Every since I was a little girl, I listened to missionary stories and heard missionaries speak at our church. I remembering sitting in awe and wonder at these giants of the faith who gave up everything to go to the jungles of distant lands. It seemed like a fairy tale and I knew I could never do that.
When the Lord starting impressing upon my heart a desire for missions and a passion for the lost, I just figured that there were lots of lost people in the US and I could do everything He wanted me to do right here in my comfort zone. But, as He began to work in me, I realized this was not His plan, but mine. So, I thought I would see what God had for me. In the summer of 2000, I went to Papua New Guinea on a missions trip called INTERFACE, a short term trip with New Tribes Mission’s Destination Summit. INTERFACE is a college level introductory course to missions and it greatly challenged my walk with the Lord and gave me a first hand glimpse at what really goes on in overseas mission works. I believe that it was then that the Lord officially "called" me to missions. But there was still one thing holding me back.
I have the most awesome family in the world and they are my best friends. We are all very, very close and have always done everything together. The thought of leaving them and moving to a distant corner of the globe absolutely terrified me. At INTERFACE, there was this really awesome single lady named Lisa Kappeler. As I was visiting with her about this, she shared something with me that I have thought about every day since. She said, "Candy, you have to hold every relationship with an open hand. Because, if the Lord decides to take that relationship away from you, He won’t have to pry your fingers from around it. If you are holding anything tightly in your fist, it makes it much more painful when you have to give it up."
I was blessed just this past weekend to see Lisa Kappeler again after almost 7 years and thank her for the encouragement she gave me and how God used her to get me where I am today.
Every day, I struggle with missing my family and every day I remind myself of the goodness of the Lord and how I blessed I am to have such a godly family. Every day, I think about how the most important thing is to glorify God with my life and how He does everything for my good. I try not to look at it as being removed from my family, but as an extension of my family. The Lord has been so faithful to give me the strength I need just to make it through each day and trust Him with every detail.
Thank you for your prayers and support of our family and our ministry as we train to expand the reach of the Gospel!
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