I am suprised by the amount of people who haven't heard our story so we are putting here out for everyones eyes.
Leah's Story
I am newly 25 years old. Jesus rescued me when I was 15 years old, ten years ago! I was raised in a religiously open home but I always felt superior to Christians, smarter, and less foolish. Things in my life started to unravel; parents started drinking more and more. Fights grew more frequent and louder.
I started sinking into depression, hide in the basement and watched T.V. Things peaked and they divorced. I lived with my mom and in a constant state of stress. I knew the writing on the wall, that we were running out of money and she wasn't working. I started to hate my life, I was trying to survive to 18. One night it was too much, I had enough. I couldn't come up with one good reason to keep this life up. I had thought of suicide, but never seriously. I just wanted out so bad. I lost it; I knew something was not right in my life. I read something in the bible at that moment (what I don't remember). I told God I NEEDED Him; I believed in HIM, I was ashamed that I didn't before. I will never forget the peace that came over me, that peace for HIM. It was what I was missing.
Things did not get better in circumstance, in fact it got worse. When I went back to school that Fall I knew some Christians, told them I was saved. Where I picked up the lingo I don't know. I was invited to come to a bible study that was held at the school by the students (if you’re from that group, love you, you changed my life). A few months later started attending Faith Baptist Church. I met Heather an elementary school friend. I ended up moving in with her family senior year of high school. They took me in, Connie a single mother of 4 allowed me to come and live with them for free. I worked and tried to look after myself.
Senior year we had a missionary come and speak about trusting God and sharing the good news. I really felt the Holy Spirit just pulling me towards that. However I became discouraged and fear took over, I wanted so badly to become wealthy and provide for myself. I was dreaming of becoming an artist, and having the good life. I can only explain it as terror at the idea of not being able to support myself, and the amount of sacrifice I was going to commit to doing such a thing. I think I spent a few good months being very torn over the idea. I was part of a drama team that did small skits and little dances to worship songs. We did some skits at a banquet fund raiser for Prison Ministry group. Teri our group leader asked me to go up and share what God has been doing in my life. I had no practice or prepared item. I shared how the Word of God was working in my life from Matthew 6:25, it was written on the back of my notebook, because I struggled about worrying and trying to remind myself daily that God took care of the birds of the air and how much did He love me? One day at school I had no Lunch, and no money (I wasn’t signed up for those free lunches; I didn’t have anyone to sign paperwork for that). I just remember staring at that verse, reading it and just prayed Lord please take care of me if I am more important that the birds of the air? One of my classmates walked in 2 seconds later and brought pizza for the whole class for no reason (that never happened before or after that). When I came back to my group several people came up and handed me money. I cried in the bathroom, I knew he would provide for me. I put the money in the donations for the banquet, but I sat assured that the Lord asked me to trust Him and to share the good news.
Mark's Story
I grew up always going to a smaller church in Bad Axe, MI. Whenever missionaries came to speak it was always about starting new churches in new countries or pastors in foreign countries, and I was never had a calling or interest in being a pastor so I assumed I would never be a missionary. Growing up on a farm my Dad told me to make something of myself, so as I grew up I became interested in computers and networking. As I decided this is what I wanted to learn my mind became fascinated with the idea of being "comfortable" in life. Going into IT I knew I could have an average paying job and afford an average house, an average life. Instead, God had a much bigger and more joyful life planned for me. Once I started college I began to form and grow my faith as my own and not what I was simply told or heard growing up. It wasn't until my Junior year that I began to have a seed planted inside of me for missions. I think it started with a combination of interest in traveling and hearing from my roommate the need for IT people in a non-profit called Wycliffe. My roommate would go to events held that would have speakers discuss Wycliffe and missions. I decided to go to one of these events and really felt God awaking my spirit to missions and to the work Wycliffe was doing and the great need for IT people to go overseas. I learned through these Wycliffe events that missions were so much more than just Church planting or becoming a pastor overseas. Through my Junior year I began to have a passionate heart for Africa in particular and applied to go on a two month missions trip through Wycliffe. I was accepted and went the summer after my Junior year of college and since then I have known my heart and my life belongs in Africa. Since then I have been growing and allowing the spirit to prepare me for the right timing for me to go back to Africa. I became involved at Westwinds Community Church and began to lead a video streaming team in the booth and really found community at Westwinds. Also, I have married Leah which is the best reason so far of waiting and living in Jackson. So this past winter God opened the door for Leah and I to go to Cameroon for 2 years!
Our Story
It was love at first sight, just kidding. We met going to a Wycliffe gathering at the Coombs house. Marks and I shared a mutual friend Ryan, whom we both went with. Needless to say I was not at all charmed by Mark in anyway. He doesn’t remember it; I don’t know why I do. We can’t recall which year that was; I believe it was junior year. We did not hit it off as friends, and parted ways. Senior year last semester we had the class Contemporary Moral Issues together with Ryan. We became classmate friends, and I would visit Ryan and Mark’s house to borrow the book. Ryan was never there and I would read aloud to Mark even though he had already done the reading. Graduation came and we both moved into Jackson. We connected again through friends that summer and grew closer over a period of TWO years. We (Mark, Saundra and I) planned a trip to Paris before I quit working for the airline. A few days before we were scheduled to leave we had the VERY awkward phone conversation regarding possibly being confused over our feelings. When I returned to Jackson from Memphis, Mark forced me to have the “talk”. I was totally fear stricken and tried to avoid it, because I knew it could be very awkward trip if I faced facts that I cared about him as more than a friend. So Mark said something along the lines of “I would like to date you.” It is amazing I didn’t throw up at that point due to shock and nerves. Anyways I went back to Memphis for work up until the trip and we had our first date in Paris. The rest is history.
