The Question

How long have you wanted to be a Missionary?

I have gotten a similar question like this a couple times recently. I really had to think about it. It was not over night that Brian and I decided to move to Mexico. It was many baby steps that brought us to this point. Brian’s journey is much different, but I’ll share mine.

When I was around 11 years old I saw a news special on Albania and the first video of this previously closed communist country. I had never heard of this country before, but I was so touched and distraught about the conditions of many of the orphans. This is the first time I ever remember having a desire to leave this country. I never traveled much growing up and this continued to fuel my desire to travel.

When I was 20 years old I was at a crossroads. I was losing my job and I was still on the waiting list to Moody. I had a missionary family I knew contact me and asked if I could come and stay with them for a month. When I lost my job that's exactly what I did. A first hand chance to see missions up close for an entire month. While there, I was fascinated that the kids on this island were trilingual.

After that month I was planning on working at an inner city camp for the summer with a mission I had been volunteering. Then after that I was in contact with another missionary family in Africa. They had asked if I didn’t get accept in Moody if I would come with them to Africa and start up some camps. There on the table was my decision. I would either go to Moody if I finally got in or go to Africa. While I was in Bonaire I got accepted to Moody. And was headed up to Chicago after a summer at inner-city camp.

I came home and the next day I left for Camp Hunt where I met Brian. We were engaged by the end of the summer and married the next summer. I went to Moody up in Chicago and my eyes were constantly being open to new things. I was involved in a ministry there called ISI (International Student Inc.). I was paired up with an international student as a conversational English partner. I absolutely loved getting to know each international student I had and was amazed at the many conversations that were opened up to share about what I believe with each one. One even brought me to a large church for an Easter explanation and then asked me questions on the ride home.

After Brian and I got married a year latter we were expecting our first and needed to move out of Married housing at Moody. We ended up moving into a Spanish speaking neighborhood. Ever since Brian and I have been married, every where we have lived, we have always had neighbors whose first language is Spanish. Naturally I thought it would be important if my kids learned Spanish. I thought it’s ridiculous how our education system is set up that we don’t study language until at the earliest Jr. High and for me not until High school. It didn’t really make a whole lot of sense. I decided I wanted my kids to learn when they were young. Since then, I have always wanted to serve in a Spanish speaking country. (Although it was a toss up, because I really enjoyed the Asian internationals I have gotten to know.)

I'm sure there is more of these little steps, but those are the main ones that lead me to decide to move to Mexico and become a "missionary". Obviously there is another story to be told, but I'll leave that one for my husband to tell.