Interview With Jonathan and Samantha [Stepping Out In Faith, Moving Across The World, And Onto The Mission Field]
8:24 AMHola readers!
I was very excited to do this interview but even more excited to share it with you now. I knew Samantha from the facebook group Delight and Be, and ever since I learned that her and her husband were going and keeping us up to date on their blog and socials (Capture a Cause), I've been wanting to follow their journey.
From talking with them briefly over e-mail they are an adorable couple, definitely leading God-driven lives, and I feel very blessed to get the word out about their ministry through this blog. Be sure and read the whole interview and take the time to follow them on social media - I can't wait to see what God brings down their path on this exciting journey!
1. Tell us a little bit about Capture a Cause:
Our mission statement is this: "The mission for Capture A Cause is to unify the Church through sharing cultural exploration and to use relevant platforms to bridge the gap between the mission-minded and the mission." We want to use platforms like social media and highlight different missionaries, missions, and share the cultural differences of different countries to equip the worldwide Church with their involvement in the mission field. For even further explanation of our mission statement and what we are about check out one of our more recent blog posts entitled "But Like, What Are We About?" (you can find it here! https://www.captureacaus
2. Why Hungary?
Jonathan: It's kind of a long story! In short, a trip to Hungary two years ago solidified my calling into the mission field (which you can read about here! https://www.captureacause.com/
Jonathan: One of the biggest steps for us was going before the missions committee at our church and asking them to be our sending church, but even before that I had met with Trey (who is one of the missionaries already in Budapest that we will be working with) for coffee when he was in town for a missions conference at our church and told him what I was feeling. That was probably the first big step. I felt like I was going out on a limb telling him that I sensed God calling me to Hungary. In that conversation, he told me that they had been praying for us for a long time and hoping that God would direct us to Hungary.
Samantha: Technically, Johnny brought it up before we started dating! He told me during a conversation we had that if we were to date (because we dated with the intent to marry each other), that I would need to know that he ultimately was called into missions and that he didn't know if that meant a move would be in the future. And I was at complete peace about that!
4. What are your plans once you reach the country?
We plan on getting to know the church, helping build a team of marketers for the church, helping out the church as much as we can, creating our own content, and soaking up the city and the people as much as we can!
5. How did your family and friends take it when you told them about the big move?
They took it really well! We are so blessed with supportive friends and family members who believe in us and encourage us with every step. Of course, some people have been kind of sad about it, but we know that they support us regardless!
6. How has God worked in this so far and have you found yourself growing closer to Him?
He's worked in a lot of ways! He's helped us understand the total and ultimate need to rely solely on Him. He's humbled us, strengthened us, and guided us in every step. We do find ourselves growing closer to Him as we begin to let go.
7. What are both of your feelings going into this?
Samantha: My feelings are very mixed, but only because the flesh side of me likes to take over at times. I'm so scared because I've never been away from family before and I haven't lived anywhere other than Florida (I was born in Indiana but I only lived there for four or five years, so I don't really count that!). But goodness, I am so ready for this! I am so ready to see God move, to hear the stories of the people in Hungary, and to see how God uses Capture A Cause to bring honor and glory to Him.
Jonathan: I am FREAKING OUT!! Its such an exhilarating experience to say yes to God anytime we say yes to Him. His ways and His timing are not our own and many times aren't exactly what we expect. As believers we know this, however we so often try to plan out how life will go anyway. As a seasoned veteran control freak I NEED to know what the plan is all the time.
"What is coming next?", "When is it coming?", and "What EXACTLY am I to be doing in the mean time?" are questions that I try to figure out an answer to almost hourly. In this season of our lives God has clearly called Samantha and I into the mission field and He has given us such an amazing vision, direction, and a very clear starting point, BUT realistically, beyond the next three months is a little hazy other than that we will be serving the Lord in the mission field. While we fully trust His provision and guidance to be honest it gets scary sometimes to not know what will be coming next.
