Missionary Development

God has allowed us to be part of an incredible ministry journey with Word of Life since 2003, leading short-term mission teams around the world. Through those years, our hearts became burdened for the people of every country where we served. Among the many places God led us, the remote river communities of Brazil held a special place in our hearts.

As God continued to work in our lives, He opened the door for us to live and minister in Brazil from 2013 to 2018. During that time, we were involved in the Audio Bible Project and several other ministry initiatives. Because more than 80% of the river people are functionally illiterate, Solar Audio Bibles became an invaluable tool for sharing God's Word. In 2016, we began creating and distributing the Word of Life Quiet Time in audio format so people could listen to daily biblical teaching through the audio Bible players.

In recent years, God opened a new ministry opportunity and redirected our hearts toward serving with MissionGO. After more than sixteen wonderful years with Word of Life, this was not an easy decision. We deeply love Word of Life, the ministry, and the people of Brazil. However, after much prayer and seeking God's direction, we became convinced that He was leading us into a new season of service.

Our desire has always been to serve where we can have the greatest impact for the sake of the Gospel. As we considered our ministry in Brazil, we realized that God was giving us an opportunity to help train, equip, and send dozens of new missionaries into the harvest field each year. While our four hands—Lesi's and mine—could accomplish only so much in one country, God was calling us to invest in the lives of many missionaries who would carry the Gospel to countries and people groups around the world.

Today, we are grateful for the privilege of helping mobilize and support those whom God is calling into missions. Through MissionGO, we have the opportunity to multiply our impact by equipping others to take the hope of Christ to places we may never personally go. What began as four hands serving in Brazil has become part of a much larger effort to send many hands into God's harvest field around the world.