My husband and I have had a heart for missions for a very long time. Jimbo went on his first foreign mission trip almost 20 years ago when he was blessed to be able to spend a month in the Philippines serving the Lord. I was still raising 3 young girls at the time, so I was quite content to stay home and be the prayer warrior while he was ministering overseas. He has since been on trips to Romania, India, Africa (3 times), Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
In November of 2007, I was led by the Lord to go on my very first mission trip to Nicaragua. It was a huge thing for me due to my intense fear of flying (or crashing). I knew that the Lord had stirred my heart with a desire to be part of this trip, so I put all that aside and was simply obedient. That trip began a process of longing in my soul for more. More of Him, more of the work of the Holy Spirit and more missions. Since that first trip in 2007, I have been back to Nicaragua 4 more times as well as Honduras and Africa. God has done a tremendous work in my life as He enabled and empowered me to overcome some very large obstacles along the way. He did things that only He could do.
So, here we are in 2015 with a new story. A new journey. One that really began almost 20 years ago, but one that started to really come to fruition in August while my husband and I were in Africa. God began speaking to his heart about full-time missions. A place where his heart had been for awhile but a place that didn't seem feasible or possible. As the Lord continued to speak to him, He also began tugging at my heart. A tug that I tried to ignore and tried to avoid. But that tug grew stronger and it wasn't long before I knew that my heart was joining my husbands heart for a change in our lives. An enormous change.
When the Lord does something, He does it in a mighty way. Within weeks after we returned home, we both knew that God was calling us into full-time ministry and evangelism. We weren't sure exactly what that looked like, but we knew that it was going to be a dramatic change for us. It was going to be a giant step in faith as we began intently listening and heard His voice and His instruction for our lives.
My husband had been a pastor for 20 years and we had been at Goodwill Baptist Church for almost 8 years. All of the sudden, God was telling my husband that it was time to resign. It was time to leave the church and step into our new calling. I was like, 'Wait a minute, Lord. Surely you don't mean right now. Surely you mean later on. Down the road. After we get things all figured out and get our finances together!".
No, that is not what God meant at all. He was leading us to resign our pastorate which promptly would leave us without a paycheck or a place to live. We lived in the parsonage that the church provided and it was a very nice and very large home that we had grown to love. Yet, that's exactly what God was asking us to do. Leave our church, leave our home, and trust Him.
So, here we are almost 3 months later and we are surviving. We stepped out in faith and God has not been anything but kind to us. He has loved us and He has provided for us and He has walked step-by-step beside us on this journey into the unknown. We have been on a short trip to Nicaragua which opened up several new doors for us in ministry and we are preparing to head back there in about 3 weeks and will stay for a month. He is showing us each day that He will take care of our needs. He is showing us each day that it isn't about us at all, but that it is all about Him.
When we open our hearts to fully trust, God will open His arms and fully protect and provide. I don't know why we don't comprehend that He is the provider and He is the giver of all things. So, why do we worry? It's our human nature to doubt. It's our human nature to feel a lack of control. Over and over our God has provided for us in ways that only He can orchestrate. He works out the details in ways that leave us with our mouths hanging open. What a mighty God we serve! What an amazing God we get to worship! What an honor and a privilege it is to be His child.
I don't know what God has in store for us next. But, I do know this. He is already working out the details and all we have to do is stay deep in His Word, listen for His Voice and respond in loving and eager obedience. All we have to do is be available. The rest is simply up to my God.
"And Jesus, looking upon them saith, with men it is
impossible but not with God; for with God
all things are possible" (Mark 10:27)
Glory, Hallelujah.
