About Us"So, where are y'all originally from?"
"I'm from Georgia, and Derek is from Pennsylvania." "Oh okay. So did you meet in college?" "Nope. We met in Mexico." "Oh. [pause] Were you on Spring Break?" This is a typical introduction for us. In fact, we met in Mexico City while Derek was teaching at an international school and I was on a three-month mission trip. From the beginning of our relationship, we knew missions was going to play a big part. After marrying in December 2009, we've had a "check-in" conversation each year to determine if now was the right time to move forward with mission work. Though we wanted to be on the mission field a lot sooner than 2017, we look back and recognize God's sovereignty in making us wait on His timing. And we now totally see the wisdom that most mission agencies have in making newlyweds wait a minimum of one full year of marriage before moving forward. We've grown a lot in the past six years. So after finishing two Master's Degrees, gaining some experience as middle school teachers, learning more about serving the church, and having our first baby, God began making it clear to both of us in fall 2014 that now was the time. During one of our annual "check-in" conversations, we both just knew it was the right time. We each had individual reasons that the Lord was showing us, and when we came together and were on the same page, we knew it was right. So began the process... Applications. Tests. Interviews. Searching for the right "field." A site visit to Romania. Evaluations. Training. A review by the MTW Board. And now we're here, ready to start our support raising so that we can get to Romania! We both love Jesus, but we often really suck at showing that. So we don't always understand why He wants to let us tell others about Him. But we're so glad - and privileged - that He's willing to use us. We love working with students, leading and learning through Bible studies, having lots of people in our home, meeting people from other cultures, traveling, cooking, and watching movies. But we're most passionate about helping others become more confident Christians by engaging their intellectual doubts about the faith. Because Jesus is the truth - not in the "it's true for me, but maybe not for you" sense. He's like actually the truth. We're convinced of this - both spiritually and intellectually. And we love talking to others about this and learning from them, too. |
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The Transilvania Center for Leadership and Development is a Romanian-American partnership that is committed to training leaders within an ethically Christian context.
We use a holistic model that focuses on three characteristics of a good leader: Knowing - Emphasis on knowledge. Doing - Emphasis on experience. Being - Emphasis on character. Click the logo above to find out more about TCLD> |
VISION:
The Gospel of the Kingdom advancing throughout the world. MISSION: Making disciples among all nations. VALUES:
Click the logo above to find out more about MTW> |
To be continued...
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