Holly's Story
I gave my heart to the Lord as a child with what I thought was a complete understanding of what He had done for me. I understood that there was a price for my sin that needed to be paid, and He paid it. I understood that He created me and loved me as His child. I knew all of the Bible stories, attended all the youth camps, and went on to pursue a bachelor's degree in Missions to begin to live out the calling to the mission field that I knew God had placed on my heart. All of these experiences were meaningful and helped shape me in important ways. I was surrounded by people that loved me and pointed me to Jesus daily. Why then did I wear my shame and past wounds like they were my clothing? There was an important part of the character of God that I didn't understand; a part that I was blind to because I was viewing God through the superficial lens of my own pain, not as the perfect Father He actually is.
At 32 years old, I finally let my guard down enough to receive a powerful revelation of the heart of the Father. I was sitting in church one day and one of my pastors said the words, "God has never been disappointed in you". I'm not sure if no one had ever said those words to me before, or if I had just never listened, but those words began deconstructing all of the walls that I had been building for years. What I thought was protecting me from hurt and humiliation was really only hardening my heart. In that moment, I understood that God is a Father worthy of my trust. He didn't love me from a place of obligation, but a place of pure, unconditional, relentless love. He had broken my chains years before when I gave my life to Him as a child, but that day I realized that I had been willingly sitting in my own darkness because I didn't feel worthy of such powerful grace. The way out of that darkness was simply to love Him and let Him love me. Now, what a sweet opportunity He has given my family and I to testify of His goodness! l am excited to surrender daily to the burning in my heart to share the love of the Father in the hopes that religion and striving would be laid down for a deep, meaningful relationship with the Creator Himself.
Justin's Story
Like my wife, I grew up in church. I dedicated my life to Jesus at the age of 9. My summers were filled with Vacation Bible Schools, mission trips, and summer camps. I knew God was a loving God who made a way to pay for my sin and understood that He asked believers to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. I joined the military in 2009, 2 years after high school, and deployed to Afghanistan. There my faith and Identity were challenged and changed. I felt a lack of purpose and lost perspective of who I was. The fog of war had changed my view of the world and I allowed it to change my ability to love others well. When we left the military and returned home, we found a new church home, after being out of church for a long time. With great leadership and guidance, and more importantly love and grace from God and my wife, my faith and identity were restored. In 2019, we went on our first trip to Zambia with Overland Missions. It was life-changing and we fell in love with missions in remote areas. We decided to do AMT (Advanced Missions Training) in 2021 to prepare for life as a family on the mission field. There, our calling to full-time missions was solidified. Now we are on staff with Overland Missions and building an army of partners to walk hand-in-hand with us as we serve in the Western Province of Zambia.
