Matt and Abby: A maps story
In 2017, the Lord began to shape and burden Matt and Abby’s hearts. In a unique way, Matt and Abby experienced a drawing to missions and the nations together as a family. While living in the desert of Arizona, they found themselves praying over a world map. The Lord highlighted the Himalayan mountains to them.
Over the next few years, their hearts began to connect with God’s plans and purposes for the people of the Himalayas.
But one thing still lingered in their minds– Matt and Abby were deeply afraid of becoming part of the current statistic that 83% of missionaries leave the field after two years.
Unfortunately, they did not have support from friends and family. They were like a fresh sprout trying to find water in a parched desert. The sacrifice of leaving everything they knew weighed heavily on their hearts. Matt and Abby were in a heavy, dark season hungry for community, clarity, and the presence of God. They were confused about the Lord's timing, fearful of being isolated in a foreign nation and feeling alone with an assignment their family did not understand.
In their search for missional resources, they stumbled across the MAPS Global Podcast.
The topics discussed in the podcast provided Matt and Abby encouragement and a heart connection with another community across the country. The language used in the MAPS Global Podcast gave way to a breakthrough in Matt and Abby’s journey towards the nations. In faith, Matt and Abby moved to Richmond, Virginia to join the MAPS Global School along with their five-month-old daughter.
Upon walking into MAPS Global for the first time, they experienced the fertile soil of a family after the heart of the Lord together. Depression lifted immediately, and in a moment their parched roots were nourished by the presence of God. They met like-minded people who shared a unified heart for the nations who watered them with words of life.
Matt and Abby left the desert of loneliness and came into a greenhouse filled with life.
In this greenhouse environment, they moved from confused to confident, from isolated to integrated and from depressed to envisioned. Through growth in training and experiences in the 10/40 window, Matt and Abby have become tested leaders ready to pioneer in the Himalaya as part of this spiritual family called MAPS Global.