Brief testimony and support for my wife's mission trip

   I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior in 1979 and followed this with believer's baptism at West Hartsville Baptist Church in South Carolina. I was justified but I continually interrupted my sanctification by living my life for me. I eventually ended up in Berkeley, California. It was there that I met the lady who would become my wife. I am from small town South Carolina and she is from the city of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. I never dreamed that I would meet a Mongolian much less marry one. But I did.

   We were married in a civil ceremony and in a church but she was not a believer. We had our son a year later. She got desperately sick and my world was crumbling when I was informed that our son was sick too. I wanted to faint and give up hope. It was far more than I could handle. I did not faint or give up hope. Why? I was not alone. At that moment of distress, pain and fear I was comforted by Christ and reminded that He lived in me. I do not think that I had truly grasped his awesome power until that day and it continued for the long days of treatment. During this time, my wife also felt hopeless and when I was at work she was alone with our son. We had been attending church and she had heard the gospel preached and from me. On her own she was led by the Spirit to put her faith in Christ. She did and she was saved at that time. She was baptized later and now she is with me here in Wake Forest. We have both surrendered our lives to Jesus and seek to serve Him faithfully.

   Do I support her in the upcoming mission trip and her training at Southeastern? Yes, I do. Without her I would not be here. We lived in California with three kids and a move across the country was daunting. I delayed sharing with her what I felt was my call to seminary. When I did share, she did not hesitate in saying that she would follow me wherever the Lord leads us. We considered all six SBC seminaries but SEBTS was home. We feel led to the mission field wherever that might be for us. It could be Mongolia, Central Asia, Europe, California or somewhere else. The key is we will go and we will go together. We will go together as a couple, together as a family and together with Christ.