Brian's Testimony
Salvation
I was ten years old when Rev. Larry Lindsey of Eastside Baptist Church in St. Joseph, MO. was out visiting and knocked on our door. He invited my father to bring his family to the church and so we started attending. Up until that point we had never attended a church service. While attending junior church at Eastside Baptist on April 19, 1981, I felt the Holy Spirit convicting me that I was a sinner and only by believing could I be saved. At that point I went forward and asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior.
Early Years
In 1988 I graduated from Lafayette High School in St. Joseph MO., and felt God's call into the ministry. However, God's plan for my life did not agree with mine. I was hired by an electrical contractor in the summer of 1988 and was able to receive training in that field. Also during this period of time I was a member of the River Bluff Racing Team, a United States Cycling Federation sanctioned team, as well as the St. Joseph Boxing Club. Up until 1992 I worked a good job and raced on the team. This 4-year period was by most standards a wonderful time. But I was not happy. I knew God had called me into full-time ministry. So in 1992 I surrendered to go to Baptist Bible College (BBC) in Springfield, MO.
BBC Springfield
In September of 1992 I moved to Springfield. I was very excited to know for sure that God was in this. While attending BBC I was blessed to meet Rachael Barnes, later to be Rachael Weed, my wife. She was a missionary kid from Costa Rica. We fell in love and were married in May of 1994. We had many opportunities to minister in the Springfield area. We were involved in various children's ministries while at Cherry Street Baptist Church. We also had the opportunity to work with the teens at Noble Hill Baptist Church where Dr. James Sewell is the pastor.
Internship
Rachael and I were given the opportunity to do our missionary internship in Lufkin, TX. with Rev. Walter Futch as Pastor. We learned a lot in those two years from June 1997 to June 1999. We were adult Sunday School teachers, Vacation Bible School teachers, instituted the Pioneer Clubs program, took Pioneer Club camp-outs, summer kids programs, preaching, funerals, adult activities, visitation, soul-winning, and general church leadership.
Our Call
Rachael and I are both called to be missionaries. Not only to be missionaries, but church planting missionaries. We are both excited to be associated with the Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI) and feel it an honor to go out with the backing of the BBFI. We were both in school and really concerned about where God would have us go. So we decided that we would pray for the answer separately and see what would happen. Two months later after praying and asking God where He would have us go, we both received our answer. God had burdened both our hearts for the field of Nicaragua. The revolution that began in 1979 forced most missionaries out of Nicaragua. Now this country is open once again and we are, with God's help, advancing the Gospel in Nicaragua.
