How God Led Me to Slovakia

When I look back, there is no doubt that God has been working. There were times that I often had a hard time seeing it in the moment, but He has been teaching me to recognize it more and more quickly.

I was first called to missions as a teenager. I wanted to serve God with my entire life because of what He had done for me. I started taking steps, but kept running into obstacles because I was trying to do things my own way. Looking back, I can see I was not ready. I’m so glad God wasn’t done with me.

About 6 years ago, I got connected with my church - Berean Baptist Church in Beloit, WI. They became my family. God also opened the doors so I could serve Him in the Deaf Ministry and children’s ministry. Through this time, God has been refining me.

Then God was ready to spur me on towards His greater plan. One afternoon at church, I was having a conversation with one of our MBU (Maranatha Baptist University) students. We were talking about his upcoming three month internship/mission trip to Ukraine. At one point during that conversation, I mentioned, for the first time in four years, that I thought God had once called me to the mission field. As soon as the words left my lips, God convicted me that He had called me to the mission field, and I had told Him “no”. This led to me surrendering to go wherever He would call me.

I started seeking His will in earnest. I didn’t know where He wanted me to go. I felt burdened for the souls in all the Slavic nations. As I was praying and looking, one thing stood out to me: a lot of people in these nations speak Russian. So I started to learn Russian.

Through a series of events, I started planning to go to Ukraine for a short trip, and then the war started. I turned back to God earnestly seeking what He wanted me to do. If He asked me to go into a war zone, I would, but I didn’t feel led that way. I went to Missionary Prayer Group at MBU and one of the students started talking about how his parents would love to have someone come to Slovakia to see what mission work was truly like. The timing was too perfect to be anyone but God, so I reached out to the Waites and to Baptist Mid-Missions (BMM).

In December of 2022, I had the privilege of visiting the Waites for two weeks. While I was there, I was able to meet and spend time with several members of the church, help prepare meals for the church gatherings, sing in a ladies’ group, help with picking up and delivering furniture, and spend time learning about Slovakia. Throughout my time there, God solidified His purpose and call to send me back to Slovakia.