Total Dependence

Joshua and Jamie Holmes along with their children in Italy.

Life appears to be going in one, clear direction. Plans for the future seem clean cut and obvious. Our plans make sense to us.

But all of a sudden, the resounding voice of the Lord enters the room. And it roars, it’s evident, it cannot be shaken off. It shakes everything up; completely. It’s unexpected– you surely couldn’t have planned it this way.

But, He speaks, and He moves, and He is sovereign. So you enter into the unknown, and it becomes a privilege to join in His work and plan for your life. It becomes beautiful.

The voice of God spoke. His peace was mightily felt and God’s voice is the very thing that led Joshua and Jamie Holmes to move to Sicily, Italy as missionaries working in a non-profit bike shop along with their five children. 

It started with a call to church planting. Exploring this call, the Holmes’ expected it to take place within Arkansas, their home state. Joined by their pastor and other key people, a small team surrounded them with prayers as they sought to determine where God was leading them.

An opportunity to take a vision trip to a church plant within the United States brought answers. 

“We loved what they were doing, but we did not feel God calling us to that area, but we learned a lot while we were there,” Jamie recounts.

The trip proved to be formative and revealing, opening their eyes to different ways of doing direct discipleship with people.

“We shouldn't expect to be able to go to church and that’s how everything happens. We are all individually supposed to be discipling,” Jamie said.

Later on, Joshua completed a course called Perspectives. When they got to talking about unreached people groups, Joshua instantly heard God saying “this is what I want you to do. To go to the unreached people groups.” Hearing from Joshua, Jamie instantly felt God’s peace with what he heard.

Joshua met someone in that class turned out to be an OMS connection, and reached out to him. “Hey, I know we were talking about how you love biking and you also love discipleship opportunities. I would like for you to talk to this group in Sicily.” And so, the bike shop was introduced to Joshua and Jamie. 

It surprised the Holmes’ at first, but the more they considered it, it seemed like a potential opportunity. They felt peace from God continually and walked in faith through open doors. Now looking back, it is incredible to see how God spoke into every single situation. The Holmes’ would give opportunities for doors to close. And when they wouldn’t, they felt assurance from Him. This was where they were supposed to be.

The value of community is especially evident in the way Jamie tells their story. While of course their pastor, Joshua’s OMS connection from Perspectives, friends from the church plant, and their prayer group supported them, an unlikely voice also brought assurance.

“The unknown nature of life as a new missionary has revealed much about the character of the Lord to the Holmes’. Total dependence, leaning in on His faithfulness and enjoying the community that He has brought and put them in.”

LilyAnn, their 13-year-old daughter, was always involved in the decision making process. Her parents informed her of the minute details, she was invited to pray alongside her parents.

LilyAnn shared with them, “I feel like God is leading us into missions,” before they had even told her. Her confirmation continued to speak into the family’s decision to go into missions.

“We were willing to take that scary step of faith and keep going.” Fast forward and the Holmes’ have been in Italy for just over two months. As they look towards the future, that same faith will continue to carry them. 

Life looks very different and will continue to do so over the span of this first year as the Holmes’ focus on settling in their new space. Their next steps include acquiring residency, acclimating to Italian culture, moving into a home, meeting people, language learning, and truly immersing themselves into their new country. 

The unknown nature of life as a new missionary has revealed much about the character of the Lord to the Holmes’. Total dependence, leaning in on His faithfulness and enjoying the community that He has brought and put them in. They are surrounded by an incredible team and God has given the Holmes’ a family through them.

Through the unknown, God has revealed Himself as Jehovah Jireh – the God who provides. It has shown the Holmes that no matter where they are, God is the primary provider in their lives.

“We’re so grateful that we listened to God and walked in this direction because it’s amazing what opportunities there are over here,” Jamie reflected.

How many times have we not been willing to just listen? How great is our God and how vast is the beauty that is experienced through the faith we have in Him.