Torch, Fall 2001

14 TORCH / Fall 2001 praying about that for you. Would you consider going on a short-term summer trip to see if that might be what God wants for you?” I followed his suggestion, and the next summer I went on a practical missionary training trip. I was exposed to all sorts of mission work, and it was during that time that God confirmed to me that He wanted me in missions. He wanted me in medicine, and he would take care of the marriage thing later. Husband: About six weeks after I began reading the New Testament, I found I Corinthians 6:19-20, which says, “... you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” I wanted to be a doctor for all the wrong reasons. I wanted that country club membership, a nice house, and to be recognized in the community. Now I was certain that God was saying, “You are not your own. You don’t have a choice in this matter of what you’re going to do with your life if you are going to serve me.” So I started to think of other things I could do. What did I know? I had no church background. I thought I had to be a pastor if I was going to serve God. So I started to take Greek along with pre- medicine. Become Passionate About God at the apex of the drug culture. I went off to college with long hair and an unshaven face. On the first day of classes I saw a good- looking girl on the library steps and I thought, “Well, this isn’t going to be so bad.” She enrolled in the same honors chemistry class I did and was in the same lab. Her assigned lab partner was an acquaintance of mine. I asked him, “Can I trade lab partners with you? She’s cute.” He said, “Fine, go for it.” We started to be friends, that girl and I. She was the first Christian I ever met. She lived and preached her faith as I had never seen or heard it before. I was developing a friendship with this girl who was a crazy Christian. Wife: You have probably figured out by now that that hot, blonde guy was not my husband. And that crazy Christian girl was me. My husband was so obnoxious when I first met him. When he switched lab partners he led me to believe that my assigned partner dumped me because I was too stupid. But I can tell you that God changed this man. Husband: The crazy Christian girl shared God’s Word with me. I had tried a philosophical approach to life. I tried the pleasure approach. I tried it all. In the face of all that, she simply shared with me the truths of God’s Word. It cut deeply into my heart. Circumstances over the course of an entire year began to show me that I was a sinner and I needed help. So, I went to her and asked, “What do I need to do to be saved?” She said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” That night I was gloriously saved. I accepted Christ as my Savior and I started to grow. And that girl said to me, “Read through the New Testament sequentially.” Wife: When God saved my husband, He changed his life immediately. He turned away from his lifestyle. I was still dating that blonde guy and was gone on the weekends, but I would tell my future husband what to read. He’d spend his time alone in his room because he had no friends and there were so few Christians there. But he devoured God’s Word. I directed his Scripture reading. I answered his questions. I gave him books to read. God was fully changing this man to become the spiritual leader that I thought I just might be able to follow. And I was ready to seriously consider marriage at that point. But I wondered how I could do what God wanted me to do as a wife and mother and still have a demanding career in medicine. As I prayed and sought counsel, I talked to my pastor. He gave me very wise advice in discerning God’s will. He asked me, “Have you ever considered a career in missions?” I was dumbfounded. I am not sure exactly why I never had, except maybe that I didn’t go to a Bible school, but in my heart of hearts I had always been pulled toward missions. But I said, “No, I never have.” He said, “I’ve been