Plentiful Harvest, Few Workers
Hello beloved friends and family!
Can you believe we're already more than halfway through the year? Time is flying! Baylee and I have already started talking to our parents about Christmas plans, and I’ve been singing “Silent Night” for the past couple of weeks... poor Baylee, haha.
We have some really exciting news to share with you this month, but first, we want to catch you up on what the last 30 days have looked like for us.
We continued walking alongside A Squad, a group of about 20 participants who were sent to the Southeast Asia region. We loved our time with them and saw amazing fruit—people coming to Jesus and beautiful discipleship moments unfolding throughout the squad.
Shortly after A Squad came off the field, a group of participants from last year’s trips returned to the base for RnR. RnR is a time when racers who have been back in the States for a few months return to process re-entry and seek the Lord as they navigate reintegration. Baylee and I were invited to speak on the topic of “Holy Dating.” Dating can feel like a gray area in Christian circles since the Bible doesn’t explicitly say, “When you date, date like this…” It was a great opportunity for us to seek the Lord and let Him lead the teaching and the conversations that followed.
We then flew to Minnesota (shoutout to Frontier and Spirit for those cheap flights!) for one of Baylee's best friend's weddings. It was a beautiful day celebrating two people who are pursuing Jesus and choosing to unite in marriage under Him. In the days leading up to the wedding, God opened several doors for us to minister to that community.
One story from that night reminded me how hungry the United States really is for the gospel. I was talking with one of the groomsmen who recently began following the Lord and is feeling called to the overseas mission field. While we were chatting, another groomsman—who had had a few drinks—came out to the patio where we were standing. It was a very local wedding, where everyone knew each other, so he was clearly caught off guard not recognizing me.
“Who are you?” he asked loudly.
“I’m Ethan, the maid of honor’s husband,” I replied.
“Do you live here?” he asked.
“No, I actually live in Georgia,” I said.
“Why the [choice word] do you live down there?” he asked.
I laughed and responded, “I work with a missions organization down there.”
“Dude, no [choice word],” he replied.
“Yeah, man. What do you think of Jesus?” I asked.
“Me? I don’t know... I believe in Him,” he mumbled.
“What does that mean—‘believe in Him’?” I asked.
“That He lived and stuff,” he answered confidently.
At that point, the first groomsman began to share his story about how he came to know the Lord in a relational—not just religious—way. As we sat with the second groomsman, it felt like layers were being pulled back, like an onion. He finally said, “I want to pray and follow God. It’s just hard... I don’t know how. I pray sometimes, but I don’t know if I’m doing it right.”
The conversation came to a close when about five of his friends came outside, talking loudly and unintentionally interrupting. I thanked the Lord for the opportunity to plant a seed, and I believe He will bring the increase. I could just sense how hungry that man was—for the true God, the true King, and a true relationship with Jesus.
I believe many people around us are just as hungry for the truth. Our part is to be obedient, to have the conversation—even when it feels a little awkward. Jesus talks about this very thing in Matthew 9:35–38:
“Jesus went throughout all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”
We’re thrilled to share that this year, we’ve accepted a new role at AIM as Gap Year Mentors!
If you're familiar with the World Race, you probably know what that is (and we hope you're excited with us!). If not, let us explain: Gap Year is a 9-month program for individuals aged 18–20. Around 30 participants will travel the world, serving ministries and sharing the gospel.
Our squad, D Squad, will be serving in Eswatini (Swaziland)—where I was born—Malaysia, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. If those places sound familiar, it’s because between Baylee and me, we’ve been to three of those countries multiple times in the last few years!
As heads of the leadership team, we’ll be leading their training in Gainesville, holding regular meetings with the on-field leadership, overseeing the discipleship of our young missionaries, and overseeing logistics for the trip’s duration.
While we're incredibly excited, we’re also aware that the coming year will be very full—likely even busier than we are now (which is saying something, considering we feel like we’re boarding a plane every month… again, thank you Frontier and Spirit for those sub-$100 flights!).
Thank You
We want to sincerely thank you for your continued prayers, financial support, and for the role you play in the Kingdom—just by reading this newsletter. We hope you feel encouraged.
I'll leave you with this:
1 John 4:11–12
“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.”
PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for the rest of our time in Minnesota as we visit family.
Pray as we begin mentoring and meet the leadership team this week.
Pray for our financial support—we still need to raise about $450/month to hit our baseline goal! We’re so close - praise the Lord!
PARTNER WITH US
Send us your prayer requests—we genuinely want to pray for you!
If you’re interested in monthly partnership, reach out—we’d love to connect with you.
If you’d like to support us with a one-time donation, please respond to the email this newsletter was sent from.
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