September 16, 1998. I was a freshman at North Central, and this was a Wednesday night\u2014that meant Praise Gathering. I didn\u2019t realize that morning that it would be a Stone-of-Remembrance kind of day. It was the day I began saying \u201cyes\u201d to follow God\u2019s call to serve on the mission field. I have since learned that saying \u201cyes\u201d to God is not a one-time event.<\/p>\n
As Joshua led the people of Israel across the Jordan river, God instructed that twelve men (one from each tribe) should remove a stone from the riverbed where they crossed. The people set twelve stones on the bank of the river as a remembrance of the miracle of the crossing of the Jordan. Back on the east bank of the river, they were the Israelites who wandered in the desert. With their feet now on the west bank, they were taking their first steps as a nation on the land which God had promised to their ancestors.<\/p>\n
In the years to come, they would have questions and doubts. Failures. These stones were a reminder that they were no longer the same people they had been on the other side of the river.<\/p>\n
Twenty-two years have since passed from that Wednesday night\u2014has it really been so long? Our journey has taken us across countries and ocean. Along the way, we have continued to set up new stones, reminders of God\u2019s promises and His providence. In 2017, we moved to Belgium to serve as Missionary Associates at Continental Theological Seminary. We entered 2020 as our term was drawing to a close and prepared to return to Minnesota.<\/p>\n
I have now and again expressed in sermons that our lives can change suddenly, sometimes as the result of a single phone call. For us, it was a Facebook message. Within a couple of days, I was flying home, 30,000 feet over the Atlantic. I spent five days praying with my father and reading the Bible aloud while he lay in hospice care; I was with him when he passed on a Wednesday night. Two days later, I headed back to Belgium to help our family return to the U.S.<\/p>\n
The following weeks were a blur. Stuffing suitcases. All-too-brief goodbyes to our students, our church, our friends.\u00a0In a matter of days, we were in Springfield (Missouri) for our interviews to be career missionaries.<\/p>\n
The desire to grieve felt like it was choking us, and yet we experienced grace-upon-grace from everyone around us. We received our approval and soon hit the road for Indiana and my father\u2019s memorial service. While en route, we learned that the service was postponed indefinitely due to growing concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. The next day, we received word that we had been exposed to the virus in Springfield and needed to quarantine for 14 days.<\/p>\n
Less than a week before, we sat at a dinner table with Greg Mundis, who was now on a ventilator in a hospital fighting for his life. How our lives can change in a moment! We were filled with new grief as we prayed for Greg and other friends who had contracted the virus.<\/p>\n
Then my wife, Jessica, began to feel tightness in her chest. The pain grew unbearable, so we went to the hospital, where it was confirmed that she had COVID-19. Her condition worsened, and she spent the next two weeks unable to get out of bed. Slowly, she turned a corner and began the road to recovery. It was another two weeks before she would be able to walk to the end of the block.<\/p>\n
The questions and doubts were haunting. Did God really say . . .? We had no home, no space to grieve, and were recovering from the infection that was shutting down the country. We looked over our shoulders at the stones along our path and remembered. By this time, it came as no surprise to find out our summer training with AGWM was canceled, along with our commissioning service in Springfield. Our training would be moved online (hello, Zoom!), and our home district would organize our commissioning service.<\/p>\n
In the summer, God miraculously provided a home for us in Minnesota where we could live during our itineration. I wish we could say that Jessica\u2019s battle with COVID-19 was behind us. It badly damaged her heart and the doctors are not yet sure whether the damage is permanent. We are holding on to hope and slowly building back a semblance of normalcy in our lives.<\/p>\n
The stones that Joshua instructed the Israelites to set along the bank of the Jordan were more than just reminders. Yes, they did testify to God\u2019s gracious acts on their behalf, but they were also so much more. They were a catalyst<\/em> to press forward.<\/p>\n This fall, we were commissioned as AGWM missionaries. It was not in Springfield as we planned. Instead, we were at Lake Geneva Christian Center\u2014a hallowed ground filled with the stones that we have set up through the years. Here, we were surrounded by friends and pastors who had been supporting and encouraging us for years. We remember the stones\u2014all the times God had met us along our journey and spoke powerfully into our souls\u2014and we say \u201cyes\u201d once again.<\/p>\n Justin \u201904 and Jessica (Wattelet, \u201803) Evans are Assemblies of God missionaries to Europe. They serve in Brussels, Belgium where they teach at Continental Theological Seminary. Prior to moving to Belgium, Justin taught Old Testament courses at NCU for seven years, along with working five years in the T. J. Jones Library. Justin is excited to again teach Bible courses for NCU in spring 2021.\u00a0They have two children: Toby (age 12) and Savannah (age 9). They are living in North Saint Paul while they are home on itineration. Connect with them at agmd.org\/u\/evansservingeurope<\/a>\u00a0or \u00a0<\/em>evansservingeurope@gmail.com.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" September 16, 1998. I was a freshman at North Central, and this was a Wednesday night\u2014that meant Praise Gathering. I didn\u2019t realize that morning that it would be a Stone-of-Remembrance kind of day. It was the day I began saying \u201cyes\u201d to follow God\u2019s call to serve on the mission field. I have since learned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,41,52,31,49],"tags":[78,77],"class_list":["post-2598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-friends","category-christian-life","category-college-of-church-leadership","category-pastoral","category-pastors-churches","tag-missionary","tag-missions"],"yoast_head":"\n