Eli’s Story
I was born in Colorado, but my dad’s job moved my family all over until we ended up in Swanzey, New Hampshire. As I grew up in a Christian household, I heard God’s word and my parent’s testimonies. I also saw how my parents lived out their faith. Through these things, I remember hearing about our problem: sin. Everyone sins. From Adam on, we as humans are all separated from God. I got to hear of God’s solution: Jesus. Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross and ultimate resurrection paid the penalty that we all deserve. I understood that I had a sin issue and that it was only through faith in Christ that I could have my relationship with God restored. When I was a kid, I believed these things. But it wasn’t until I was fifteen that the rubber hit the road for my faith. I was on a mission’s trip to Haiti when my grandfather in the States was placed in the ICU. Normally, I would lean on family through those times. But without them there, and only a few people I knew with me, I got to a point where I just had to give it up to God. That night after praying, He gave me peace. This situation cemented my faith, and afterward I was baptized.
Our Christian life doesn’t end with salvation. We are called to maturity in Christ and that is what God has in His plan for every believer. After high school, I took a gap year and to serve in Ecuador alongside missionaries that had sparked my interest in missions when I was 8 years old. While I was there, I was able to see their ministry in planting a mature church among an indigenous people group. They had been there for over 20 years and had a group of believers, but they were set on seeing a mature church planted among them. The church was experiencing many hardships, yet I could see God’s faithfulness making these believers more into His Son’s image. This experience shaped me in many ways, including seeing that missions doesn’t end with salvation. It taught me how important it is to raise up a mature church. This is what I wanted to do and where I saw God leading me. It also showed me how God can use my skills to assist missionaries. This eventually led me to the goal of our family which is to serve church planters by easing their burden so that they are able to focus on the task of establishing a mature church among the least reached.
Martha’s Story
When I was a little girl, no older than three, in the nursery of a little country Baptist church in Brighton, CO, I remember hearing stories about Jesus in my Sunday School class. The stories of His life made me feel like I was making a best friend with Him. The first story I remember impacting me was about how Jesus loved the little children. The disciples turned the children away, and Jesus rebuked his disciples and said, “Let the little children come to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14, KJV) Then, he gathered the children in his arms and blessed them. I loved him so much for that! As a little child, I remember how important it was to me to feel listened to. This story meant that Jesus wanted to be with me! He was my HERO… but he was not my Savior yet.
The first time I heard about the crucifixion of Jesus, I came home brokenhearted and angry. I told my mom, “Those bad people killed Jesus!” Then my mom said something that shocked me. She said, “No, Martha… You killed Jesus.” It was for my sin that Jesus died. But to my young ears, it sounded like my mom was blaming me for actually physically killing Jesus. I didn’t live that long ago! I didn’t KILL Jesus! I left that conversation even more frustrated and angry. It wasn’t until later that I understood what she meant. I heard the Gospel many times over the course of a few years. I learned how Jesus died on the cross to set people free from the penalty of sin which is death, and anyone who believes in Him would have everlasting life. I thought Jesus was so kind and amazing. He gave his life so people could be forgiven of their sins. Jesus was my HERO… but He was not my Savior yet.
One Sunday evening, I was sitting at the dining room table with my big sister Miriam. She had an intense look on her face and she was staring right at me. She leaned over and asked, “Have you ever believed in Jesus for yourself?” I thought about it for a moment and that’s when it hit me. I had never placed my faith in Jesus to save ME. The weight of my sin bore down on my shoulders like cinder blocks. I knew that if I died, I was on my way to hell. I didn’t want to waste anytime. I could die any second. So, I went to my room alone, and knelt beside my bed and asked Jesus to forgive me and to be my Savior. And He was… From that moment on, he was not only my hero, He was also my Savior.
I was in the fifth grade when God began to capture my heart. I remember thinking about all He had done for me. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude. I felt I needed to give Him something but I didn’t know what to give. I knelt down in the dirt and scooped up a handful and lifted it up to heaven. I prayed, “Lord, I don’t have much to give you, but whatever I have is yours. You can take it.” That same year, one of my teachers asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I thought about that question. Later that day, I asked God what He wanted me to do. That is when I decided to become a missionary. I went home and packed a bag and set it by the doorway. I told God, “When you say go, I’ll go.”
As I grew up, I learned just about everything I could about missions and missionaries. I loved hearing about how God was moving and working in the world. I was ready to go whenever he called me. When I was in my early twenties, missionaries from Papua New Guinea presented their ministry to our church. I learned about the work that Ethnos360 does and started saving to go to their Bible school and training center. I arrived there two years later.
Together
God has taught us so much along our journey toward missions. We’ve realized that God cares about bringing us to maturity as much as he does the nations. We met in Waukesha, WI at Ethnos360 Bible Institute. God gave us a focus on really getting to know Him while we were there. We learned and grew, feasting on the Word of God together. It was one of the sweetest times of fellowship with the Lord and with each other.
After Bible school, we got married. We spent three years in New Hampshire starting our family before we continued with the training that Ethnos 360 provides. God had more to teach our hearts before we were ready to go. We were only planning on taking one gap year between the Bible school and the training center. One year turned into three. We had to ask ourselves some hard questions through all the delays and took an honest look at our lives. At this point, we had been sure that we would be tribal church planters. But God is in the details, working things together for our good and for His glory. This delay opened our hearts to whatever God would have us do and set us up well for what God was going to show us while we were at the training center.
During our time at Ethnos360 Training Center, we clearly saw our strengths, weaknesses and how we function together as a team. We realized we were suited well for support work on the field and began shaping a new vision for our family around the gifts that God had given us. Since Eli’s background is in IT, we focused on the needs that different fields had for IT workers. With how prevalent computers are and how critical maintaining systems can be, we found it was a huge need in most fields. We also wanted to serve on a field that we felt we could both serve together. Martha is an encourager and wanted to use this on the field somewhere. We heard about the need for support workers in Papua New Guinea, and through prayer and godly counsel, we decided to pursue serving there. We are currently en route to Papua New Guinea, and hope to join the support team there in 2025.