-"How many months or years will He have us traveling?"
-"How long will we be away from our families?"
-"Will we still be traveling from country to country when He calls us to start a family of our own?"
•"How in the world will the funds come through to continue this?"
All of these questions circle through my head in a whirlwind of anticipation only calmed by the realization that the One who has all of these answers is the Creator of the entire universe, that He has absolute power over life and death, that He loves me and wants whats best for me, AND that He is SOOOOO creative! He is going to take this humble "yes" and turn it into something far beyond what my mind could think up or plan out. So I guess the best way to describe how I feel would be kinda like when you forget you have your glasses on your face and you think "OH CRAP! I LOST MY GLASSES! ... wait... nope... never mind, they were on my face."
8. What is something you're both looking forwards to once you reach Hungary?
Samantha: I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us and for the people of Hungary. I can't wait to see what He does and I can't wait to see how He moves!
Jonathan: Honestly, as I mentioned previously I think I really am most looking forward to watching God show off His creativity. This is going to be an insane, colorful, bumpy, exciting ride and I can hardly wait to see the way He shapes it and the effect that it has for His kingdom.
9. So switching topics, how did you two meet?
We met through church! We were both in the college ministry at the time and someone introduced us by saying "Hey, you both are photographers!". After that, we just started hanging out all the time, and eventually our huge group of friends got smaller and smaller until it was just us together. We actually wrote a blog post on this that goes into a little bit more detail! You can read it here: https://www.captureacaus
10. A few years ago would either of you have seen yourself where you are now?
Samantha: I wouldn't have seen myself here! A few years ago, I didn't even know Jonathan, nor was I this passionate about photography, and if I am really honest with you, I wasn't that in love with God. I've experienced a lot of church hurt when I was younger and the idea of Jesus was not something that appealed to me. Praise the Lord, God worked in my heart majorly, I picked up a camera, and I fell in love with Jonathan!
Jonathan: NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST! A few years ago I was goofing off, running from a calling to ministry, and trying to find anything else to satisfy me because I was scared and didn't feel like I was "enough" or that I had an "interesting enough story" to make a difference for Christ. Though the destruction of a long relationship is ultimately what brought me back to the Lord I still felt (as I'm sure many do) that I would never love again, that God would either have to bring restoration there or bring some kind of impossible miracle into my life that would make moving on worth it. *cue Samantha*
11. In five years, where do you both hope to be?
Samantha: I'm leaving that up to God! I would hope that Capture A Cause would be more established, but as far as where I'd like to be living, how I'd like to be living, and all that jazz, I'm leaving the planning up to Him. He's done the best job so far, so I'll just following!
Jonathan: I echo my wife! We do have goals that we hope to achieve and an intentionality to stay driven but we are open to change and open for God to do whatever He will to put us wherever He wants five years from now.
///////// And on a random note.... /////////
1. Favorite movie to watch together:
We actually don't really watch that many movies together unless we go to the theatre! We watch a few TV shows, though. We love The Office, Parks & Rec, and we're currently watching How I Met Your Mother together!
2. A word you'd each use to describe the other:
Jonathan: Sexy! In every way. The way she looks, the way she acts, even the way she loves the Lord is sexy.
Samantha: Brave. He's honestly the bravest and most courageous person I know!
3. A Bible verse that sticks out to you right now as you prepare for your big move:
Jonathan: John 10:4 which says " When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice." That verse has definitely impacted me a lot during this time.
Samantha: My life verse is Isaiah 41:13 which says "For I Am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says, 'Fear not, for I Am with you.'". God has brought that verse to my head many, many times throughout my life as a form of comfort. I love it because it talks about how God will hold your hand through situations that evoke fear in you. Moving to a new country is scary, but knowing that my God is right there comforts me so much!
