October/November 2025 Newsletter
August Newsletter
July began with our family wrapping up life on the water. We spent a bit of time trying out our new sails and exploring a few anchorages we had never been to over our time in Mexico. Micah also ruptured his eardrum so that offered some extra “excitement.” It was just plain hot and we actually decided to call it earlier than we originally planned. We packed, cleaned, and loaded our minivan. The kids said goodbye to the boat for the last time, and we embarked on the 30+ hour drive back to Texas. Lots of high emotions and tears…none of us are really ready to say goodbye to that season of our lives. There are so many unknowns ahead for all of us. But God is good. “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” C.S. Lewis
As many of you are new to the Ankyrios International family, we wanted to take an opportunity to share with you all some of our story. I’ve included links to the longer stories if you’re interested.
In 2014, we purchased our sailboat as a place to live while Dennis still served in the Navy, and we were stationed in Coronado, California. We had no idea the adventures that awaited us and all God had planned. We named our new boat Ankyrios. It’s really just a word we made up – it’s from two Greek words, ankura, translated as anchor, and kyrios, which means Lord. Therefore, we are anchored in the Lord – Ankyrios. Her name was always a conversation starter with others (“How do you pronounce that? What does it mean?”) about our secure anchor in Jesus. Our desire is to help others find and secure their anchor in Jesus. Hebrews 6:19 “We have this hope {Jesus} as anchor of the soul, firm and secure.”
In 2016, we headed south to warmer waters as Dennis’ Navy retirement became officialafter almost 21 years in the Navy. We began the work of assisting missionaries, pastors and other cross-cultural workers in Mexico and Central America. As this has grown, so have we. The name of our sailboat became the name of our ministry. Ankyrios International became a 501(c)(3) in 2022 for the purpose of providing physical, spiritual and emotional support and resources to humanitarian and cross-cultural workers and their families around the world.
But what does this really look like? We have a unique opportunity to provide encouragement, coaching, counseling, preaching and teaching, training, debriefings, and an extra set of hands to missionaries, pastors, chaplains, churches, as well as expats and other boaters. We are also able to share the Gospel and our lives with unbelievers around us.
What do some of these workers do? The workers and ministries that we support include church planters, youth ministries, prison ministry, home churches, Bible studies/discipleship for new believers, orphanages/abandoned children and transition homes, senior citizen homes, Bible translation, ESL classes, job training to provide opportunities to youth and young adults, homeless ministry, Operation Christmas Child, retreat centers, summer camps, building projects (schools, churches, homes), and addiction recovery ministries.
Where do you do this type of work? We have worked with ministries and organizations from 5 continents! The organizations are in places such as: Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Canada, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom, Georgia, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Rwanda, Mozambique, and the United States. While we try to focus on in-person opportunities, we are not able to visit everyone. Technology allows us to maintain connections with those we do visit, and also have “face to face” Zoom calls for coaching and counseling with people around the world.
How do you do this? Through financial support from people just like you! Part of our mission is to never charge for the care we offer. Workers have so many things to think about and caring for themselves usually drops to the bottom of their list due to time, finances, or other constraints. If we can raise funds to provide care at no cost to them, workers will be healthier and have healthier families to then reach more people through their work or ministry. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us? We invite you to find a way that you feel led to partner with us to continue the mission of Ankyrios International. The impact of your financial partnership is felt around the world! Thank you!
April 2025 Newsletter
In previous years, we’ve used the blog here and our facebook group to provide updates. We are starting an official newsletter. Our plan is to share a short, easy read each month.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
We are so grateful for many things this year and just one is all of you that follow and encourage us. Now that Ankyrios International is a recognized 501(c)(3), we are part of Amazon Smile. I’m sure many of you will be shopping at amazon this week. Please shop through amazon smile and support Ankyrios International. Thank you!! Happy Thanksgiving!
Fall 2021
This update was posted to our facebook group back in September 2021. I dropped the ball and failed to post it here. So to those of you that only follow our website, I am so sorry for being silent on here.
