Worth the Risk!
By Ivonne Mouser, missionary in Chiapas, Mexico
I stood watching, with my 1 yr old on my hip and my 2 yr old hanging on my leg, as my favorite couch was carried out my front door. God had called us to Chiapas Mexico, therefore we sold our house and one by one nearly everything we owned was sold or given away. Some items were easily discarded but others were painful to release (like our first bed which we purchased sacrificially). Life was really good at the time we decided to take the leap of faith to pursue full-time missions work.We were comfortable and the decision to make such a financially unstable move for our family felt crazy (and some even let us know just how crazy they thought we were). We had many concerns, among them was the overwhelming question, "What if we fail?" Failure would mean moving back to the US, starting over, perhaps living with family or friends until we could get new jobs, etc. We knew it was a huge risk, yet it felt so right... and we decided the possibility of fulfilling the dream was worth the risk.
I was born in Honduras. At the age of 11 I was adopted by an American couple. All growing up I felt that God had rescued me out of Honduras for a greater purpose. In high school and college I went on several short term missions trips. Each trip confirmed my calling for full-time missions work. When Ron and I met, he was already serving full-time in Mexico. Four years earlier he had received a vision from the Lord to move to Mexico. We got married and lived our first five years in the States. In November 2007, after visiting Chiapas for a week we felt the Lord calling us back. In one year we sold our house and got completely out of debt. God is faithful! In October 2008, Ron and I along with our two boys made it to Chiapas. We just celebrated four years on the mission field. Our family will be adding a fourth son next March. We are excited about what God is doing and how he will use our boys in the future. We have never been happier serving the Lord.I truly believe Life = Risk. If you have never experienced failure, you are probably not really living. We all have dreams. Yet many will pass from this life without ever seeing their desires accomplished because fear of failure can be a very intimidating mountain to climb. I want to encourage you to go after your dreams. Don't let fear stop you from realizing your full potential. True, you may fail... but maybe you will succeed. You will never know unless you try.
Ivonne lives in Comitan, Mexico with her husband Ron and their three (soon to be four!) sons. The Mouser family worked alongside Global Encounter's Chiapas Jungle + Med team this summer and were fantastic hosts, translators, driver, and ministry partners! Follow the Mouser's ministry on Facebook - Life Missions.