Why Go So Far?

Why Africa? (part 1)

That is a question we have asked ourselves many times!  Yes, it is a little crazy, but that is part of why we are so sure.  It is not something that we would have decided on our own.  Not something we had planned on.  God had to change our hearts and attitudes before we were willing to consider this possibility.  

He really started the process of change in me (Jen) back in the spring of 2007.  Daniel and I had been praying for the revival services that were coming up and hoping to see a renewal in our church.  We were praying and Daniel felt that he had the farm before God.  We were living on his great grandfathers land and in the over 100 year old house.  To say that he has deep ties to the area and the farm in particular is a woeful understatement.  When I saw my husband turn and get on his knees and tell God he would no longer put that before Him I knew, in my heart, that could change the course of our lives.  I had no idea how but I was sure that it was a significant event in our Christian walk.  

We had our revival services with Glenn Walker from Hands on Missions and it had a powerful impact on us.  Shortly after that, our church was a part of the On Missions Celebration and we were blessed to enjoy speakers from all over the globe.  God used that spring to soften my heart toward foreign missions and helped me to realize that missionaries were just normal Christians with a heart for sharing their faith in foreign lands.  

During this time we felt that God was going to use us in some way as missionaries in the future but we didn't see how it would work and figured it may be at retirement or after the kids got through college.  We started seeking short term opportunities and looking for a church that had an outward focus. We felt we should GO but did not know when or how......