Jon
I accepted Christ as my savior at a young age. My parents were on staff at Faith Baptist Church in Florida at the time. I remember praying with my dad up front in the auditorium. I knew I was a sinner, and that Jesus was the only one that could save me from my sins so that I could go to Heaven. I also knew I was called to full time ministry when I was a young boy. As I grew older, I decided that maybe my surrender to ministry and missionary work could look differently than I first thought. Maybe I could meld God’s plan with my own plan as a professional soccer player. I had all but made up my mind which Christian college I wanted to study at that would help me accomplish my athletic goals. However, while my family was in Springfield, Missouri, my parents told me I should walk around the Baptist Bible College campus and pray, truly seeking God’s will for my life and my college choice. I walked around the BBC campus, I prayed, and my heart was stirred as I was reminded of my previous surrender to full time ministry and missions abroad. As I started classes at BBC, I knew for certain God wanted me to be a missionary, but I did not know where. In 2007 I decided to visit my family in Chile for the summer. It was an incredible 6 weeks. Little did I know that God would use that trip to plant the burden for the Chilean people in my heart.
Olivia
I was blessed to have been raised in a Christian home. My family joined Cherry Street Baptist Church when I was two years old. I was six years old when I asked my mom how I could be saved and go to heaven. My mom led me to the Lord that day, and I was baptized a year later. However, when I was a little older, a traumatic event rocked me off my spiritual foundation. While I had no doubts about my salvation, I deeply questioned the character of God and started down a painful road of depression, self-harm, and substance abuse. It was an extremely dark time in my life of actively rejecting God because I believed that He didn’t want me anymore. One morning when I was sixteen, my mom came into my room and asked me why I was rejecting God. I told her I did not believe He could love me after all the bad things I had done. Through tears, my mom showed me Romans 8:35-39, she turned to Isaiah 49:15-16, and the book of Hosea. The Holy Spirit softened my heart of stone, and God showed me through His word the unchanging nature of His lovingkindness. I turned back to God that morning, confessed my sins and unbelief, and rededicated my heart to Him. A few weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. God’s love sustained me through my drug rehab program, having a baby while still in high school, and healing from my shame. I have a deep desire to help other young girls and women see the love of God and realize their identity in Him. God stirred up my soul for this country and implanted a love for Chile in my heart, so I can help teach the women and children about His redemptive love.
