I pulled a Jonah

Ben's story of grace

When God called me to missions, I pulled a Jonah.  God clearly burdened my heart for unreached people groups and gave me a love for the gospel when I was in high school and confirmed it on my first mission trip to Mexico.  But I wanted to go my own way and do my own thing and become rich and famous.  Thankfully, God broke into my heart, convicted me of the sin of pride, and changed my desires. 

Between high school and college, I served as a missionary intern again in Mexico.  When I returned, I attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.  During one of Moody’s missions conferences, I was introduced to Wycliffe Bible Translators.  God kindled a passion in my heart to translate God’s Word into a language that people can understand.  I changed my major to Linguistics, which is the study of language, and when it came time for my Moody internship, I joined a Wycliffe Discovery Team in Oaxaca, Mexico.  I met some great missionaries who loved Jesus, loved people, and loved the Word.  

Now, after nine years of growing in grace and pursuing Jesus as a high school Bible teacher and senior pastor, God is leading us back to unreached people groups and Bible translation.  We’re so excited to serve with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Tanzania, Africa.