I grew up in a home and church where mission work was supported and encouraged.
From a young age I was fascinated by missionaries’ stories and I hoped that one day I would have
the courage to be obedient to the Lord and experience these ‘adventures’ of those who chose to
leave everything familiar behind. But I was very shy and frightened by new experiences and new
people, so I started to believe that God could not use me as a missionary. Around the
age of 16, I felt convicted that I was not giving God enough credit; if He wanted me to
do something specific, He could enable me and give me the courage to step out of my
comfortable world.
When I was 20, I went to Bible college in preparation for going overseas. While I was
there, my understanding of God and myself were transformed as I studied the
Scripture and at the same time, I was presented with many different overseas
opportunities and mission organizations. I decided to do a short-term stint overseas after hearing about a Canadian family who needed a homeschool teacher for their children. I didn’t know anything about the country where they served (Central Asia) nor about the organization that they served with, WEC, but I started the process of applying to WEC. Several months later, I flew overseas to join them, and after nine months, I knew that God was calling me back to work with that Central Asian people group in church planting and disciple making. After four years in Canada, I went through Candidate Orientation and was accepted in November
- In June 2020, I flew back to Central Asia to join the team. In the past two years I have spent significant
amounts of time outside the country. Visas are not easy to obtain and, with Covid restrictions, even more
difficult. I just returned to Central Asia last week happily reconnecting with friends and immersing myself in
language study.