Following the Breadcrumbs

GLOBAL VOICES

Following the Breadcrumbs

Daniel and Julie T.

Of the STAMP trips listed, the one to Mainland Southeast Asia in January of 2017 stuck out to us. Daniel’s parents were global workers in Mainland Southeast Asia, and he had grown up there. His family moved there when he was ten years old, and Daniel attended the international school where he developed close friendships with several local national students in his class. Through these friendships, he learned the language quite well.

Daniel’s father was a linguistics professor in the graduate school at the local university. Rubbing shoulders with linguistic professors was a normal occurrence and Daniel learned a lot from them. People came to the university from all over the world to learn how to develop a language and translate the Scriptures. Many of those languages did not even have an alphabet.

For Julie, music was her life. She spent countless hours practicing three instruments and loved being in the school orchestra and band. Because of her dedication to music, she was part of the leadership in her music ensembles throughout high school. During Julie’s years at Wheaton College, she focused her attention on mastering the cello and became the business manager and honors conductor in the symphony. It was at Wheaton that Julie and Daniel met, and they married a year after they graduated. Then Julie pursued her master’s in cello performance while teaching at the Community School of the Arts.

In Daniel’s audiovisual career, God led him to positions that would hone important skills. He went from being a basic audiovisual installer, to consultant, and ultimately to a team leader and program manager at an international company. In this role, Daniel interfaced with groups from countries across the world. He learned a lot about handling work issues internationally and how to effectively lead multiple teams to work together in many time zones.

Throughout the years, we became work-force Christians, did our part in supporting our church, helped send global workers, and did our best to be salt and light to our colleagues. But something just did not feel right.

Back to the STAMP trip we saw in Sunday’s worship folder. As soon as we read the announcement that people were needed to help take care of the global workers’ kids at the conference in Southeast Asia, we looked at each other with grins on our faces. This was too perfect to resist. After talking with leadership, we were even allowed the exception of bringing our boys (ages five and eight at the time) with us on an adult missions trip. Our sons would participate in the program, and with Daniel’s parents still working nearby, they could provide back up in case of sickness.

Traveling overseas with a team made up of people from three different churches was quite a logistical undertaking and we began to understand the essential contribution the administrative support staff provides to the work overseas.

After returning home from our trip, we began asking God how we could serve him more effectively. But, beyond joining the STAMP Committee, no doors opened, and life continued as it had.

Then, one day in January 2019, Daniel walked in the house from work. It was too early for him to be home, and he was as pale as a ghost. Daniel’s mom had called him at work— his dad had suddenly passed away from cardiac arrest.

Daniel’s company graciously allowed him to travel immediately to Southeast Asia to be with his mom. Daniel arrived to both his mom and the entire community grieving and in shock. Within the next week all five siblings had arrived, including spouses and grandchildren. Oh, how the Lord provided as churches and extended family stepped up and helped pay for airplane tickets for so many family members.

The administration there had gone into crisis mode and was focusing all their attention on this emergency. There were so many details that needed to be taken care of such as funeral and cremation arrangements, paying for hospital expenses, housing for Daniel’s family members, and paperwork pertaining to the death of a foreign national. Because Daniel knew the language and how to get around, he was able to immediately step in and assist on the administrative side of things. During all the chaos, a side of Daniel emerged that neither of us had ever seen before. Although his grief was intense, Daniel was thriving. Daniel was doing what God had designed him to do.

Once back home, we both felt that we should explore the possibility of working overseas. The more we researched, the more we learned about the need for trained administrators in the field. Handling a crisis like the one Daniel and his family endured is one example of the responsibilities an administration team oversees. Other responsibilities include building capacity within the team, maintaining partnership relationships, and keeping the workers safe and healthy. All these are necessary for the ultimate goal of bringing the gospel to all nations through language development, literacy and Bible translation.

So, here we are, following the breadcrumbs God is setting in front of our feet.

We are currently building our partnership team. Once we reach 100% of our ministry and launch expense budgets, we will apply for our visas and hop on that plane.

We cannot wait to help proclaim the gospel as part of theBible translation team in Southeast Asia!