We knew that God had called us to serve Him in Mozambique, but we didn’t know the impact it would have on our family. When we first told our grown children of being called to full-time service, they were affirming. “Yes, Mom and Dad, that makes sense, knowing you.” But when we sold the house, they each asked, “But what about me?” We assured them that it would work out, but in truth, we weren’t sure how. In fact, we had more questions than they did!

We have four daughters and one son-in-law ranging in age from 18 to 26. Having never really lived close to extended family, we are a very close family. So, the thought of leaving them and going to the mission field raised question after question: Who would fix the car when it broke? Who would give the medical advice and bring chicken soup when they were sick? Who would listen and counsel about boyfriends, teacher problems and friendship issues if mom and dad weren’t here? And what about our future grandchildren?

During this last year of deputation, we told our story to many people and relayed how difficult it was to answer the question God had etched into our hearts: “Do you trust Me? Do you really trust Me?” We had to come to the place where we responded, “Yes, even with our four precious pearls.”

With the house sold, the girls started playing out the rapidly changing situation in various ways. Some days, there was anger and resentment. Other days, they would simply try to ignore it all and hope it would go away.

Two of our daughters were able to visit our future field and a third visited another country with similarities to Mozambique. A phone call after this trip woke us up in the early morning hours. “Mom and Dad, I just wanted to let you know that I’m back in the U.S., and I get it. I’ll call you tomorrow.” We both cried and thanked God for His faithful answer to prayer. Their doubt, fear and uncertainty began to change to pride, assurance, acceptance and confidence as they gained even more understanding of the very important part they play in our lives. We assured them that God would not bring us this far to just drop us as a family.

As we made our final good-bye visits, we didn’t see it as “good-bye,” but rather “Ate logo (see you later); we’ll talk to you soon on Skype” (an Internet phone service). We now leave, knowing the girls are in His hands, and they know that we, too, are in His hands. We still don’t know all the details, but we do know that He is faithful.