Our Family: How it All Got Started
We have been married for 14 years with three children. We have always loved making new friends, helping others, traveling, having big parties, fun, and laughing. In August 2008 we were trying to decide what to do after the military. We originally planned to go back to Florida, get a second secular job (one that made good money) retire from that, settle down, live in a squanky middle class subdivision house, and get ready to enjoy a quiet life to our golden years! Instead, God came a calling and seized our heart to be in service for Him, so we dropped everything and obeyed. The desire to serve God with our lives became strong and He became our number one Pursuit. When we obeyed His voice, He then jump started our walk with Him in ways we never imagined. We went from being a selfish mediocre Christian living for ourselves, to having such a Love for others we never understood and living for God's Glory. We started off by applying to the board and started to sell most of our worldly possessions. Got rid of our furnitures/decors/expensive tools/nice treadmill/etc., sold our blue Mazda minivan and my favorite red Dodge Ram diesel truck that we had just bought, our very beautiful Floridian 2500 sq.ft, 4/2 squanky middle class house that was located across the street from the beautiful State Park, and 5 minutes drive from the beautiful white-sandy beaches of the gulf of Florida! And hubby quit his job during a time when it was not good to be unemployed (the start of the recession). Yes, we gave it all up to follow Christ! It was the most Radical- Crazy thing we have ever done as a family. We were approved, and commissioned by the board. We were employed only for 6 months with the board, then resigned due to unforeseen circumstances, but part of God's orchestrated plan. God provided a home, sheltered us, and took care of us thru the generosity of Mr. Love for a year. We were waiting for orders From God where to go and what to do next. Now, we are serving the last frontier of Alaska for His Glory with the NAMB board! It has been a wonderful and exciting Faith Adventure! It does get difficult, lonely, and very exhausting at times. But we do enjoy what we do, seeing a lot of beautiful places, making lots of new friends, and just walking in Faith with God is like an Adrenal Spiritual Rush! We wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!
The Hubby:
I grew up in West Palm Beach, FL. I accepted Christ with a child-like faith at the age of 4, but never really grew in my walk or fully understood what His Saving Grace was about. But I was soon to find out. At 17 I joined the U.S. Navy and strayed really bad from everything that I was raised with growing up in a Christian home. In my early twenties, I fell flat on my face literally, not knowing what hope was, and it was such a low time in my life. I was about to make a choice, it came down to two choices. The dark side or God's side.
I heard a small still voice inside of me saying, "It is time" to come back. However, when I heard His voice, I knew I would lose everything my sinful flesh desired at that moment, if I were to come back to Him. But after agonizing about it, I willfully submitted to that voice. And I did lose everything, but God blessed me with even more, like the prodigal son. At that moment I understood whose voice it was even though I barely knew Him, Jesus never gave up on me. I finally understood what His Saving Grace means. His Grace is so powerful that it can change lives for His Glory! After 20 years of military service, a blessing of a wife, and 3 kids later. I am in Alaska in God's service and being a witness for His Glory.
The Wife:
I was born in Philippines, but grew up in South Texas! Hee-Haw Ya'll ! ;) In high school, I had several close friends who were Christ followers and God used them to witness to me. One of them gave me a bible tract to read at home. While reading it at home, I had asked Jesus into my heart and my life at my parent's kitchen floor. His Saving Grace Message, His Love for mankind, and John 3:16 really stood out. It hit me and I had to act upon this decision. From that moment on, I always knew I wanted to serve God and I always felt a tug in my heart to be his missionary. But the timing was not right...So I went to college, graduated, got married, starting having babies, raising children, and supporting my husband in his military career. For over 10 years, I have prayed about my calling from God and prayed for my hubby. My husband was adamant that he did not want nor have a desire to be a missionary or go into ministry whatsoever. Fast forward, in '07 during our last sea tour from the Navy, I felt the strong tug in my heart again. But I told God that I won't be able to do anything about it and that He must either give my husband this same calling or take it out of me permanently! Well..what do you think happened? Hubby got the mission/ministry bug worse than I did in '08! In fact our whole family has been called...And we are so thrilled to be on this faith ride. We thought we were headed overseas, but for now we are in Alaska.
Oldest Son:
My favorite color is red. I like video games like Mario, computer games like Roblox, chatting with all my friends on Facebook or cell, watching movies with my family, riding bike, learning to break dance, having fun, and picking on my little siblings. We have a Wii and an X-box. I'm taller than my mom and almost my dad's height, which is cool. (but they say they can still ground me no matter how tall I get). I can play the trumpet and the piano. I like making new friends and going to new places that I've never gone to before. When I grow up I want to be either a detective or a missionary.
Youngest Son:
My favorite color is yellow. I like playing with legos, cars, nerf guns, toy soldiers, video games, and watching movies. I like to draw awesome pictures and stories. I like animals, scootering, bike riding, and I'm learning how to play the drum. I like going to school because it's fun and we make cool stuff. What I like about living in Alaska are the mountains, the view, playing in the snow and making a snowfort. When I grow up I want to be a ZooKeeper or a Pastor or a video game maker. I like making new friends too.
Daughter:
My favorite color is pink. I like to play with my friends. I like to play dress up, play with my polly pockets, and barbies. I like to do arts stuff, watch my movies, and play with my brothers. I like school, next year I will be home schooled. I like ballet and I want to learn to play the piano. I like what we do because it is fun and I make lots of friends. When I grow up I want to be a teacher or a doctor.
