My Call to Preach
In 1996, when I was about 16 years old, the Lord began to put in my heart a desire to go into full time ministry, and at the same time I was also considering joining the Navy. Due to my backslidden condition, I enlisted in the Navy instead. Shortly after joining I quickly forgot about my call to preach the Gospel. I thank God that He is rich in grace and mercy, because He brought to my remembrance, just after I got married in 2005, a desire that He put in my heart to preach His word. Thus began a process where God did what He needed to bring my wife and I into right fellowship with each other and Him so we can be ready to preach the Word when called upon.
Our Story
My wife and I met while I was deployed to Lithuania in 2002. She was in her 1st year of college in the city of Klaipeda. We stayed in contact and later became engaged in the summer of 2004. We were married Feb 12th, 2005 when I was stationed in Sigonella Sicily. The Lord then moved us to Everett, Washington where we began serving the Lord and grow in Him. I separated from the Navy in 2007 and started our churches Bible Institute. The Lord had plans for us that we didn’t know about. We were getting ready to serve the Lord by pastoring a church somewhere in the states, but in 2009, He showed us that He had something else in mind. During our churches missions conference the Lord called us into full time mission work to the country of Lithuania. I graduated from our institute and was ordained in 2010. We took a survey trip to Lithuania in Aug of 2012, and enjoyed being able to witness to my in-laws and see where the Lord would have us serve Him. A missionary friend of ours, in the town of Siauliai, is going to allow us to work under him for our 1st term there, and after we will break off on our own to go where the Lord would have us start a new work.