Plans Changed & All for God’s Glory

“Then we were filled up with peace!” Brenda* exclaimed and her husband Steve* wholeheartedly agreed.  

“Our hearts had been focused on Africa, but the Lord really emphasized that He wanted us in Asia,” Brenda shared. They are now serving as TeachBeyond’s Team Leaders and National Director (Steve) in a Creative Access country. 

 “Ever since we got married, we knew we wanted to go on the mission field,” Brenda said. 

The couple originally met at a church conversation program in Vancouver, Canada. “I wanted to learn to speak Spanish and Brenda wanted to improve her English,” Steve shared. It was through this church program and conversations with Steve that Brenda first came to really understand the Christian faith and made Christ Lord of her life. 

After getting married the couple spent 10 years in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. “We had a good life,” Brenda noted, “but more importantly, God was preparing us for what was ahead.” 

One weekend at the end of 2012, they heard a very inspiring missionary speak at their church. “I went home and googled, ‘missionary, teaching and opportunity.’ Up came TeachBeyond,” Brenda said. 

“I knew it was a good fit!” she exclaimed.  

They found out from Mike Koerber, then Director of Mobilization, Canada & the US, about a recruiting event happening in their area just 3 days later. So off they went with their 3 young children. 

When they arrived, they saw no other young families. “The average age appeared to be in the mid-60s,” Brenda and Steve shared. After the presentation, they had a lot of questions they wanted to discuss, but the presenter was busy. They offered up a silent prayer: “Lord, if there’s an opening after the next person finishes, we’ll stay.  Otherwise, we need to get our 3 kids back home – it's already late!”  

Moments later they got their chance.  

Their conversation that night with then-President of TeachBeyond, George Durance, was instrumental in their choosing to serve with the mission. “He was supportive about our desire to do pioneering work. And he put us in touch with another young couple already living and working in Asia,” Brenda noted. The conversation proved very significant, even though they were extremely reluctant to consider serving in Asia. 

“We really had to bow our hearts in prayer and ask, ‘God, where are you leading us?’” 

Even though Asia was not at all on their radar, they made contact with the other young couple George suggested, and from there, “our hearts really started to turn towards Asia,” Steve shared. “In July of 2013 our family moved to Asia to begin working in a school offering grade 1 and grade 6, with about 100 students in one building. I was going over to help with leadership and curriculum development, but ended up teaching,” Steve said.  

In his second year there, Steve was able to get more involved with curriculum development. The following year, Steve and Brenda became Team Leaders, overseeing Member Care in their project, meeting weekly with their team to encourage and support them. That year, Steve also became Principal of the Secondary School and by his fourth year, he was Head of School. In 2019, as they transitioned away, it had swollen to multiple buildings with 750 students in grades 1 to 12, including its first graduating class. 

“The idea of becoming National Director was floated when we were in another country (2019-2020) for our son’s surgery,” Steve shared. At that time, they were grounded abroad during the first part of COVID. “I initially said, ‘No’, to being National Director.  I was happy in my role as the Asia Coordinator for School Services.  After the role was amended to lighten the load, he accepted it and became Co-National Director in 2020, while still stuck overseas.  He immediately helped to found a new Missionary / Third Culture Kid elementary school while abroad with the support of those on the ground.  He also adopted the Modular Study Group (MSG) program, a hybrid school model, for Secondary students.  In the beginning of 2021, he finally broke through COVID red tape and was able to serve in-country.”  Since then, he has helped partner with and pioneer various projects. 

“We never imagined we’d be in Asia; but it was all God’s plan, and we’ve seen Him do incredible things!” Brenda says. 

*Names have been changed

Please pray for . . . 

• Our Father to supply all our financial needs: our support has decreased and we need to increase it to cover expenses in order to serve without needing to worry about finances.

• God to bring us more students, and teachers: 2 Primary teachers and 3 parttime Secondary teachers: English, Math & Science.

• Our children, who are in High School, would have clear direction for their future.