If you’d like to hear more of the Brown’s story in their own words, join us for a special LIVE STREAMING event on Thursday, February 24th at 7pm (Central Time). Click here to learn more!
If you’ve ever had the world turned upside-down on you and wondered “how do I faithfully follow God and walk forward now?” this story is for you. This is the story of the Brown family – Bobby, Brianna, Killian, Titus, Leo and Layla – and how God brings beauty from ashes.
Even before they said “I DO” at their wedding, the idea of serving together as missionaries was at the forefront of Brianna and Bobby’s relationship. So, it wasn’t a surprise to their family, friends and church when they were appointed to serve as global workers with WorldVenture to make the name of Jesus known among the Taiwanese people. Leaving the comforts of their pastoral role at a mega-church in the US, they embraced the challenges of becoming immersed in a new language and new culture.
Their journey from the US to Taiwan was seamless – at first. All of the moving parts and pieces fell into place as they transitioned into full-time missionary work with WorldVenture. They raised their full support, blended well with the team in Taiwan, and experienced immediate success in ministry… all in record time. In many ways, their dreams came true. Or so they thought.
What transpired for Bobby and Brianna and family after their smooth relocation to Taiwan weren’t years of ongoing fruitful ministry like what they immediately experienced in Taiwan. Rather, they faced the nightmare of gut-wrenching decisions that needed to be made for the sake of their children, ultimately costing them everything that they dreamed of for missions work. After only 18 months in Taiwan, the Browns returned to the United States to secure the needed treatment and support for their children. They made the right decision and they didn’t regret it. But as they returned, they felt displaced, discouraged, and in need of special care.
Looking back, God was at work. He was in every detail, providing the necessary physical, emotional and spiritual care for each member of the Brown family. He even provided assurance and validation. But despite the confirmation, the process of letting go and faithfully walking forward into the unknown was extremely difficult.
Because of their relocation back to the US, they lost a significant portion of their financial partners and prayer support. Despite the obstacles, they pressed forward. With the help, guidance and care of WorldVenture, the Browns recommitted themselves to the Lord and to each other, placing their disrupted missionary work on the back-burner. As God used WorldVenture’s Paraclete (counseling) services to provide specialized care, the Browns attended to their souls and learned to walk open-handedly and forward into the future. All the while, God was working behind the scenes, preparing them for a new season of ministry, beyond what they could have ever asked or imagined.
As Bobby tells it, someone said “Refugee Ministry” and a lightbulb went off. In a very real sense, they themselves had experienced some of what refugees experience: displacement, discouragement, and the need for special care in transitioning to the future. Bobby quickly began networking and researching ways to serve refugees in his city. And they discovered something incredible! The place where God brought them back is one of the top destinations for refugees coming to the US.
“We decided to just start walking and caring for refugees and to see where God opened the door,” said Bobby.
Along the way, a new joy and unexpected opportunity emerged from their journey and the ashes of the past. It became evident that God was using what they went through as a platform for relating with refugees from all over the world and sharing the Gospel with them.
“The scales were lifted from our eyes and we saw the nations in our backyard!” exclaimed Brianna.
The Brown’s now clearly see that their own journey to and from Taiwan uniquely prepared them to offer care, assistance and spiritual companionship and guidance to refugees. Today, Bobby and Brianna assist in resettling displaced families, offering spiritual companionship to refugees and forming meaningful relationships with people in diaspora.
“Our pain became our platform,” Brianna said.
The Browns’ story brings to mind this verse from the Apostle Paul: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV). That’s what the Browns are doing. And we can do that, too.
Over the next 12 weeks, we will continue to share more of the Brown’s story with you. Consider it an invitation into their journey. Along the way, our hope and prayer is that you, too, will learn more of what it means to walk faithfully into the future. We hope you’ll see how God would use the hardships you’ve experienced to share the Gospel with others. And, practically, we all hope to learn some simple ways to care for the refugees – some from unreached people groups – that God has brought to those of us living in the US.
If you’d like to hear more of the Brown’s story in their own words, join us for a special LIVE STREAMING event on Thursday, February 24th at 7pm (Central Time). Click here to learn more!