Go!

posted by Navigators on March 5th, 2025 in Missions

By Mary Merrill, friend and faithful supporter of Australian Navigators.

We’re a family that loves an adventure – “Go” is an inviting word. So, when we had the opportunity to move to Spain with work, we were thrilled. More than an adventure, we love the Lord and want to be obedient to His calling. We had made ourselves available for an overseas job placement, knowing that would also give us missions opportunities.

When the opening in Madrid came up, we were happily established in our community, involved in a great church, with kids in a good school catchment. We have five kids, whose ages at the time ranged from four to 17 years old. Could we uproot our kids and take them across the ocean, into a culture they didn’t know, with a language they didn’t know? Would we be saying yes selfishly, just because we wanted the adventure? Was God even calling us to this? Maybe now wasn’t the time to go?

In the book of Numbers, when God commands the Israelites to enter the Promised Land, they refuse to obey because they are afraid of the inhabitants of the land. God punishes their rebellion. The next day, the whole community regrets their refusal and says they are ready to take the land. Moses warns them not to go now because God is not with them. Again, they disregard God’s plan and set out in spite of Moses’ warning. They are attacked and forced to retreat.

We knew we didn’t want to move overseas without knowing that God was sending us, so we gathered faithful Christ-followers to pray with us to discern God’s calling. These were important weeks for us, sitting before the Lord and listening for His voice. God answered and gave us a clear calling to move our family to live in Spain. He gave each of our children an excitement about experiencing a new culture and befriending new people. We didn’t know specifically what it would look like, but we know that God’s plan for all our lives always involves taking the good news of Jesus to people, whether near or far.

This was an amazing adventure. God was faithful as we lived life in Madrid for two and a half years. We were able to engage neighbours, classmates/parents of classmates, and work colleagues, loving them and sharing the truth and beauty of Jesus with them. But God doesn’t only call us to be obedient in these ‘big’ opportunities in life. He calls us to say yes in all the small ways every day, so when an adventure like this comes up, we are already in a posture to hear His voice and to go on His command. We are so glad we said yes.

Mary (second from right) and her husband (top left) with family and friends from Spain. Photo: supplied.

This article first appeared in Compass, Autumn 2025 issue. Featured image of street in Spain by Jorge Ramirez on Unsplash.