We often say that missionaries live in two worlds: the home country we left and the one in which we serve.
The distance between the two never seemed greater than when our youngest daughter, Whitney, was in crisis.
We sensed God leading us to serve in Togo when our children were young adults. As we prepared to leave for the field, we discovered that Whitney, who was living in rebellion and rejecting contact with us, had started using methamphetamines. With prayerful counsel from our pastor and ABWE leadership, we decided to continue in missions. Six years later, we learned that she was addicted to heroin.
We knew that opioid deaths were skyrocketing, and we pleaded with God to show us what to do. How could we stay in Togo while our daughter was addicted and living on the streets? How could we leave Togo when Susan had a critical role training nurses at the Hospital of Hope and Garon was leading a team of 50 missionaries?
With God’s help, we recognized that we hadn’t been able to keep Whitney from sin even when we were present, and he gave us a sense of peace about staying in Togo. We clung to the truths that he is sovereign and his grace is sufficient every day, and we chose to trust him with Whitney’s life. Looking back, we see how he honored that.
In our absence, a family friend flew to northern California and found Whitney among the homeless encampments. He secured a place for her at a rehab clinic in San Francisco. On the bus ride there, however, Whitney disembarked during a stopover to get high and found that the bus had left without her. Hysterical, she begged an older man nearby to drive her to San Francisco—and, amazingly, he agreed. The man shared the gospel with Whitney, and they discovered that he knew our teammates in Togo. That was one of many things that God orchestrated along the way.
A month into the rehab program, Whitney faced another crisis: she was pregnant. Alone, afraid, and desperate, she cried out to God for the first time: “I can’t do this; God, please help me.” She immediately felt the Lord impress upon her, “Come with me, and you will never have to go back to your former life again.” Soon after, an ex-convict at the rehab center invited her to church. Finally understanding God’s forgiveness, she trusted him for salvation.
Her life transformed. She broke free of addiction and began to follow God wholeheartedly. Knowing that she could not provide for a child, she placed her son for adoption with a godly couple in North Carolina. She became a registered nurse and now passionately uses her testimony to share the gospel with the homeless and disadvantaged.
During the 10 years we prayed for her, we sometimes doubted God’s faithfulness. He showed us that we needed to trust him to do his work in his way in the lives of our kids. In his mercy, he brought people we would never have expected to change her life and restore our relationship, even from a world away.
