Minnicks on a mission

The seed was planted two years ago. Brandon and Jennifer Minnick felt God's call to leave their comfortable life and enter the mission field to lead a life of serving others.

At the time, they weren't sure exactly what that meant or where they would go — but the urge became stronger the more they thought and prayed about it.

This week, the Winter Garden family is flying south to start mission work at seven pregnancy centers in and around San Jose, Costa Rica.

Brandon worked his last shift as a firefighter/paramedic last Thursday. The Minnicks have sold most of the contents in the home they rented, as well as their two vehicles and their golf cart. They have packed the essentials and everyone's clothing and given their four children — Kayden, 9, Alaina, 8, Ellie, 5, and Brantlee, 3 — one container each to pack their toys and sentimental items.

The Minnicks, officially missionaries with Beautiful Feet International, are ready for this adventure after months of preparation. They said their children are hesitant about leaving family and friends and the only life they've ever known, but they are excited about the idea of moving to a new country, making new friends and sharing their love of God with others their age.

THE MISSIONARY JOURNEY

The Minnicks felt the urge to enter the mission field — although they didn't know if it was going to be local or foreign — and were expecting a clear-cut answer and sign from God of where they should serve. Not getting that, they took a missionary interview tour, asking others how they knew where to go.

The answer was the same: “You'll just know. God will make it clear. Just follow the open doors.”

Jennifer said the doors to Costa Rica kept opening easily.

“In May of 2016, we were introduced to Centro Prenatal and heard they were looking for new directors to take over, since the current ones were heading back to the States,” Jennifer said. “We fell in love with the ministry from the moment we walked through the first center. We finally knew this was the place for us.”

The couple started a blog, Reckless Faith, that chronicled their journey, which included questions, fears and hesitation but also Biblical quotes and answered prayers.

Brandon and Jennifer took the older two girls on a vision trip to see how they would react to such a different life so far from Winter Garden. They loved the place.

“I just felt like that was God speaking through them, telling me everything was going to be OK,” Jennifer said. “Hard, but OK.”

"We're not all called to do the same thing, but we're all certainly capable of doing something."

- one of Jennifer Minnick's favorite quotes, by Jason Johnson

A year ago, they began selling their “stuff,” starting with the family golf cart and moving on from there. In their blog, they called it “the great purge.”

“At first it was totally freaking us out, but eventually it actually became freeing,” Jennifer said. “It was a big job to move out and sell (or) donate almost every possession we own. It was overwhelming and stressful, but once it was done we felt so great.”

CENTRO PRENATAL

The Minnicks first visited Centro Prenatal in May 2016 and knew that was where they were supposed to be.

“It lined up with our beliefs of not only sharing the gospel, but also family preservation,” Brandon said. “We just love how the centers were formed to bring the women hope that is found through the person and work of Jesus Christ, education and empowerment when it comes to being a mother and also helping them with their physical needs. Once we saw firsthand the lives this ministry was impacting, we know that both God had invited us into this opportunity and we wanted in.”

There are three centers in the San Jose area; one in Grecia, about an hour away; two in Tarcoles and Jaco, about 90 minutes away; and the Upala center near Nicaragua, about four hours away from San Jose.

Brandon and Jennifer will serve as the country directors of Centro Prenatal Costa Rica, taking more of an administrative role, making sure each center has the materials needed for the daily ministry work — both Biblical and prenatal in nature. Each center is run by volunteers, from the counselors to the secretaries.

The Minnick children will be part of the ministry, too. When the mothers arrive for counseling or assistance, they often take their children with them, Jennifer said, so her four can help entertain them.

“Our youngest says almost daily that he’s going to move to Costa Rica to help mommies and babies,” Jennifer said. “To see them excited about loving and serving others gives us tremendous peace. When we really think about it, we know we are opening them up to a whole new culture and language and helping them as children grow up with a serving/mission mind.”

There are other opportunities in the area for family ministry, as well, such as feeding the homeless weekly and taking part in a kids club on Saturdays.

The Minnick children will be homeschooled so Jennifer and Brandon can be flexible with their schedule and take them with them when they visit the centers farther out.

Big changes are coming this week for the family, as the six make their leap into mission life. They have at times been overwhelmed, worried and hesitant. But Brandon keeps going back to this Francis Chan quote: "God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through."

“This quote by Francis Chan was such an eye-opening statement for me,” Brandon said. “It carries the weight of Acts 4:29 and has become my cry for boldness. I want to step out of my comforts and rely completely on the grace of God to come through for me and my family. While I would love for that grace to be shown to us by the gift of security, ultimately I want God to be glorified through my life and our family. I want my kids to look at my life and see clearly that the glory of God was my supreme value and that I walked boldly towards that end with every step of my life with a heart of joy.”

Contact Amy Quesinberry at [email protected].