Hello! This is Ethan writing to you. You have heard many updates from Victoria but as we are now married you will be hearing more from me on this page! A little about me…
I am 21 years old. I am the son of a pastor and my family has been in ministry for generations. My great-grandfather, my grandfather, my father and now me! All I’ve known, as a way of life, is to serve the Lord. In 2021 the Lord called me into ministry. I experienced an intense encounter in my bedroom one night and made a vow to the Lord to allow Him to use me in whatever way he wanted and wherever He wanted. I knew in my spirit soon after that encounter, that missions was where he was directing me. So, when I was 19 I attended Overland Advanced Mission Training. There I met Victoria, whom I would later marry. It has been two years since AMT and a lot has happened since then. Victoria had a brain injury. I fundraised for six months and became fully funded. I pursued a relationship with Victoria. I moved to Africa and lived there for 7 months. I proposed to and married Victoria. I changed assignments and went to the Overland US World Headquarters. Much of that you have heard about from Victoria in these blog posts. But now you can hear from me personally. So without further ado; here’s what I have been up to--
The past few months have been very busy as per usual! Since the beginning of May, we have officially entered the expedition season. This is the period of time when short-term trips begin to run all across the world. This year I am coordinating trips to over 10 different countries! So far four of these trips have launched out ready to reach neglected people groups in many different nations. Each expedition is a victory for me, because, with every expedition that leaves and returns, there were hours of coordinating itineraries, gathering information, lots of filling out booking travel insurance, and taking phone calls from team members who need encouragement. This job is of vital importance to the team at large and I feel honored to be trusted with the responsibilities that it requires.
"Some are called to sow and some are called to reap, but God gives the growth," is what is said in scripture. For this brief season in the States on this team, I don’t see the miracle of the Gospel go forth firsthand, instead, I sow with my labor. This means meeting deadlines, having meetings, and creating spreadsheets (lots of spreadsheets). My victories are the feet on the ground and messages from team leaders saying that their team arrived at their destination safe and sound. So far the fruit of my labor is the 24 people that have landed on the ground and are ministering (even as you read right now) to people who have never heard the Gospel. By the end of the expedition season in August that number will be somewhere in the realm of 150. With just the first team of seven that left from the US, on May 1st, here are a few statistics of their ministry time in the bush:
Ministered to: 354
Salvation: 145
Healing: 36
Deliverances: 6
Baptism of Holy Spirit: 37
Water Baptisms: 5
I am so excited and I take so much pride in the work that I am doing from behind a desk to make these trips run smoothly. God uses willing people and I am more than willing to take on a desk job and a 9-5 schedule for the sake of the Gospel going forth! From hours 9-5, I am Ethan the Expedition Coordinator, but outside of that life, it is still so rich and full. I am content and happy enjoying the freshness of our marriage. We celebrated 4 months of being married recently. Life is beautiful and Jesus Christ is Faithful. Recently Victoria and I have been constantly taken back by the reality of the life that we find in Jesus, unwavering, without fault, He is our life and He is good. Probably at least once a day our conversation in the car, over breakfast, or during dinner turns to the subject of how beautiful our life is and how thankful we are for the season that we are in. Giving our lives away and letting the lord take the wheel has been the best decision we ever made. It leads us to each other, to our calling, and to our home (at the moment). Trust me when I tell you, you will never regret surrendering to the calling of God on your life.
“How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation” Hebrews 2:3
Be praying for safe travels and fruitful ministry times for our trips going out this year. Thank you for your continued support of me and Victoria.