Our Timeline

When you take a moment and truly look back at our lives as a timeline, you can see how God has been preparing our family for this move.  It has really been a neat experience for us to really allow God to work through so many details, and to recognize how many times we have had to completely rely on His work in our lives.

1999...  Wes begins at Johnson 

2001...  in China with ELIC and Camp China for 6 weeks

2002...  in Mongolia teaching English for 6 months

2006...   in China teaching English for 1 year

2008...   back at Johnson

2010...   graduates with Bachelor's degree

2011...   starts working in Admissions Office as Recruiter

March 2013...   ran into ELIC representative at JU, learned of opportunity and sent inquiry

April 2013...   requested to complete actual application, then a Skype interview

May 2013...   invited to come visit ELIC office in Fort Collins, and a week later job was offered

August 2013... starts new job at ELIC as Candidate Counselor for the University Teaching Program


So many little tiny details in between have been such a testimony to God's faithfulness.  If you know Wes at all, you know that he has this passion for China and all things Chinese culture.  He has had such a hard time finding ways to live out this passion for so many years and has been blessed through the relationships he has made through Chinese ministries around Knoxville.  Being at Johnson has been such a great opportunity to even study the language for graduate level credit and get to know several others who share this passion.

In March and April, Wes had the opportunity to possibly go on an evangelistic trip to China this summer.  So many weeks were spent in prayer regarding this decision.  After much thought and consideration he decided that it was not good timing.  At this point, he didn't even know if ELIC would contact him about a possible job.  For Wes to turn down an opportunity to visit China, let alone a trip more focused on evangelism in the smaller villages, this HAD to be God moving in his life.  A moment like this will have a deep impact on both of our lives.

Wes mentioned to me the other day, "You know, I know that we're not called to China right now.  So, I can't think of anything better for me to be doing than sharing my story and experiences in China with others and help them prepare to GO!"