After graduating from high school, I attended Moody Bible Institute for three years beginning in 1981. It had been my intention at first to attend the aviation program at Moody and then become a missionary pilot. After the first year there I realized that this wasn't what I should do, so I finished up with a diploma in Bible and Foreign Missions. In 1984 I moved out to California and began attending Azusa Pacific University.

Meanwhile, Ellyn had been going to high school in Duncanville, Texas. Upon graduation she moved out to Southern California to live with close friends of her family. Sometime in 1985 we dated for a few months, although it wasn't until sometime in 1986 that we became serious about each other. On August 1, 1987 we were married.

For two years we lived in Southern California. Ellyn worked as a flight attendant for TWA, and I taught fifth grade. Having grown up in PNG, we didn't enjoy life in the city, so we began planning a move to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. During my years at Azusa Pacific, I had worked two summers for Summit Adventure, a christian wilderness camping organization. Through this experience we had become familiar with the town of Oakhurst, just south of Yosemite National Park.

In June 1989 we moved all of our belongings to Oakhurst and put them in a storage unit. We went to Chile for the summer to visit one of my roommates from my days at Moody. We had both quit our jobs before we left, and at the time we left, I still didn't have a job in Oakhurst. I had however, sent out several applications.

Upon arriving back from Chile, I interviewed with the Bass Lake School District, and was offered a job. I accepted, and for the next seven years I taught a variety of classes, from seventh and eighth grade to a fourth/fifth combination class. During that time Ellyn volunteered with Summit Adventure and then later worked at a one-hour photo shop.

In December of 1990 we purchased a home in Oakhurst. Dustin, our oldest son, was born in May 1992. Just before he was born, Ellyn stopped working outside of the home to become a full-time mother. Three years later, in March 1995, Taylor was born.

From the time we first arrived in Oakhurst we had been attending Sierra Vista Presbyterian Church. The church was small when we first arrived, but was quickly growing.

In June of 1999, Ron and Margie Grant were back from Ecuador and we listened to them share at our church in Oakhurst. After the meeting that Sunday, they told us about the school in Shell, and asked us if we would consider coming down for a year to teach.

Ellyn and I went different ways that afternoon for several hours. She went to Fresno while I stayed home with the boys. When we came back together, we were amazed to find out that God had been speaking to both of us with the same message—to teach overseas.

We spent the next six months filling out applications and praying. This process culminated with us each having a physical before we went for our interview with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

A chest x-ray was required as part of the physical. Ellyn's x-ray showed some spots on her lungs. The doctor had no idea what this was, and this brought to a halt the process of joining MAF.

The next two and a half months were filled with a slew of tests, including CT scans and a bronchoscopy, all of which came back negative. Ellyn's lungs were filled with
nodules, but what they were was a mystery. The specialist decided to send Ellyn to Stanford University Medical Center.

Upon arriving in Stanford on April 6 Ellyn was asked a thousand and one questions. The doctors had no idea what was wrong, so decided to operate to take out one of the nodules and examine it.

The Tuesday before the surgery I called Ellyn. We had both heard friends and family tell us that we should probably just put off going to Ecuador for a year. In fact, maybe God had used this whole process just to allow us to find out about the nodules. But neither Ellyn or I had heard God telling us not to go. I told Ellyn it was as if we were waiting at the edge of a high cliff, waiting to jump into a pool of water. The longer we waited and looked over the edge, the harder it would be to jump. We really needed to keep on persevering with the things that needed to be done so we could go to Ecuador. Ellyn said "I'm feeling the same way."

From that point on we would plan and act as if God would provide a way for us to go that summer.

Thursday, April 13, we left for Stanford with surgery scheduled to remove the nodules on Friday. We almost didn't make it to the hospital due to car trouble. Because the van wouldn't start after we stopped for lunch, Ellyn walked the last mile and a half, praying all the way.

The surgeon wanted to get one more chest x-ray because the CT scans were over two months old. Ellyn then met with an intern who asked many of the same questions asked during the first visit. He then announced to Ellyn that there was a problem. He said, "Your chest x-ray shows that the spots are completely gone. It's clear. In fact, it looks like the x-ray belongs to someone else!"

Ellyn knew at that moment God had performed a miracle in her! This was our confirmation for going on the mission field. The doctor wanted her to get another CT scan to make absolutely sure the spots were gone. Once more Ellyn came up spotless!

Doctors, surgeons, interns, nurses,and the radiologist were all baffled at what took place. When we arrived back in Oakhurst the next day, we went straight to our family physician, and Ellyn had her blood tested. Her white cell count had been low for over a year. That was something else she had visited specialists about, none of whom could find anything wrong. Now it tested above normal!

Rejoicing with all that God had done, we left on Sunday to meet with MAF in Redlands. We were accepted on April 17, 2000. After two months of planning and packing, getting our passports and visas, we left on July 17th for Ecuador!

God has given us this miracle to show us and the world that:

Yes, God does have a plan
Yes, God knows what He is doing
Yes, He is faithful and true
Yes, He performs miracles in this century, and because of this we feel honored to serve our God wherever He puts our family.