We have been married for 14 years with three children. We have always loved making new friends, helping others, traveling, having big parties, fun, and laughing. In August 2008 we were trying to decide what to do after the military. We originally planned to go back to Florida, get a second secular job (one that made good money) retire from that, settle down, live in a squanky middle class subdivision house, and get ready to enjoy a quiet life to our golden years! Instead, God came a calling and seized our heart to be in service for Him, so we dropped everything and obeyed. The desire to serve God with our lives became strong and He became our number one Pursuit. When we obeyed His voice, He then jump started our walk with Him in ways we never imagined. We went from being a selfish mediocre Christian living for ourselves, to having such a Love for others we never understood and living for God's Glory. We started off by applying to the board and started to sell most of our worldly possessions. Got rid of our furnitures/decors/expensive tools/nice treadmill/etc., sold our blue Mazda minivan and my favorite red Dodge Ram diesel truck that we had just bought, our very beautiful Floridian 2500 sq.ft, 4/2 squanky middle class house that was located across the street from the beautiful State Park, and 5 minutes drive from the beautiful white-sandy beaches of the gulf of Florida! And hubby quit his job during a time when it was not good to be unemployed (the start of the recession). Yes, we gave it all up to follow Christ! It was the most Radical- Crazy thing we have ever done as a family. We were approved, and commissioned by the board. We were employed only for 6 months with the board, then resigned due to unforeseen circumstances, but part of God's orchestrated plan. God provided a home, sheltered us, and took care of us thru the generosity of Mr. Love for a year. We were waiting for orders From God where to go and what to do next. Now, we are serving the last frontier of Alaska for His Glory with the NAMB board! It has been a wonderful and exciting Faith Adventure! It does get difficult, lonely, and very exhausting at times. But we do enjoy what we do, seeing a lot of beautiful places, making lots of new friends, and just walking in Faith with God is like an Adrenal Spiritual Rush! We wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!
The Hubby:
I grew up in West Palm Beach, FL. I accepted Christ with a child-like faith at the age of 4, but never really grew in my walk or fully understood what His Saving Grace was about. But I was soon to find out. At 17 I joined the U.S. Navy and strayed really bad from everything that I was raised with growing up in a Christian home. In my early twenties, I fell flat on my face literally, not knowing what hope was, and it was such a low time in my life. I was about to make a choice, it came down to two choices. The dark side or God's side.
I heard a small still voice inside of me saying, "It is time" to come back. However, when I heard His voice, I knew I would lose everything my sinful flesh desired at that moment, if I were to come back to Him. But after agonizing about it, I willfully submitted to that voice. And I did lose everything, but God blessed me with even more, like the prodigal son. At that moment I understood whose voice it was even though I barely knew Him, Jesus never gave up on me. I finally understood what His Saving Grace means. His Grace is so powerful that it can change lives for His Glory! After 20 years of military service, a blessing of a wife, and 3 kids later. I am in Alaska in God's service and being a witness for His Glory.
The Wife:
I was born in Philippines, but grew up in South Texas! Hee-Haw Ya'll ! ;) In high school, I had several close friends who were Christ followers and God used them to witness to me. One of them gave me a bible tract to read at home. While reading it at home, I had asked Jesus into my heart and my life at my parent's kitchen floor. His Saving Grace Message, His Love for mankind, and John 3:16 really stood out. It hit me and I had to act upon this decision. From that moment on, I always knew I wanted to serve God and I always felt a tug in my heart to be his missionary. But the timing was not right...So I went to college, graduated, got married, starting having babies, raising children, and supporting my husband in his military career. For over 10 years, I have prayed about my calling from God and prayed for my hubby. My husband was adamant that he did not want nor have a desire to be a missionary or go into ministry whatsoever. Fast forward, in '07 during our last sea tour from the Navy, I felt the strong tug in my heart again. But I told God that I won't be able to do anything about it and that He must either give my husband this same calling or take it out of me permanently! Well..what do you think happened? Hubby got the mission/ministry bug worse than I did in '08! In fact our whole family has been called...And we are so thrilled to be on this faith ride. We thought we were headed overseas, but for now we are in Alaska.
Oldest Son:
My favorite color is red. I like video games like Mario, computer games like Roblox, chatting with all my friends on Facebook or cell, watching movies with my family, riding bike, learning to break dance, having fun, and picking on my little siblings. We have a Wii and an X-box. I'm taller than my mom and almost my dad's height, which is cool. (but they say they can still ground me no matter how tall I get). I can play the trumpet and the piano. I like making new friends and going to new places that I've never gone to before. When I grow up I want to be either a detective or a missionary.
Youngest Son:
My favorite color is yellow. I like playing with legos, cars, nerf guns, toy soldiers, video games, and watching movies. I like to draw awesome pictures and stories. I like animals, scootering, bike riding, and I'm learning how to play the drum. I like going to school because it's fun and we make cool stuff. What I like about living in Alaska are the mountains, the view, playing in the snow and making a snowfort. When I grow up I want to be a ZooKeeper or a Pastor or a video game maker. I like making new friends too.
Daughter:
My favorite color is pink. I like to play with my friends. I like to play dress up, play with my polly pockets, and barbies. I like to do arts stuff, watch my movies, and play with my brothers. I like school, next year I will be home schooled. I like ballet and I want to learn to play the piano. I like what we do because it is fun and I make lots of friends. When I grow up I want to be a teacher or a doctor.
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