Emily’s Story
I grew up in the same house, same town, going to the same church, and around a lot of the same friends for all of my childhood. My world was pretty small.
In high school I attended a week-long camp in Pennsylvania with my youth group. At Wayumi my eyes were opened to God’s heart for the whole world. I heard stories at camp of real people, in real places around the world, that had no hope because they had never heard of Jesus. This tugged on my heart. I was especially impacted by a demonstration that was given while I was there that broadened my understanding of the many avenues of obeying the great commission; to “go and make disciples of all nations”. Before attending this camp I thought that to be a missionary you had to be the one on the front-lines of the mission field preaching and teaching. The understanding I came home from camp with was life changing: I could be a missionary to the lost through office work, school teaching, hospitality, nannying, building…or various other support roles. God wanted me to use the talents He specifically gave me to obey His mandate. I pondered what that might look like…
When I graduated high school I made the decision to go away to a Bible school in Michigan that had an emphasis on overseas missions. I was still unsure what I wanted to do as a missionary, but I knew if I wanted to be a missionary overseas I had to take the first big step outside of my comfort zone and move away. I learned so much devoting two years to studying the Bible as one big story.
When my two years as a student at the Bible school were up, I interned for a year at the Bible school running the campus guest house and working in the cafeteria. What I learned most from my hospitality internship was not so much that I’m passionate about running a guest house (although it was fun) but that I love doing work behind the scenes. I know that moving to Papua New Guinea will be an even greater leap outside of my comfort zone, but I am learning that as I continue to be stretched and allow God to use me, I am growing more in His likeness and in a desire to serve Him wholeheartedly. God has been preparing Andrew to be a teacher. God has been preparing me to support him and the school in whatever way I can.
Andrew’s Story
Hi! I’m Andrew. I’m a Missionary Kid. This has been my identity for years. I now get to say I am Andrew, a Missionary. But before we get to that I’d like to share a little bit about myself. I was born at the hospital across from the New Tribes Bible Institute in Jackson, MI to parents who were in the process of going through the training to be missionaries overseas, to take the gospel to some unknown people group half way across the world. I was born into the mission field and Missions has pretty much been my whole life. We moved to the field, Papua New Guinea, in January of 2003. My life has been a series of moves from moving multiple times in the US before going to the field and then numerous times while living overseas.
In high school, my family came to the states for their second home assignment since going to the field in 2003. I was not excited to be leaving the home that I knew, even though we moved a lot, Papua New Guinea (PNG) was my home, not the US. That year would turn out to be one of the most impactful years for me growing up however. During spring break that year, I took a week long work trip to a Christian camp in Tennesee where I would spend time working alongside other youths as well as learning more about God and myself. The theme that week was “God My Rock” and I really learned what it meant to trust God in every situation and to lean on Him as my foundation. I didn’t have to put my faith in my circumstances or the people around me or my friends, because I could put my faith in the Rock of our Salvation and He would be able to hold me.
When I graduated High School in 2016 I returned to the States with every intention of completing Bible School, college, and returning to PNG because I felt that was my home, that was where I belonged and I wanted to get back home as fast as was possible. I completed Bible School where I met Emily, we got married a year after we finished Bible School and I was now studying at Grand Valley State University. Through the four years of our marriage I have grown closer to God and have grown in an understanding of what it means to be a missionary. I now have a heart for the Gospel and want to be a part of what God is doing in PNG, building his next generation through the use of Ramu Valley Academy and I am excited that I get to be a part of the work of expanding the reach of the Gospel.
The Kids
Levi (left) loves his sister and tries to do everything that she does. Everything he touches goes into his mouth. He also loves his time in the bath.
Grace (right) loves her brother. Her favorite things to do are play board games and do anything that involves her imagination. Grace has enjoyed learning words in Tok Pisin, the trade language in Papua New Guinea.