We’ve been a bit quiet over the last few months as we process a lot of changes in the Kelly family. I’ve been trying to think of how to explain it all…
The Kellys are making a shift.
We’re pivoting our ministry.
We have land under our feet.
There’s a lot of green around us and not much blue.
The end of June we put the boat away where she’ll get to rest for a year. We emptied 7 years worth of stuff. Deep compartments have been hiding all sorts of treasures and “why do we still have this?” items. Hope officially graduated high school on June 30.
We spent the month of July in Colorado with my family. We had an opportunity to meet up with two “old friend” families at 2 national parks. That was so much fun! The not so fun part of the month – I had the vein ablation procedures that had been planned for last year (before they discovered my left iliac vein was only working at roughly 14% and had to fix it first). The vein ablations didn’t go as planned…I had an odd reaction to valium causing muscle spasms during the procedure, intense swelling and numbness (still some numbness 7 weeks later), an allergic reaction to lidocaine which was used to fill the length of the veins prior to the actual laser ablation, two rounds of prednisone, an infection requiring a visit to the ER, IV antibiotic and 2 different oral antibiotics, an allergic reaction to one of the oral antibiotics. I still have some pain but it now only hurts if I’ve been sitting for awhile and the dying vein needs to be stretched again. That’s happening less and less now. I have one place where the vein is close to the skin and it seems to have scarred together. My right calf is still numb in places because the vein is against the muscle. The vein irritates the muscle and vice versa. It’s a slow, slow healing process. I still have light bruising and tenderness the entire length of the veins, but it is improving.
The end of July we packed everything from my parents’ and headed to Pittsburg, Texas (“Why Pittsburg?” you ask, an amazing story for another time). We moved into the Harmony Mission House where we’ll be for about a year. Hope started classes at Northeast Texas Community College two weeks ago. She likes her professors and is making new friends.
Dennis is using this time on land to work on his doctoral project. He plans to finish it and graduate in the spring. It’s a huge undertaking.
I’m working on new certifications working with Third Culture Kids (TCK). I’ve already completed one on debriefing. Keep an eye out for my new “certified debriefer” logo. 
As for our ministry to missionaries and pastors – we will continue to work with our current missionaries through online sources. We have a trip planned to La Paz, Mexico, where we’ll have the opportunity to meet with many in person. We’ll be (especially Dennis) working with/mentoring the local pastors and their families here in northeast Texas.
We ask for your prayers as this is a hard transition. We just moved to a small town where everyone knows everyone. We all feel out of place.
Do you remember my post from a couple of years ago when I talked about colors? It described how we all change when we’ve been to new and different places. We may come from a “blue country” and then spend time in a “yellow country.” We become a blend of the two, “green.” We don’t quite fit in in either place. Well, we’re not even just green anymore. We’ve experienced all sorts of colors and have become muddled.
-Pray for our kids to be true to themselves and not try to adapt to what they think people want them to be (same for me 
).
-Pray for us to find a balance with all the good things vs great things that are offered here with homeschooling, church, other activities, and not get too busy or stretched too thin.
-Please pray for Hope as she’s walking an entirely new path. College is already proving demanding (lots of homework) and she’s also started a part time job in the bakery of the grocery store across the street.
-Pray for Dennis’ diligence in his studies and research. He finished his academic courses in 2016, but our time on the boat didn’t allow for enough study time, connectivity for research, or even a desk to work at.
-And for me, land based living is a lot less physically demanding than sailboat life (which is a nice break), but I am missing our home. Oddly enough, our sailboat is the most stable home we’ve ever had – 7 years onboard vs, at the most, 3 years anywhere with the Navy. We have kids that are lining up to finish high school over the next few years and spread their wings into the great big world. It’s a lot for my momma heart to deal with. Pray for me to encourage to our kids, help them grow and thrive, and to continue working myself out of a job.
Thank you!! We appreciate your friendship and prayers.