Profile Excellence J in
June 9, 2000
oshua and Julie (Stephens) Marcum ’01 traveled more than 11,000 miles to meet each other on the York College campus 23 years ago. Two missionary kids from opposite points on the equator — Kenya and Ecuador — who met and fell in love in Nebraska. They were married in York's Harrison Park the summer before their senior year, each sharing a dream of someday working in a mission field. Julie was born and raised in Kenya, Africa, where her parents Larry and Diane Stephens made their home as missionaries. Joshua had spent half his life in South America, from the time his folks Kent and Sharla (Sikes ’73) Marcum, along with four other families, had begun a new congregation in the capital city of Quito in 1989. The newlyweds weren’t sure where they would plant roots, but with Joshua being fluent in Spanish and his experiences in Ecuador, they were committed to doing mission work in Latin America. On January 10, 2006, together with a team of four other families, they embarked on a five-year work in Cochabamba, Bolivia, beginning a congregation of the Lord’s church in the downtown area of the city.
At the end of that commitment, Joshua received an invitation from his dad to be a part of the work in Ecuador, specifically, the Quito School of Biblical Studies (QSOBS) where Kent was the director and to also lead the thriving church planting program. Feeling the Lord’s nudge, Joshua and Julie along with their three beautiful daughters began their work with Operation Ecuador in March of 2011, with their son Enoch being born the following month. While raising their support, Joshua reached out to one of the congregations in York. During their time as students, Joshua and Julie served as youth interns with the East Hill Church of Christ and invited them to be a part of the exciting ministry opportunity, not only financially, but in a hands-on partnership. Joshua told the eldership that they were seeking more than a church’s mission funds. They wanted a personal investment of time, resources, and people. They wanted work groups to help with building projects, outreach ministries in the jungle, volunteers assisting with medical missions, youth groups to visit, etc. The answer was a resounding “Yes,” and a youth mission trip to Ecuador was immediately put into place. In the last ten years, there have been nine sponsored groups from East Hill in Ecuador along with three student groups from York College. “Nothing can substitute witnessing in person the work you support,” said Joshua. “Being an active participant, touching and being touched by those you are trying to reach with the gospel, makes all the difference in the world when it comes to partnering with a ministry. It not only strengthens the efforts made by those of us living and working on the mission field, but it gives great buy-in to the supporting church. “We’ve made some incredible strides these last ten years because of those willing to give their time, resources, and hearts to the work here in Ecuador,” Joshua went on to say. “It’s an invaluable testimony to who the church is and what it means to be the body of Christ.” Operation Ecuador is an umbrella organization that connects several US-supported mission efforts. It has grown ...continued next page FALL 2021 |
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