It didn’t start the way we expected.
Like most stories, ours makes more sense looking backward than it did while we were living it.
Looking back, we realize how deeply rooted our lives were. We owned a business that had been in our family for generations. We lived close to family, we were surrounded by great friends. We believed God had called us to support missionaries and ministries around the world. We weren’t looking for a different life. We genuinely loved the one God had already given us.
One of the ministries we supported was run by friends from our college years. One day we decided it was time to visit them and see firsthand the work they were doing. We spent a week with our friends who were serving in a small village where children had no opportunity to continue their education beyond sixth grade without walking several miles to another community.
We came home thinking we had simply visited friends. Instead, God quietly began changing the direction of our lives.
Eleven months later, we had sold our business and moved our family to Guatemala. Our house remained in the United States for another two years, but home had already become something much bigger than a place. God had begun changing the direction of our lives.
Learning a New Country
When we first arrived in Guatemala, we joined the ministry that had first introduced us to the country. We were excited to learn, to serve, and to pour ourselves into the work God had opened before us. Those early years shaped us in countless ways. We learned a new culture, wrestled through a new language, and discovered that ministry often looks very different than we imagine from a distance.
Over time, however, it became clear that we had different visions of what ministry should look like. Those differences eventually created enough tension that we knew it was time to step away. Leaving wasn’t easy. We loved the people we were serving and the people we were serving with. We remain grateful for the role that ministry and those people played in bringing us to Guatemala. Looking back, we can see it as another step in God’s faithful leading.
Learning to Listen
When we moved to Antigua, we didn’t suddenly discover the ministry we have today. In many ways, we were still trying to understand what faithfulness looked like.
We planted a church.
We spent countless hours with men who were struggling with addiction. We wanted to do more than simply meet immediate needs – we wanted to help them rebuild their lives.
One of the ways we tried to do that was by starting a small leather workshop. We hired several men to make items like purses, messenger bags, and laptop bags. It still brings some joy to my heart when I see someone carrying one around. Our hope was that meaningful work would provide both income and a fresh start.
Some things flourished. Somethings didn’t. Looking back, we can see that God wasn’t just teaching us how to serve others. He was shaping us.
Over those years, our understanding of ministry slowly began to change. We found ourselves becoming less focused on building projects and more drawn to investing in people. We began to realize that lasting ministry often happens in ordinary moments – in conversations, around a dinner table, over a cup of coffe, or simply by walking through life together.
We didn’t know it then, but God was preparing us for the ministry we have today.
The Ministry We Never Planned
If someone had told us twenty years ago what ministry would look like today, we probably wouldn’t have believed them. Today, our greatest joy isn’t found in programs or projects. It’s found in people. Our home has become a place where conversations happen around the dinner table, where travelers find rest, where missionaries are encouraged, where marriages are strengthened, and where friendships grow into lifelong partnerships.
Some people stay for a meal. Others stay longer. Some come seeking direction, others simply need a place to breathe. Whatever brings them here, our desire is the same – to help people encounter Jesus and be strengthened for whatever He has called them to do.
For us, ministry isn’t limited to a church building or a scheduled event. Some of the most significant moments happen over coffee, on a mountain trail, while sharing a meal, or in the ordinary rhythms of everyday life.
Looking back, we can see that God was preparing us all along – not just to build something, but to create a place where people could belong, grow, and be sent back into the world with renewed purpose.