and Elsie, spending time with baby Ronan, hanging out with my sisters… and driving into ditches and popping tires.

New Year’s Eve was incredibly eventful! Will’s parents hosted a big party, and we were able to celebrate the beginning of the New Year with many of our family members and friends.

January

On our way back to Florida, we stopped in Charlotte, North Carolina, to visit Will’s family. It was so nice to spend time with them and enjoy a football game with others who love it just as much as he does.

When we finally made it home, our Christmas tree had about two needles left. Will had to very carefully remove it from our dining room, and there was quite a bit of debris left behind to clean up. We are now back at work, itching for summer to begin and for our team to arrive—but we still have about five months to go. For now, we are going through the motions until we can officially begin preparing for summer. The next couple of months will likely be uneventful and focused on our day-to-day work at Teen Missions.

We truly appreciate your prayers in the coming months as we prepare for our upcoming summer in Indonesia and as we plan for our personal future. Will and I are so grateful for the ways the Lord has blessed us with incredible opportunities to serve Him. He has filled our cups to overflowing. It is people like you—those reading these words—whom He sends to serve alongside us from afar. We will never take for granted how He has provided for us.

We love you and thank you for being our prayer warriors, financial supporters, and sources of encouragement.

Blessings,

 Delaynie and Will Shirey