Leadership
A Year With Feed the Need Missions: Sean’s Story
It’s hard to believe that it has been one year since our big family move to Texas. Moves can generate all sorts of emotions, from fears of the unknown to the joys of new adventures. Most importantly, thought, change can generate tremendous outcomes when you put Jesus at your center of your life.
This move first became real as we initially crossed the state line of Texas in August of last year. The joy and cheers quickly turned into shock when we realized we were still almost 9 hours from our new home in Elgin. As we traveled southeast, dreams of outdoor adventures, family memories and new chances to share about Jesus echoed in the cab of our truck. Before we knew it, we landed at our new home. The house we bought had been vacant (from humans) for six months. It was then we realized just how different Texas was then the west coast. In true Texas form (and in case you did not know) everything IS bigger here… including the spiders! As we stood laughing and crying, we knew this season was going to bring some incredible memories!
What do you do when you are faced with overwhelming change? We discovered this year that the recipe of guided change, mixed with blanketed trust, sprinkled with the confidence found in Jesus leads to life altering impact. Within two weeks of my arrival, I found myself on stage at the 2021 Gala, challenging people to risk themselves to serve others as Jesus served us. As it turns out, that message was not just for those in attendance that night but for my family as well. We have chosen to live it out all year… and what a year it has been!
This year, I asked the Lord to do far beyond what I could ever hope or imagine. As a result, we have seen wonderful answers to prayer! There has been a significant shift in staffing. Almost 40% of our team is new to the mission. This has allowed us to focus on relationships in new and deep ways. As we continued to pray for direct field ministry growth, we are praying for two new locations for 2023. This would not be possible without the staffing additions.
In May, my family and I took over as Site Coordinators for the Smithville location. I have personally prayed with 11 people as they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This, combined with the work that has been done at our other sites, has led to over 40 people responding to the hope found in Jesus this year!
I have watched my daughter Shayla turn 16 and son Asher turn 14. Shayla has gained continual confidence in sharing her faith. When asked, many of the guests that attend Smithville are more concerned about talking with and receiving prayer from my daughter than anyone else. My son could have chosen to do anything for his birthday but instead wanted to celebrate his day with those at the site. He would has said multiple times it feels like family.
In just one year, I have prayed for new volunteers, prayed with guests who lost loved ones, cooked 1000’s of hotdogs and hamburgers, built new site trailers. I have laughed, cried, led worship and preached the gospel. And in all this time, I have been amazed by the change that only comes from the Lord.
Will you take the time to experience part of this change with me? Come on out and see what Jesus is doing, for it is perfect. I can promise this, that when you put your trust in His plan, your life will be changed for eternity!
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!