“If the Great Commission is true, our plans are not too big; they are too small.” …Pat Morley
When we first moved to Europe to serve as missionaries, our plans seemed larger than life. As life unfolded, we found that our initial vision was a drop in the bucket compared to what God had in store for us in Brussels, Europe and beyond.
Our first two years in Europe weren’t easy. We spent them in the Loire Valley in France. For a few months we worked with the ministry that had invited us to come to France. Then the leaders of this ministry abruptly changed direction, leaving us ‘all dressed up with no place to go.’ We stayed in France, studying the language, serving at churches in Tours and Orleans, and trusting God to lead us.
The Next Step
Friends in Jackson, Mississippi told us about friends of theirs in Brussels who directed an arts ministry. With our tiny tots in tow, we traveled to Brussels to meet these folks as well as to help host a Ballet Magnificat! concert. During that trip, we felt that Brussels was an open door for us. So we packed up our things and left our beloved little village on the Cher River in the Loire Valley and moved to Brussels – the next chapter in our missions calling.
We’ve been amazed at the opportunities God has opened for us living and serving in Brussels:
- Serving on staff of Christian Center, a vibrant international church.
- Seeing hundreds baptized through an outreach service of which we were a part.
- Launching a European-wide worship training organization.
- Traveling as a backup singer with the popular French-language worship group ‘EXO’ throughout Europe, French-speaking Africa and the Carribean.
- Helping plant an international church in Paris, France.
- Teaching at an arts camp in a very needy Balkans country.
This has all reinforced the above quote: “If the Great Commission is true, our plans are not too big; they are too small.” When we moved to France, we thought our plans were big …. but God had other ideas and has since opened doors that no man can close and closed doors that no man can open.