As we look forward to another holiday season, what a blessing it is to begin with a festival of gratitude! Here are just a few of the things for which I am thankful:

An opportunity to partner with AFM missionaries
“We need to support this AFM missionary!” my husband and I said to each other, knowing that we did not have the money, but feeling strongly that this was what we were supposed to do. In faith, we set up our monthly pledge, and month by month, we were awed as the money was always in our account to fulfill that pledge, plus extra!

The steps of faith triggered by that conviction in 2016 to support a missionary family have turned my life upside down and inside out in the most amazing and unexpected ways. As I read the Adventist Frontiers magazine over the next year, my heart ached to be part of the stories from the mission field. The thought that perhaps my husband and I should answer the call to “Go” tugged at me. And so, after months of prayer, we took another step of faith and began the process of applying as AFM missionaries.

The gift of “counting the cost”
Step after step, God led us down a path we had never imagined for ourselves. Not every step of faith has been easy. Missionaries are regularly encouraged to “count the cost” because there are things we must give up in order to answer the call. And so, we took some of our steps of faith with many tears. The unexpected loss of the child we hoped and prayed would be our son caused grief that threatened to engulf us. Chris then had a major back injury that resulted in surgery.

Yet we could not deny God’s call. Convinced that the overseas mission field was our final destination, we gave up all our belongings, said our tearful goodbyes, and fully embraced immersing ourselves in our country of service. The challenges of extreme heat, language learning, drastic cultural differences, and COVID-19 lockdowns did not tempt us to question our calling.

Learning to trust God’s ways, even if they are different than what we plan or expect
Through the years, God has been teaching us that His path is not always what we think it should be (Isaiah 55:8-9). The steps He asks us to take appear, to our limited perspective, to twist and turn as He moves us in directions we would not have chosen for ourselves. Returning to the U.S. so that I could assume the Development Director role truly felt like we were stepping backwards. And yet, we also saw evidence of God’s leading and chose to keep walking with Him.

The gift of deeper dependence on God because “I can’t do this!”
The Development Director role has ensured that I remain in an attitude of constant prayer, as I have been daily confronted with challenges that require wisdom and skills that I do not possess. At the end of each day, I look back with praise and gratitude at how the Lord has taken my fumbling yet earnest efforts and turned them into something better than I could have ever done.

Taking the next step of faith
And now, God is asking me to take the next step of faith by transitioning out of the Development Director role. This is a big step for me as I am stepping into the unknown, not clear what is next. And yet, as I look back at how the Lord has guided and provided through my years with AFM, I step forward with the confidence and peace of knowing that the God who led me this far is still with me (Joshua 1:9; Isaiah 41:8-14).

AFM Partners
Many of you have spoken words of encouragement to me. You have prayed with and for me. We have laughed and cried together. You have shared your heart with me. I cannot put into words how deeply I have appreciated the time we have shared.

Friends, we are each on our own journey of faith with God. Perhaps He is telling you to “be still” when you would rather move ahead. Or perhaps He is calling you to take a step of faith into an unknown future, maybe even to start a journey of missions with AFM. Regardless of what He is asking you to do, remember how He has led and provided in your past. Embrace His call. Take that step of faith. You will not regret it!

With deepest gratitude,

Erin White

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