My Journey

All of us have taken a journey to the point that we are at presently. We look back on it and usually have a contorted-face response of "Wow...that was strange." In addition, if you are a believer, you can begin to clearly see all the nudges, urgings and obstacles that God gave you to get to the place that you are at now. I look back at mine and see lots of twists and turns. I mean, earlier in my journey, I felt that my life calling was to be an elevator doorman-push buttons, go up and down on elevators and talk to people all day...can life get better? Now here I am, however, super excited to go do missions work for a living....huh.  I would have never been as confident as I am about this decision to enter into full-time mission work with FaithQuest, though, if I did not look back on my life and see the smack-you-in-the-face obviousness of God's leading to this very purpose in my life. I certainly have had lots of things that have played into my life, but I must say that two things have radically revolutionized the course of my life. The first is the moment was when I was speaking to my peers, as a senior in high school, about being a light for Christ and in that moment decided I wanted to be in vocational ministry for the rest of my life. The second...well...is what I want to talk to you about.

As many of you know, my Dad is the director of FaithQuest and as the title suggests, he has been on a journey of faith ever since he stepped into this lifestyle in 2002. At that time, I was age 17 and was quite impressed and a little taken aback by my Dad's change in his life. I mean, wow, a missionary, that is pretty extreme.  That was my initial thought. I was a strong believer, yet was completely unaware of any sort of global purpose. Then my dad began to make several of these trips to Africa and would come back with stories and pictures that moved my heart and I could hear the passion in my father's voice.  I can recall so many stories from those early days of needy, impoverished brothers and sisters in Africa. However, I can also clearly remember the stories of the workers.  Workers like Hester who in her great faith had healed people. Then there was Dan who traveled through the squatter camps of South Africa embracing poor Africans who were his friends and brothers. Local workers, too, like Aphenos, a young African man who dedicated his life to spreading the gospel to his fellow Africans.  This is what my Dad was a part of. My Dad had a great sense of purpose, and through the power of God was doing things that had significant meaning. Because of my Dad, I was exposed to these global and kingdom perspectives at a young age, and it was the start of a great work in my life.

In the years that followed, my Dad went on more trips to new places, founded FaithQuest for the purpose of mobilizing churches, partnered with World Vision, and co-founded a transformational ministry called Y-Africa. He has been blown away by the expansion of influence of FaithQuest throughout US Churches and throughout other areas of the world. Along with FaithQuest's growth was the growth of my own heart for missions and global mobilization.

My first trip abroad came in 2005 and I went to Malawi and South Africa. Amongst the great need, it was the joyous hope and interdependence of African communities that penetrated my core. The African people inspired me to be a better man and stirred in me a huge desire to be part of the effort to fight malnutrition, poverty, AIDS, and disease in 3^rd world countries. Something inside me sparked and could not put out the fire inside of me, even if I wanted to. These were my brothers and sisters and I loved them. I praise God so much for this first trip because it opened up my eyes to a whole new realm of understanding.

Two years passed before my next trip and the Spirit was deep at work in me throughout that time, working to educate me of the Christian purpose of being salt and light to the world. In 2007 I traveled to Sri Lanka and Indonesia for two months where I had to put my faith into action and witness to the lost and broken people within these deeply authoritative Muslim communities.

 We went to a part of Sri Lanka that had been severely hit by the tsunami in Dec. 2004. They were rebuilding, but what they wanted was emotional and spiritual support. Foreigners would come and help build, but wanted nothing to do with the people. The authoritative Mosque in the town only strained the people's spirits. The soil of their hearts was soft and broken and perfect for the seeds of Christ to be planted. God certainly used my team there.

Indonesia was still 3^rd world, but the people had a much greater sense of Western culture. You had two very distinct types of people in Indonesia: Indonesians that were deeply indoctrinated by their religion (Bhuddism or Islam) and Indonesians that were living a life of worldly pleasure and inwardly corrupting themselves. The enemy was very present in Indonesia. Praying so deeply on that trip, my team found strength and confidence to speak the promises of the gospel of Christ to both these groups.

 In Sri Lanka and Indonesia I found myself deeply motivated by the purpose of the great commission-"Go! Make disciples of all nations..." (Matt. 28:19).  Upon returning, I could not help, but to be internationally-minded. It was at that time that I studied more into this. I was engaging in the Word, noticing even more that every word Jesus spoke related to the purpose of reaching the lost and providing for the needy. I was captivated by Paul's undying devotion to this purpose. In Acts 20:24 Paul states "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the Gospel of God's grace." He found all his worth in representing Christ and spreading His message of grace. It was also in this time that I sought out the mentorship of the International Programs Director at Azusa Pacific, Matt Browning, for more insight into missions. His guidance and the book he introduced me to, Live Life on Purpose were paramount to my decision to step into FaithQuest a year and half later.

I did many different things after my return from Sri Lanka and Indonesia. I even was in vocational ministry as a youth pastor for 15 Months; however, I couldn't avoid the burning desire for missions and global mobilization. The wide majority of sermons I prepared revolved around the Great Commission and the first person I connected with at my church was the Missions Chair. Whereas I have a love for youth and love being a positive influence for them, the core of my Spirit was pulling me into missions. I even married a woman who inspired me because she had to desire to become a Nurse so that she could eventually take those skills into the mission field. The Lord has been preparing me for this. My wife and I were at a point where we were ready to trust in the Lord's providence and therefore, we made the choice for me to step into full-time work with Faithquest missions.

And the rest is, well...in front of me. I can't wait to see what's next on the journey!