Time to Remember: Why We Are Going to Senegal

family-senegal-flagWe are now sixteen months into having been appointed as full-time missionaries. A lot has happened in that time and we are getting closer to hopefully setting an anticipated departure date. As we continue to work toward the time when we leave everything we’ve known behind us to head toward the work we feel God is calling us to be a part of, we want to take a moment and remind all of us of the answer to this question: Why?

One-Word Answer-Many Implications

Leo & Michele in SenegalLove. This one word is the driving force behind why Michele, Asher, Bechan and I are moving to Senegal. In 2010, our why started with loving Christ so much that we desired to obey and follow him. One way for us to follow him was found in Matthew 28:19-20:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

That year, we felt God telling us the “going” was not only in our hometown of Charlotte, but also in Senegal with short-term missions (STM) teams.

Another Verse, A Different Call

In 2012, love was again at the heart of our call to Senegal. Prior to my November STM trip, God put on my heart 1 Thess 2:8:
“We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.”

When God gave me this verse for my November trip, I thought that it was a great verse that symbolized my continuing to return to Senegal with the STM teams. Little did I know the Lord actually meant it for a much deeper level of commitment involving our whole family. For it was during this trip where God’s call into full-time missions started to take shape and become known to both Michele and me.

Our Partners & Teammates

We know that your love to God and to us is also the driving force behind your continued support of our upcoming role in the global missions landscape. Please pray that as we continue to refine and discover the “hows” and “whats” of our missionary assignments, we never lose sight of the why.