CALEB'S TESTIMONY
The Lord blessed me with the privilege to be raised in a Christian home where I was able to hear the gospel at an early age. While attending Maranatha Baptist Church where my grandpa was the pastor, I heard many clear presentations of the Gospel. After a few month period of conviction, I asked my Mom on a Sunday afternoon if she would be willing to show me how to be saved. She then took me through the plan of salvation, and that afternoon I accepted Jesus Chrsit as my Lord and Saviour. After a few months, I was baptized by immersion in the Colorado River in Yuma, AZ.
The Lord continued to work in my heart over the years, and while in high school at a teen conference the Lord worked in my heart about serving the Lord in full time ministry. This, however, was not the end of the Lord’s working, and while in Bible college at a Missions Conference I felt the Holy Spirit’s moving again. When the Lord called me into missions, I was unclear of where God wanted me to go, but God in His perfect time showed me His perfect will. During an internship in college in Zambia, Africa with Pastor Dave Barnhouse, God opened a door for me to work in northern Zambia, and I felt the burden to reach the villages of Lake Tangynyika with the Gospel. I am excited to see where God will lead and guide.
While in high school, I was able to preach in nursing homes and in my local church which was an awesome experience. During college, I had multiple ministry opportunities such as helping start a bus route, filling in for local pastors, and interning in Zambia, Africa - where I preached in many churches, performed many Bible studies, and preached my first funeral. I also faced many of the hardships the country had to offer which helped strengthen me and prepare me for the work that God has called me. I have since then served in my local church as a song leader, and youth leader from young children to teens, and also preached many times which has given me a lot of different experiences and times to grow.
ABBY'S TESTIMONY
I was born in Toledo, OH in February of 1990 to my parents, Jim and Linda Walker. At that time, my parents ran an inner city bus ministry in Toledo holding Bible clubs for kids and teens several times throughout the week at our church, Hope Baptist Church, where Pastor Rick Sowell is still the pastor. In 2000 when I was 10, God called my dad into full-time evangelism, and we sold our house and bought a converted bus to live and travel in. Our family of 10 had already begun singing and playing instruments together, and we started to build on that more in order to be a blessing to the churches where my dad was preaching.
In December of 2001, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour while at a church in TN. Our family continued in evangelism until 2017, preaching and singing in revival meetings, missions conferences, youth camps etc. across the country, and holding about 10 Vacation Bible Schools per summer at different churches in the Midwest. We as siblings were able to be highly involved in the ministry, from the music part of it to youth camp to our Vacation Bible School programs, which we wrote and developed the curriculum for, and then worked personally with hundreds of kids every summer. My dad also made a point of not only ministering inside of churches, but also through public ministry such as kids Bible clubs in public parks or singing in public places.
I was homeschooled from kindergarten through grade 12 using the A Beka curriculum, and when I graduated, I knew that God was leading me to continue traveling with my parents and be used of Him in their ministry. I made the choice to do so and am very thankful for the valuable experience that those years provided. In 2015, I met my future husband and we started courting, and then we married in February of 2018. He made sure that I knew from the very beginning that God had called him to go to Zambia, Africa and took every step to make certain that I was willing to accept and fully support this endeavor. I had already surrendered as a teen to do whatever God wanted me to do and asked Him to lead me in every step of the way.
In June of 2017 my dad began pastoring Gospel Light Baptist Church in Mesa AZ. I taught in the kids ministries and played the piano for church and worked as a nanny for the short 7 months that I was there until moving to Yuma when we got married.
For the past year and a half we have been able to work together in the teen, bus, and music ministry here at Maranatha Baptist Church in Yuma, AZ and now at East Sunsbury Baptist Church in Beallsville, OH. We are excited about what God is doing here, but more excited about moving forward in our goal of reaching the country of Zambia.