Swors prepare to leave for Haiti full-time
Preparations
Adam and Britney Swor will be leaving for Haiti in January to be full-time missionaries. However, before they leave their home and church, they have many preparations.
Britney listed them. “A lot of paperwork for the organizations we’re being sent through. Meeting with our guidance team. Fund-raising. Spending time with family and friends. Meeting with the missions team at church. Finishing up our jobs---I’m a wound/ostomy nurse at Vanderbilt, & Adam is in the mortgage banking industry. Packing. Selling furniture. Getting the proper vaccinations needed.”
The Call
“It was a few years ago that God began opening my eyes and opening my heart to overseas missions. I eventually kind of went to Adam as God continued to put that on my heart. I told him what I was feeling and basically he looked at me and laughed and said 'It's good for you, but God is not telling me that. I will let you know when He does',” shared Britney.
The young couple received the call from the Lord between their two mission trips to Haiti. They went on their first trip last August. “We both felt led to go on a mission trip to Haiti in 2012. What we didn't know at the time was God was opening doors for us to be in Haiti full-time,” replied Adam. Then this past May, they joined another group from church who went there. They finally surrendered to God's call when they returned from that trip.
Britney said, “We are just so thankful that God has called us to Haiti. And---there's no greater joy---as odd as that may sound to some people. We will leave behind a lot of our luxuries at home but the peace of knowing that's where God wants us is way beyond any of that.”
Training
The Swors have gone through training at Brentwood Baptist Church (BBC). “We did a 12-week mission-focused Bible Study called Engage,” mentioned Britney. They also had BBC's training and educational manual as well as Evangelism training entitled Sharing Your Story.
Adam and Britney will have many other responsibilities before they leave for their full-time missions journey. They will be going to the International Mission Board (IMB)’s International Learning Center near Richmond, Virginia. The training will be 8 weeks from mid-October until mid-December. During that time, the couple will be learning about many different topics. “It will consist of various training sessions---ways to share your faith, small group worship, prayer time, spiritual warfare, contingency/safety training, quad/communal living, cultural learning, language learning, devotion and time with the Lord, and much more!” explained Britney.
Mission Work
The Swors will be in Haiti for whatever length of time God wants them there. They are currently leaving the length of time up to the Lord to determine and reveal to them later. However, they will be in the foreign country at least two years.
Since Britney is a nurse, she will be serving as the liaison between the medical clinic and the medical director in the U.S. “I will help lead and oversee the work there while providing guidance and mentoring to the employees as well as the women in Neply, Haiti.”
“Our hope is to bring them the love of Christ and bring them opportunities for change. We just want to help them initiate change in their own village,” shared Adam. He will be helping to create jobs and develop the economy there. Some of his responsibilities will be building relationships, mentoring the men of the village, and showing them how to be leaders by following Christ.
Journey
Britney talked about their spiritual journey. “We never anticipated God calling us to overseas missions, so this was a ‘curveball’ for us. It has been a several-years' journey---from the time God called us to missions to the time He showed us exactly where He wanted us.”
“It has been amazing and humbling to see God’s hand at work over the years. So, it has been a great reminder of God’s faithfulness and His perfect timing. It has taught us a lot about patience and trusting God even when it’s difficult. It’s been a reminder that once we give our lives to Christ---that this life is not our own anymore. It’s not about us. It’s about Him; Him living and working through us. So, we are just being obedient to what He has called us to do and following Him into the unknown,” said Britney.
Special Requests
Adam and Britney request that their church family pray for them before they leave as well as while they are overseas in Haiti. “Encourage us while we’re there. Take a mission trip through the church and come visit!” added the couple.
