Faithfully serving the Lord can sometimes mean giving up something that is extremely important. For Jake and Becky Hjemvick, following God’s call meant giving up secure jobs and a comfortable life in Wexford, PA to serve on the mission field in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Along with a few worldly possessions, Jake and Becky took their six-year-old son, Adam, and four-year-old daughter, Abby, with them thousands of miles to serve as missionaries for Christ For the City International (CFCI). CFCI is a global mission organization that aims to transform the lives of communities in 15 different countries and develop leaders for Christ. This is a calling and a place for which they had been well prepared, but for which they once could not have imagined.
Jake graduated from Geneva in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and Becky in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in business. After graduation, he secured a job at Eaton Corporation. At that time, Jake had no idea he would be giving up his nice savings account and 401k to live a life of continual dependence on God in a country he barely knew.
Jake and Becky’s call to the mission field began in 2008 after Jake returned from El Salvador with an evangelizing team. Although this trip had a real impact on his life and faith, he did not immediately feel called by God to serve in El Salvador. After Jake’s first trip, Becky decided to follow in his footsteps in 2009 and plunged into the mission to help those in great need. Becky and eventually Jake felt God’s persistent call to serve as missionaries in El Salvador, and in 2011, the couple and their children moved to this new country to serve for CFCI.
Becky reflects, “God gave me a passion for the country and people of El Salvador and a feeling of strong calling to serve the people here.”
Throughout the years, Jake and Becky have encountered various obstacles in their ministry such as language barriers and cultural differences, but God’s presence and provision have never left their side.
“I have found that when you yield your life to Him, He begins to reveal Himself everywhere...I have seen God’s hand clearly in so many things,” Jake states.
Reflecting back on his time at Geneva College, Jake could clearly see the Lord’s preparation for his current mission. One of the greatest impacts of his Christian education at Geneva was the focus on student leadership. As a foreign missionary and base director, now leading a team of nationals, Jake realized that that there is no other way to lead but to follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ in servant leadership.
For Jake and Becky, service comes in innumerable forms. Whether they are coaching volleyball, making crafts, teaching English, doing devotionals, or working with children, God’s light is being shared. Along with other women, Becky serves in the prison ministering to incarcerated women and their children.
For those considering the mission field, Jake advises, “To live and keep in step with the Spirit.” Living in the Spirit has had astronomical effects on Jake’s life. He states, “I have known God so much more, and He has changed me as I have yielded my life to Him and His Spirit…I have found God leading me places I never would have gone on my own. There is clearly no better way to live life.”
As Jake and Becky serve in El Salvador, they lean daily on God for guidance and support. Keep them in prayer as they live in step with the Spirit.
For more information about Jake and Becky as well as CFCI, visit: cfci.org/fundraiser/jake-becky-hjemvick/.
By Olivia Forton ‘19