Nicole's Testimony

One night, when I was seven years old, my parents woke me, my brothers and my sister, to tell us our aunt had been in a car accident. I was concerned for her, but I was also frightened about what would have happened if I had been in that accident. That night I received Jesus Christ as Savior.

Nicole and a Ukrainian boy in Kiev.

My pastor, Larry Semans, had a heart for missions. I heard about missionaries and gathered all the brochures I could get. I remember a missionary showing slides of Africa. He told about work that was closed because of the lack of personnel, and my young heart responded with a desire to fill that need. By the time I was a freshman in high school, I had surrendered my life to God to be used as a missionary.

But I still wanted to do things my own way. At college, I initially majored in International Business and Global Economics, primarily because I did not want to be a traditional missionary and depend upon the support of churches. Then, during a missions trip to Iquitos, Peru, ABWE missionary Andy Large helped me see how important it was to know God's Word prior to leaving for a foreign mission field. I subsequently transferred to Piedmont Bible College as a missions major.

After graduating from Piedmont, I gained valuable ministerial experience at Salem Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I had opportunities to teach Sunday School and to participate in various ministries of the church. I also received training in teaching English as a second language, and served as a language instructor to a group of Hispanic immigrants.

Chris and I met at ABWE's 1998 Missionary Enrichment Conference. At that time, the Lord had already led me to choose Mongolia as my field of future service. We courted and were married in January of 1999.

Our family moved to Mongolia in August of 2000. The adjustment was difficult at first, but we have now grown accustomed to life in another culture.