Becca's perspective

Have you ever heard the phrase, “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called”? Over the next year, our family will go through a lot of equipping- a scouting trip, passports, fundraising and many, many prayers. Fall of 2013 my husband, Brad, took his first mission trip Zone 18 of Guatemala City, Guatemala. He witnessed poverty-stricken families who, only through God’s grace, maintained a sense of joy unlike anything he had ever seen. He fell in love with children who didn’t speak his language but somehow could feel that he loved them. He returned with 3 important things- a broken heart, a new name (”Oso”), and a new calling on his life. Brad came back from Guatemala as an international missionary. To call us international missionaries almost seems laughable. Me? Travel to a foreign place, leave my children (or take them!) for an extended period of time? Ha! Several months after Brad’s first trip, he told me God wanted us to go to serve in Guatemala as a family, for an extended period. I heard that and I thought he had lost his mind! Over the next months, however, God did a work in my heart. One morning in church, my dear friend Jacqi led our congregation in a song called “Oceans”. The song references the story in the Bible of Peter walking on the water. It’s my favorite worship song. Even now I’m crying just revisiting the lyrics in my head. Singing that song that day had a new meaning to me. I was already tearing up when the chorus came: “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Savior.” As I sang those lines, I heard God’s voice questioning me. “Do you really desire for me to lead you where your trust is without borders? Will you walk on any waters I lead you to? Do you desire to go deeper with me? Will you let your feet wander?” In that moment, my heart was broken. I recalled a verse from Psalm 51: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me”. I went back to the day I dedicated my life to the Lord, and I reminisced about the moments I promised Him I would do anything for Him. It was then, I realized that for years the borders of my trust had laid hand in hand with the borders of my comfort zone- the borders of Alpharetta, GA. I realized that God was calling me to break those borders, fly across waters, and let my feet wander down a new and, to be honest, frightening path. As the song says “there I find You in the mystery”. I now know that God is bringing my family on a journey to meet him in Guatemala and get to know a new side of Him we won’t be able to see if we didn’t answer His call. In March of 2015, Brad led a group of adults on mission to Hope for Guatemala. In July we will both fly to Guatemala to serve the children and workers at the ministry. This will be a scouting trip for me, as I have never been to Guatemala before. While we’re there, we’ll work on various projects around the ministry center, serve the leaders and staff of the ministry, and love on over 200 kids! Brad and I have talked many times about what’s next after July 2015. Could we spend a year there? Could we spend 5 years there? Would Brad quit his job and leave that security behind? Are we meant to stay here in the states but lead mission trips out of Stonecreek? At this point, I honestly don’t know. All I know is that we’re earnestly seeking God’s voice in all we do. And when He calls… we will go. Our trust is without borders and we’re ready to be led deeper. Thank you for partnering with us.