The Beginning

I am not sure where to start so I will start with who we are. We are the Phillips family and though we all have not been called to full time missions work, I have. I am Gary and my wife and 4 kids have not been called but are supportive. It has been almost 10 years since I made my most recent decision that God is calling me to full time missions work, I say most recent because as a child of 6 or 7 I made a public decision that God was calling me to become a missionary. It wasn't until some time after making the decision as an adult that I remembered this happening as a child. As a child I would relish the times that missionaries would come to our church and share what God was doing through them on the mission field. It was during this time of my life that God put a strong desire in me to some day go to Africa. Though I had forgotten the childhood call to missions work I never overcame my desire to someday go to Africa. I am confident that God gave me this desire as a child and knew that one day as an adult I would remember my childhood promise and be ready to go. I believe that the time has come and that God has been preparing me for this trip ever since. I believe that God is calling us to Ghana and possibly to Togo as well, not for full time at this point but for an extended short term missions trip of 4 to 6 months. I also believe that this is just the beginning and could some day turn into a full time mission for us. Please pray for us as we prepare to leave that we will be open to God's leading, that we will not put our desires above His. Pray that God will us for whatever it is that He has in store for us when we get to Ghana and Togo. Pray that we will be able to raise our support in a timely manner. Pray that through this trip that God will receive glory and honor as we serve Him in humility, putting the people if Ghana and Togo above ourselves. Pray for health, strength and safety while we are home and while in Africa. Pray that God will help us get our passports and visas in a timely manner and that the exact dates and a good budget will be prepared soon. I will post updates soon and hopefully will have a photo to post soon as well.

Gary Phillips