Someone said, “God is more concerned about our character than He is about our comfort.” Serving builds character through interesting twists and turns. We laugh, cry, work and play. We trust that the Director of our life sees the whole picture from His perspective.

Our life in a foreign country often seems like a fairy tale. It has faraway lands, castles, emotions of every kind and, yes, even romance. In 1993 we began as two single adults in Belarus. We worked there for nine months. Until two weeks before our scheduled return to the States, neither of us would admit any interest in the other. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” We did not realize “all these things” would be each other.

On our last evening we were out in the city. We were finishing preparations for our travel home. God worked it all out in that one evening. Dating is not an option on the mission field. There had not even been talk of our “relationship.” He held my hand for the first time, kissed me, and asked me to marry him, all in the same night.

I had committed to going anywhere he went. Belarus was not quite what I had in mind for an extended honeymoon. We were married on July 23rd. In August we moved to our first home, Mogilev, Belarus. Someone had asked us to begin a new work there. We were in our early twenties. It did not matter to us. We were so excited to be there, and to be with each other.

We poured ourselves into everything: Sunday school, services, Bible studies, whatever else we could do. We prayed and fasted, both by choice and because we ran short of money. God blessed the efforts of the team in that city. Tests and trials came. Culture shock and sickness added to the challenge of being newly married. We lived in an area saturated by Chornobyl radiation. We learned to pray over our food.

God has an incredible sense of humor. Laughter is a must. I could tell story after story. We spent 24 hours in an airport because “the planes didn’t have enough fuel.” We lost our way our very first night in Minsk, Belarus, hunting for a landmark where everything looked the same. Two “small” fold-out couches were shared with four other girls. We asked a neighbor who spoke no English to lend us their shower because ours wouldn’t drain after we baptized six people. There were mice and roaches. I was six months expecting our first baby and pushing a car.

One word puts it all in perspective: flexibility. A foreign country shows you your weaknesses so you can strengthen them. It also shows talents you never realized you had.

In 2005, after ten years in the wonderful state of Louisiana, two handsome young men had joined our lives (our sons, Taylor, nine, and Tyler, five). We felt our lives being bent in a new direction. Bending demands flexibility. Flexibility requires stretching. Stretching brings discomfort. Leaving home, family and friends is never easy, especially with children. We had the assurance God is in control. We stepped out by faith on a promise: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

We knew firsthand the difficulty of a new language, a new culture and a new life. We prepared our children as well as ourselves. We told them from the beginning, “When God calls us, He called you, too.” This is a family ministry. That makes the tough times easier. We filter each day with the belief God has “brought us here for such a time as this.”

More often than not we hear the stories of lives being changed. Then the struggle, fear, loneliness and confusion of beginning again in a foreign land seem to be erased. It is like bearing a child. Once the child is placed in our arms, love helps us forget the sickness, the worry and the pains of labor. The rewards are so great the cost is forgotten. For us, this life is His Life in us. We are grateful for the opportunity.

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