Established by and for God

Hello my precious friends and family in Christ!!! May God bless you and be with you all. I would like to tell a wonderful story of love. It was by God’s grace that I came to know Christ in the fall semester of 2007. There I came to receive Jesus’ words very personally through John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” Through that my sense of lonliness and emptiness that I carried for 18 years was gone. I came to fully realize that Jesus was with me throughout those dark years of mine. Also I came to receive God’s vision, when God’s servant said to me, you will be great!!! I thought I was insignificant. But Jesus had such great vision for even me. That was an exciting and wonderful moment for me. I thank Jesus for his shepherd’s love and guidance on that day.

As I began my Christian life, I wondered about the big “M,” marriage. I was touched through Genesis chapter 2 of how God established marriage for and by Him, not for and by humans. The foundation was God, not money or good looks. Also through marriage between Adam and Eve, I could see God’s love and wisdom for mankind and for me. Through that I was so happy that I did not want to pursue marriage on my own, but decided that I would focus on God’s mission to teach the bible to college students and let God be the one to bring me and my future suitable helper together in his time.

When I made that decision I came across many tempting and challenging moments. My family would constantly wonder when I will get a girlfriend. Then when my older brother got married in 2011, more family members wondered when. Each time I would smile and say, “in God’s time.” I was reminded of Jesus whose time was when God’s glory could be revealed. About ten years later on September 10, 2018, my pastor introduced me to Jessica Beckford. At that time I realized that God was bringing her to me as my suitable helper. It was one of the happiest moments in my life.

Through this engagement, I came to see God’s love and wisdom in pairing us together. Before this time, Jessica lost her only younger brother in a car crash and I lost my mother to illness. It was a painful time for both of us. But, we could see that it was God who comforted us, even by bringing us together. God reminded me of Genesis 24:67, “Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.” This was touching because I could see that God is concerned about His people in a real and practical way. Also, I could see that God blessed our families. Through our marriage I gained a mother, and my mother in law gained a son. Surely He intervenes in his time.

Our marriage date finally arrived on October 27^th, 2018. It was a beautiful and wonderful moment as I watched my bride walk down the aisle. Everyone had a fun and wonderful time. Missionary John’s message on John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” was really amazing. It was serious, comical, and comforting. I could see that it was Jesus who has kept me all these years and it will be Jesus who will make me fruitful spiritually and of course later on, physically with children. I could not help but have a smile on my face throughout that entire day.

After everything though, I know that God wants to do something really great through our marriage as we struggle to live as a dream team for God’s mission purpose: to raise and establish disciples for God. And, when the time comes, to be missionaries. I thank all who have supported us through our marriage and would like to still receive much prayer support on this new journey together with God and his daughter. May God’s peace and love be with you all.