We are so glad to be able to share with you our story and what God is accomplishing through His mission here in Gabon. Joel is a third generation missionary and grew up in Madagascar. It took him longer to accept his missionary call because he didn’t want to go overseas simply because his parents and grandparents had done so. I on the other hand have wanted to be a missionary since receiving the Holy Ghost at the age of ten (before that I was all set to be an astronaut, but that is another story.)

My grandparents and Joel’s were missionaries together in Madagascar in the 1970’s but we never met until we were students at Indiana Bible College together. We were married just a month before beginning our senior year of college and graduated in 1999. Shortly thereafter we moved from Indianapolis to Columbus, Ohio where we worked in various capacities at a local assembly. In 2002 we made a six month mission journey to the islands of Seychelles. While there we taught an intensive bible college course for the national leadership. We were so blessed while we were there and that whetted our appetites for further missionary work, wherever God wanted to call us.

Shortly after returning to the US we were presented with the desperate need for missionaries in French speaking West Africa. After praying over our decision we found that our focus was to be the nation of Gabon. God was already preparing the ground by establishing a Malagasy man from Joel’s old home town of Antsirabe, Desire Rakotondratsimba. While he had no formal training when he found himself transplanted to Gabon, he went to work for God in the capital city of Libreville.

We applied for missionary appointment in 2003 and met the Foreign Missions Board in February 2004. Our application was approved but the on ramp to the deputational trail was backed up.

Ethan, our oldest was born in December of 2003. We call him our miracle baby because he has had so many close scrapes with disaster. God has been merciful though and he is still with us. Olivia, the youngest, was born in August of 2005.

In November of 2006 we did get to make a short trip to Gabon. The work done by Brother Desire has been phenomenal. God is blessing his efforts. In our final Sunday service eighty-five people packed into the living room of his home. Those who could not actually sit inside sat on the patio. Since then God has opened the doors to give us another preaching point in the city and there are more than 124 UPCI members in the city. People are so very hungry for the touch of truth and the love of God.

Finally in January of 2007, three years after our appointment, we began deputation. We are scheduled to be on the road until 2009. Thankful for the opportunity to share our burden we are also ready to get on the field.

Once we get on the field our focus will be on building a headquarters church and establishing a bible school. We anticipate a ferocious spiritual battle since Satan doesn’t like it when people invade his territory. God has already showed us that He is building a hedge of protection around us and that He will go before us into the nation of our calling.

God bless you,

Lisa