It’s been a long road to get where we are. This page is mostly to boast about all the things God did to bring us to this place and how HE has provided both directly and through His people for us to be able to answer His calling in our lives. No better place to start than the beginning, I suppose.
I was surprised when Sierra was interested in dating. To me, she had been a background friend of my brother’s wife. She was seemingly always busy with a mission trip and then school. I knew pretty early into the relationship that I needed to decide if I wanted to pursue her or not. It was when I realized that I loved her enough to never want to hurt her in any way that I had my answer, and I never looked back.
Sierra and I got married on August 31st, 2019. Leading up to God bringing us together, He first brought us both to a place of surrendering what we each thought about who we should be with. Jesus had personally also brought me down a long road of returning to Him, and Him starting to chip away at strongholds in my life that NEEDED to be removed for me to even be ready for marriage.
Shortly after getting married, the Lord started His grand work in my heart to show me His heart for the nations in a 2 week mission trip to Brazil. We helped several churches and the town restore a school. I met many people there and saw how they lived, and I was thankful for the opportunity to be a part of what God was doing there. Near the middle of the trip, we took a hike up a mountain to look down from a vista with a huge concrete cross in the middle of it. It left an impact on me that’s honestly hard to describe.
Minnesota wasn’t for us, though; it’s too cold and gray most of the year. So, after careful consideration, we settled on moving to Texas. God did so much for our family in Texas, but to start things off, He helped us end up where He wanted us. Ultimately, God wanted us to end up at Grace Community Church, to bring us around to following His calling. So, the following “coincidences” happened.
We were going to buy a house but kept running into issues at the inspection phase.
We were going to rent in Flower Mound to go to the Village Church, but nothing was available.
We missed out on a great house in Arlington – the one the Lord wanted us in – or so we thought.
The next day, the landlord calls us back and tells us that the previous couple forfeited their deposit on the property and backed out.
COVID shuts the doors of most churches, but one day, we hear about the next neighbor down and that their church was still open despite COVID.
We attended the following Sunday and ended up as members not long afterward.
The following 3 years, God built up our Family. At first, we had infertility issues, but I water fasted for 7 days and prayed for the Lord to change all that, and He did. During this 3 year block, we also got acquainted with the Church’s Launch program preparing to be sent, trying and failing at real estate, but also learning a lot, and growing spiritually.
In 2023, after taking Perspectives and the Launch class TWICE, the Lord brought us to a place we weren’t sure we’d end up at. By this time, Sierra had fallen in love with helping women have babies and was working on the side as a Doula. We had 2 kids, but had been talking about the seed that God had planted through perspectives and launch, and found ourselves at a very unique missions conference called YGMC.
It was here that the Lord first introduced us to New Life International School of Midwifery and, ultimately, Mercy Maternity Center. At this conference, Sierra found this program where you could both become a midwife, something she had been lamenting ever since going down the Doula path, while also serving impoverished women within a program designed to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God.
In 2023, in response to Perspectives, we raised funds to go on a short-term mission trip to Madagascar. A few weeks before the trip, pregnancy complications with the leading couple caused us to cancel the entire thing, refunding most of the money raised to be used at some future date. In April and May of 2024, we used those funds to go to the Philippines. This was to be our vision trip as a family to see if we felt this was the direction God was truly leading our family and if we were ready to walk this road or not.
The trip broke down into 3 parts: Visiting Manilla to attend a replay of the conference that led us down this path in the first place. YGMC but in Asia. Then, we took a 4-day trip to the Agta tribe, where Tom Headland had translated the New Testament for many years before us, and finally spent a month in Davao City to learn about Mercy Maternity Center and what God might have for me there.
It was during the trip that I (Chris) learned about Faith International Academy (FIA) Davao and how they had been praying for 2 years for an IT Administrator. The Maternity Center was also in need of a resource to expand its technology and move forward. Over the past years, God had been uniquely preparing me to fill all the needs of these 2 incredible organizations and to grow me even more in my Faith and walk with Him.
When we returned from the Vision trip, we knew what was next. Our lease was almost up with the current place we were renting, providing a unique opportunity to go without hesitation. The Lord was calling, so we had a month to get rid of everything.
A close friend told us that DIU offered furnished housing for families taking classes there. After asking about that, Sierra settled on taking 2 classes that would improve her ability to learn a language and that would run us up to our target leave date of mid-January. There was one very large looming issue though if I (Chris) was going to serve at FIA and Mercy. We needed to be supported, or I would be forced to try and work remotely to pay for us to live over the next 3 years. We had already decided we were all-in on this following Jesus to the ends of the earth thing, so we decided on fundraising.
We worked on our budget and, after several revisions, decided on a budget. We sat down with many couples in both Minnesota and Texas and, over the next 7 months, found ourselves 75% funded and with an offer to have the entirety of the schooling fees for Sierra completely paid for. The remainder would be covered by Chris working, but only for 2 hours on weeknights for the foreseeable future.
Via some unexpected donations, the proceeds from the sale, and many other things that the Lord lined up, we were ready to go. Things went back and forth with jobs for Chris. The Lord set us up with different opportunities to prepare to leave, and before long, we were ready. As the day approached to leave, commitments turned into actual monthly donors, and the 75% funding came in when we needed it.
Since arriving, God has continued to work in the following ways:
He provided a better solution for watching the kids via a trusted house helper from another missionary.
He has provided a speed therapist for Joshua to help catch him up.
He gave us the idea to get an eBike to get around for less when it makes sense to use one (more than you’d think).
He provided a much cheaper vehicle than what we had planned on originally that was well-maintained and more than met our needs.
We had the opportunity to bless the house helper and her friends and family on a recent birthday.
Things are going very well with Chris’s side work, and it looks like there will be a continued need for him in the future.
Zoey has asked Jesus to save her and open the door into heaven for her!
There are challenges to living overseas, and I have left many things out, but God continues to be faithful and bigger than any obstacle that has or will ever surface. We give thanks to our Lord Jesus for saving us and guiding us in the process of growing in our faith walk with Him so far. Please pray for us, our family, and the organizations we serve in as we grow for the next 3 years and prepare for whatever comes afterward.