Peru, Here We Come!

As some of you know, a little over 4 years ago we received a call to go as missionaries with Peru Projects, a mission based in Pucallpa, Peru. We spent many hours in prayer and discussion, after which we felt God was telling us "not now". We knew that He was leading and believed that Bismarck, North Dakota, was where we were supposed to be. We still had a desire to do overseas missions, but didn't believe that was a step that He wanted us to take at that time.  Brad continued to gain experience at his job, working on airplanes. About 2 years into our time here in Bismarck, Brad's work sent him to King Air school. This allowed him to be a more specialized mechanic on that particular aircraft. With this schooling also came an obligatory contract with the company for three years. 

Recently we noticed that we were beginning to feel restless. We started talking and praying that the Lord would show us what we were supposed to be doing. We just couldn't shake the impression that we had something we were supposed to be working towards. But was that a mission in the United States or was it a mission in a different country?

In January we relocated to a different apartment. Brad's brother came to live with us for a while and we needed a bigger place for us all to live. In the process of this move the management company changed our lease, and it was now going to finish in February 2021, instead of May 2021. This was a little frustrating at the time, but we didn't realize how much this was part of God's plan.  

COVID hit and .... We began to feel the impression more and more that God had something for us to do. We began to talk and that long-ago phone call came up. Neither of us had forgotten the call to Peru. Was this what God was leading us to? How could we find out? How do you know if God is calling you to do something? I wanted a bolt of lightning or a neon flashing sign telling us what to do, however that isn't always what God does. Brad wanted to reach out to Eben (the friend that had called us before) and just see if our coming to work with them in Peru was even still an option. I struggled, I wasn't sure if we were supposed to go searching, or if God would just have someone call us as before. Brad reminded me that God had already had someone call us out of the blue, and we never felt God had completely shut that door. Maybe He had propped it open, allowing us to enter through it when we were ready. That gave us both food for thought.

We finally decided to reach out to Eben and leave it in God's hands. We sent a message and waited, and waited, and waited. It began to get a little discouraging. Then we got a reply (Eben is swamped and we were using a means of communication that he doesn't check very often)! Eben and Brad arranged a phone call and the three of us were able to talk. Apprehension, excitement, and a feeling of "is this it" surrounded that phone call. Eben assured us that the call was most definitely still there, and that it would be an answer to prayer if we came.  When the call ended, we just looked at each other with grins on our faces and butterflies in our stomachs. Was this it? Was this Gods' calling? The thing we had been looking for? 

There were many questions, tears, and "Are we crazy for even thinking about this?", moments. We looked at time lines and our obligations here in the United States. This is when we began to realize that Brad's contract would be up the same time as the lease on our apartment. These were the two big items we had to work out. 

On a trip to a friend's wedding, we realized it was time, we had to make a final decision.  We both knew what the answer was going to be, but for some reason it was so hard to say out loud. Leaving family and friends behind is a very difficult decision, especially for me, So, on our drive back from the wedding, we did it, with tears and awe. We said YES! We are going to Peru! Only God knows what all is going to happen between now and our leaving (especially with COVID), but we are trusting in Him as we make our plans as missionaries to join with Peru Projects. 

We ask for your prayers as we move forward in this direction. 

Look for future posts, for updates on our adventures, and on our departure timeline.