A Great Door Has Opened

Not long ago, Brian and Aleisha Stephens thought they had a pretty good idea of God’s plan for their lives. “We had completed our Master degrees and were focusing on our careers and the growth of our family,” explains Aleisha. “God had blessed us with friends and community at Forest Hill and we had begun the process of an international adoption. We were really comfortable with our plan.”

Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (NLT). The Stephens’ soon realized God was working His purpose into their lives and changing their desires towards His will.

In October 2008, the Stephens’ received a phone call that would change their lives forever and put into motion God’s will for their future.

“We were approached by Josiah Venture and asked to pray about becoming full-time missionaries in Eastern Europe,” says Brian. Josiah Venture is an organization serving 11 countries in Eastern Europe. Their mission is to equip young leaders to fulfill Christ’s commission through the local church.

“We had been involved with Josiah Venture (JV) for many years on a short-term basis and we had seen God move throughout Eastern Europe. But, we had never considered giving up our lives in Charlotte and working in full-time missions,” Brian explains.

Aleisha immediately knew this was God’s will for them. She had been impacted greatly during her short-term trips with JV to Eastern Europe and she knew God was now calling them as a couple to serve full-time.

“I was a little more hesitant,” says Brian. “Full-time missions weren’t something I had ever considered, especially not now when so many other things were falling into place in our lives.”

Brian confesses the greatest hesitation for him was fear of failure. Fear of not reaching the goals and milestone he had set for himself and the fear of missing God’s calling.

As they wrestled with the offer from JV, Brian and Aleisha received another life changing phone call.
“We got a call from our social worker at the adoption agency we’d been working with,” explains Aleisha. “She explained that although we were listed as candidates for an international adoption, there was an African American baby in the Charlotte area due in December who had no adoptive parents lined up. She wanted us to pray about adopting this baby instead.”

In a moment, Brian and Aleisha were challenged to re-think their plans and give control to God. “It was pretty clear to us that God was orchestrating this change in plans,” says Brian. “Looking back, God had been preparing our hearts for something big like this. The guys in my LifeGroup had been praying God would bless Aleisha and I through this adoption process. We could have never imagined how great that blessing would be.”

On December 10, 2008, Brian and Aleisha became a family of three when Cecelia was born and they opened their hearts to the child God created uniquely for them.

“We thank God everyday for allowing us to be Cece’s parents. We feel so blessed and privileged that she’s in our lives,” Aleisha shares.

Needless to say, the thought of full-time mission work fell to the wayside for a while. However, this spring, Brian and Aleisha were invited to a JV conference in the Czech Republic to experience the larger picture of what 180 missionaries serving with JV are doing in Eastern Europe.

“I was still skeptical,” explains Brian. “In my mind, this conference was somewhat of a turning point. I was going to hear clearly from God one way or another.”

Once in the Czech Republic, it didn’t take long for God to influence Brian’s doubts and fears. During one of the sessions, Brian found himself sitting next to Ken Pitchard, a JV missionary to the Czech Republic. Ken began asking Brian questions about why he was at the conference and listening to Brian’s reservations about full-time mission work.

“Ken shared with me two verses that had helped him make the decision to move to Eastern Europe 15 years ago,” Brian explains. “The first verse was, 1 Corinthians 16:9; ‘A great door for effective work has opened to me.’ And, the second was; ‘2 Corinthians 2:12, ‘The Lord had opened a door for me.’”

Ken went on to share with Brian the Greek word for door used in these verses is translated as a door that is only open for a short amount of time. In addition, Ken explained, in one situation the apostle Paul goes through the door, and in the other he does not.

“Speaking with Ken that evening was a milestone for me,” Brian shares. “I had the choice to continue being happy and content in Charlotte as I had planned, or to take a job that has a direct eternal value and become passionate about my work in a way that I never had before. I knew at that moment which door we would choose, and I also knew that I would be a different husband and a different father because of this.”

Brian, Aleisha and Cecelia plan on moving to the Czech Republic January 2010. Brian will serve as Director of Operations for the entire JV team. Aleisha will use her gifts as an educator to equip the JV Kids with curriculum and language lessons.

If you want to learn more about the Stephens’ story and Josiah Venture, click here to visit their website.