Joy's Testimony

Some of you may know that I grew up going to Grace Bible Church in Elmhurst.  My heart for missions began there.  I can remember anticipating missions week every year and being in total awe of the missionaries that came to speak.  I loved to hear about how God was using them.

Recently Christ has taken me down the path of becoming a missionary in Haiti.  Christ has walked along side me every step of the way in making this decision with my family. 

From the moment we began to consider the possibility of being part of a team of missionaries in Fort Liberté to our actual decision to go took approximately 8 months.  So, this decision did not come lightly.  There was a lot of prayer and teaching from the Lord, that brought us to this point.  I have no doubt this is where He is leading us.

Even though I have always been sensitive towards missions the Lord had a lot of teaching and molding to do in my life before I heeded His call to go.  Deep down I knew He was leading us to Haiti, however I had some concerns as to why I couldn’t make the actual decision to go.

My human mind couldn’t grasp the Spirit revealing to me that my excuses or concerns were worldly, made up, ideas that society has created.  For instance, we find our stability in our jobs, our community, our homes, our finances, our safety, etc.  But really, the Lord is the one who is allowing us to stay where we are in these areas and its solely by His grace.  At anytime, our jobs can be lost, our homes can be lost, and our finances found in disarray.

We tend to forget the Lord is sovereign over every aspect of our life.  So true stability is solely in Christ.

From a Godly standpoint, these excuses or concerns I had did not inline with Christ being completely sovereign over all.  I knew I had to be wise and discerning with this decision, so I needed the Lord every step of the way.   If I am digging my toes in the ground, knowing where I am to be, yet refusing because of my comfortable, “stable”, safe life, I will not feel peace.  Romans 8:6 says, “The mind set on the flesh is death, the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.”  As we speak, I feel great peace from the Lord.  And have truly come to understand the meaning of stability.

I later visited Haiti to have some of my questions answered.  Safety was one big concern I had and the other was the culture and environment.  Could I handle these?  My questions were answered within the 3rd or 4th day of visiting.  Fort Liberté is quite safe and welcoming to foreigners.  And with an adjustment period, I feel, we can handle the life there.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t dangers, however, I have to remind myself that I am inline with the Lord’s will for us and I do not want to be anywhere else.

After the Lord spent some time working in me, I could wisely decide this would be the path for our family.  I have never been closer to the Lord than I am today and it is because He has been teaching and guiding me every step of the way in this process.  Does this mean fears don’t creep up?  No It means I go to the Lord with my concern and wait for His response and as I read and study His word, pray, and seek wise counsel from others I know He will answer.

I am excited to go.  I look forward to ministry in Haiti.  When I visited Haiti and met with the Haitian people I felt, “in my element”, as though I was born to do this.  One thing I hope to do in Forte Liberte is find Deaf Haitians.  As some of you know I went to school to be an Interpeter for Deaf people, so I hope to be used in this area there.

I do pray, everyday for my kids.  I know there will be some difficult transitional moments for them as well as us and that is why we need believers in Christ to come alongside our family and be committed to praying for us.  As we all know, it is easy to set our minds on this life instead of Christ.  This is my biggest fear, losing sight of Christ through difficult times.  So, I welcome your prayer for us because it is most needed!