By Stephanie Germano
It is so amazing to me how God is always working in our lives, even when we do not realize it! When I was a senior in high school, God made it very clear to me that He wanted me to be a missionary. I was very nervous, but also very excited.
My parents, however, wisely told me that getting to a foreign field was not just something that would happen overnight, but it would take much time and preparation. My mother even jokingly said that it could even take as long as ten years. I chuckled to myself because I thought, “Surely it would not take that long!”
A year later, I had the opportunity to attend Crown College in Powell, TN. It was there that I met my husband and began to develop a burden for the Dominican Republic. After graduation, Timothy felt that he needed some additional training before heading to the mission field. He prayerfully searched for an opportunity to serve.
The Lord opened up a youth pastor position in Downingtown, PA, at Faith Community Baptist Church under Pastor Roland Venable. It was there that we both began to grow and learn many lessons about the ministry. The Lord allowed us to serve there for three years before He laid it on our hearts to begin the next chapter. Faith Community became our sending church as we set out on deputation.
After a wonderful two years of ministry on the road we were excited to finally head for the Dominican Republic. We were held up, however, with some visa and container paperwork. This process took an additional two months. At first, we were discouraged, but then God opened our eyes to see the valuable lessons that He was teaching us as we waited on His perfect timing.
The day came when we were finally able to buy our tickets! The week before we left, I was talking to my mother on the phone. She gently reminded me that our first day in the Dominican was the tenth anniversary of when I was called to be a missionary! Wow! It really did take ten years! All the while God was quietly, yet meticulously working in my life.
Although I still do not feel very ready, I take comfort in knowing that He will use each obstacle I face to prepare me for the next step in the path He has for me to take. If it were not for the lessons He had taught me in college, I would have never been ready to be a youth pastor’s wife. If it had not been for the lessons I learned as a youth pastor’s wife, I would have never been ready for deputation. Looking back on the ways He has shown Himself mighty to us in the past will help us look forward to the future as we began our ministry.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6.
Oh praise His dear, sweet name!
The Germanos arrived in the Dominican Republic for their first term on October 28. Pray for them as they begin language studies and settle into their new ministry.