In the summer of 2006, my older sister Katelyn went on a missions trip to Guatemala with my dad. They had a wonderful time telling others about God and His Son. While they were there, God gave my dad a message: He wanted us to go into ministry as a family after selling our home. So, while the house market was starting to travel downhill, we decided to sell our 3,500 square foot home in Newbury Park. But, there was a problem: houses simply weren't selling. One specific house down the street, with the same floor plan as ours, had been on the market for nearly a year and hadn't sold. Because of God's providence, however, our home sold only two weeks after we put it up for sale.
Since it had always been my mom's dream to travel around the country in a motor home, we put nearly all of our belongings in storage, bought a motor home, and began our 7-month adventure in 2008. We took the opportunity to look at several ministries such as Gospel for Asia and Wycliffe Bible Translation. Those doors were closed, however.
On our return to California, we rented a house in Moorpark while continuing to pray about where God wanted us to go. He started directing us toward a ministry called World Impact (WI). WI ministers to the urban poor of the inner cities of America, including Los Angeles. Several years before our motor home trip, we had volunteered at The Oaks, one of WI's camps where they send inner city kids and families to get away from the city and learn about God. We did work projects and helped with the summer camps.
With this new direction, in 2009 my parents went through World Impact's Candidate Acceptance Program in Wichita, Kansas. They were accepted as staff and we started raising our support. Then, in May of 2010, we moved to The Oaks as full-time staff. My dad is currently the program director and supervises summer and winter camps. Mom helps with different jobs and supervises volunteers during Christmas At The Oaks. Katelyn works as a lifeguard during the summer and also helps with adventure (ropes course elements) throughout the year. I work in the kitchen mainly during the summer and also participate on the drama team for summer camps. Christina and Rachel go to camps during the summer and also help with the "petting zoo" for family camps. We are so blessed to live and serve here--God is so good!
