By Bryan White, SF International
God, will you be enough?
Right from the beginning, I faced an array of fears and questions. I’d been living in Raleigh, NC, for over 10 years – a decade spent developing a close-knit community and a fulfilling career in nursing. It seemed scary, even a little bit crazy, to walk away from the life I’d been building for all those years. Yes, certainly a little bit crazy to walk away from family, from friends, and from a stable job with a predictable income.
But still, I knew this is what the Lord was calling me to: becoming a missionary.
Charlotte, NC, is just a few hours down the road from Raleigh, but, for me, it seemed as far as Africa or Asia. While the culture and surroundings in Charlotte wouldn’t be much different than what I was used to in Raleigh, leaving home is never easy and the extra responsibility of raising financial support felt daunting. For a year and half, I put my fears and concerns into the hands of Jesus over and over.
Lord, will you provide for me? Will you make a way? This is crazy, to quit my job, to leave my community and my career and do this! Will you be there when I feel alone? When I leave my job of 10 years? When I’m in a city without friends?
God, will you be enough?
Through various scriptures, He continued to affirm that He was with me and that He would always be enough. As I read the words of Joshua 1:9, it seemed as if I heard the Lord speaking directly to me: “Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for I, Myself, am with you.” Surely there have been trials along the way, but through every difficult day I feel that God has literally carried me with His peace.
By God’s grace, I became fully supported financially on Friday, October 31st – just three days before the “faith date” we’d set for me to begin work!
Two different couples contacted me that morning, completely out of the blue, to let me know that they wanted to support me financially. One of those couples even told me that the Lord had very clearly impressed it on their hearts that they were to contact me and join my team.
The Lord’s timing is always right on schedule!
As quoted by one of our Sports Friends coaches in Ghana, “God sees the black ant that is lying on the black rock in the darkest of nights.” Sometimes we are tempted to believe that we are just one of many in the world. Yet, while it is true that God is bigger and grander than our greatest imagination, He is surely more faithful and attentive to our every need than our hearts can even fathom!
Having now arrived in Charlotte after a year and half of anticipation, the sorrow and loneliness I feared is nowhere to be found. Instead, I find myself absolutely amazed that the Lord has allowed me to be in this role.
How unreal is it that, as the Coordinator of Church Partnerships for Sports Friends, I get to do something I’m so passionate about each and every day? It’s so exciting to get to be a part of connecting God’s church here in America to what He is doing across the world!
Personally, I’m really enjoying exploring Charlotte, making new friends, and searching for a new church home. He has provided me a great place to live, amazing new co-workers, and an amazing team of ministry partners standing behind me.
Above all, I’m most grateful that I can say that HE Himself is with me and that He is enough, just as He promised!