No matter your career, the majority of us probably didn’t end up in our jobs because we saw a massive billboard that laid it out for us and then our great Aunt’s dog spell it out with his kibbles. The truth is, the Lord calls us to listen and follow His direction, which is most often filled with many steps of faith. Steps where there are two, three, or fifty great options, and we are called to choose; choose wisely, but still choose.
One of our Fall 2014 graduates from Southeast Asia, Mike, is stepping out in great faith. Mike is one of the youngest students to go through our program, yet his maturity astounded everyone. After graduating high school, Mike knew he wanted to do missions in the future. His main question was: “Do I even need to go to college?” When he heard about Cafe 1040 he knew this would be a great opportunity to gain clarity and confidence around his future, so he jumped on board.
While in Southeast Asia, Mike shared that, despite having no experience, he had always had a desire to be a pilot. However, he was unsure of how that could be used in missions. Upon returning home from our program, a good friend felt the Lord nudge him to share with Mike that Moody Bible Institute has an aviation degree, even though he had no prior knowledge of his love for flying. Mike then took the next 2-3 months to pray for direction from the Lord. All that time he felt the Lord say, “just take a step and apply.” After many months he applied to the program and was accepted.
He shared the exciting news with the Cafe 1040 staff and, in turn, shared the news with our US Team Leader, who interestingly enough, had met with Africa Inland Mission the previous week and they had expressed a need for pilots!
Since applying and deciding to go to Moody in the fall, Mike has been bombarded with potential opportunities for the future. The need for missionary pilots is great! Mike will be in school for at least 4 years; however, those 4 years will equip him with the tools he needs to go to the least reached.
In the meantime, he has connected with a ministry in his hometown that works with local internationals. They are doing great work and recently had a friend from the Middle East come to know Jesus and move back home to share the good news. Mike shared that he was able to help others in the ministry know how to safely communicate with their new brother now that he is back home in the Middle East. He is putting tangible things he learned through Cafe 1040 into practice and teaching them to others.
Let’s celebrate together this exciting story of a student gaining clarity and confidence around his calling and then taking steps of obedience towards that calling!