4. A book you've read in the last few months that has impacted you:
Samantha: A book that I've read recently is the book "Uninvited" by Lysa Terkeurst. I've struggled my whole life feeling lonely and left out and this book has almost walked me through those feelings and helped me sort them out. I still have those feelings, but I am able to combat them with Scripture and truths. I highly recommend it!
Jonathan: Umm... well... this is embarrassing... the Bible. To be honest I'm not much of a reader. I do love watching and listening to all different types of content but my time that I do spend reading is almost exclusively dedicated to the Bible.
5. A word that (right now) describes the journey you two are traveling together:
Samantha: Probably "trust". I think this will change frequently, but for right now, we are learning to trust the Lord with everything, even the small things that we didn't necessarily think that was "worth God's time" (I know, I know... that's not biblical, but sometimes, even subconsciously, it's easy to think that God is too big to worry about the little things like whether or not you're going to have to pay extra money for a suitcase). We're learning to trust Him with EVERYTHING.
Jonathan: Trust is definitely a HUGE part of this journey that we are on and I believe will increasingly become so but another great word for us right now is "adventure".
Mirriam-Webster defines the verb adventure in 4 ways. The first is, "to expose to danger or loss." I love this definition because as we move forward into this season of missions we both continually remind ourselves and each other of the personal risks and sacrifices that we need to be willing to make to remain faithful to the calling that the Lord has placed on our lives. For us this began when we said yes to the calling putting all of our eggs in one basket and putting our future on the line for the Lord to do what He would with it.
The second is, "to venture upon," giving the word "try" as a synonym. This is especially crucial for us to realize that nothing we aspire towards can be accomplished by our own strength. We try, giving the Lord our best and in our weakness He is strong. Our efforts are only made complete through Him. We had NO CLUE where to begin the process of becoming missionaries but despite our GREAT weakness in that area we gave our best efforts and God has provided the perfect people to help, all of the answers we need, and clear guidance through the process.
The third is, "to proceed despite risk." We know that God will call us, and has called us, to move forward into situations of risk and into a life that will be riddled with spiritual warfare. For this reason we prepare ourselves to risk whatever He asks of us when those times will come. During this process the devil has bombarded us with fears of inadequacy and reminders of what we have to loose if we fail. Despite these risks we proceed in faith.
And the fourth is, "to take the risk." Adventure is made up of these four things but I think real adventure comes when you actually take the risk and we are growing nearer and nearer to that moment. On September 10th, 2017, most of the preparation will be done and we will take that risk as we step with our best foot forward into our newest season of life and onto a plane bound for Budapest, Hungry completely oblivious to the many adventures that lie in the waiting.
6. Favorite worship song:
Samantha: My favorite worship song right now (and Johnny can attest to this because I play it ALL. THE. TIME.) is called "Deliverance" by Strahan! It came on a couple days ago on our Spotify Discover Weekly channel and I haven't been able to get it out of my head!
Jonathan: My favorite worship song right now is "What A Beautiful Name" by Hillsong Worship. That song straight pumps me up every time I hear it especially when the bridge hits starting with "death could not hold you," continuing through the bridge and into the chorus that claims, "what a powerful name it is." I typically go through SUPER frequent changes when it comes to my favorite songs or favorite artists but that one has definitely had the top spot as my favorite worship song going on nearly 2 months now.
Thank you to Jonathan and Samantha for allowing me to share your story with my readers. I really appreciate it!
Thank you to Jonathan and Samantha for allowing me to share your story with my readers. I really appreciate it!
↢Follow Their Journey↣
2 of your thoughts
Wow, I've just being busy checking out all their links! :) Their mission in inspiring - like it's different and not really heard of but it's needed! Thanks for sharing the interview, Kara. It's a great insight into their mission and lives, and now I'll be following along on their journey too. :)
ReplyDeleteI was too after I found all their links haha. Now I'm happy just keeping up with what's going on next with them.
DeleteAnd their mission is something we definitely need - I agree! I can't wait to see what God does in their lives. <3
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