In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a young family prepares to follow the call of God on their lives and return to the Mediterranean to serve Him. Jamie, Hazel, and children Willow, Cyrus, Chase, and Shiloh recently committed to Rosedale International (RI) as their sending organization, and will join RI’s team in the region. But Jamie and Hazel’s journey starts long before their involvement with RI. Theirs is a story of God bringing two people with different desires, hopes, and fears into one mind and one calling.
As early as first grade, Hazel knew that she was called to be a missionary. She “read all the [missionary] books” and wanted to join the long line of believers who had worked overseas. But her faith community did not nurture this desire, and she set it aside. In contrast, Jamie dreamt of moving west and becoming a rancher. By his own admission, his two greatest fears were airplanes and Muslim people—and he had no plans to encounter either.
“I couldn’t figure out why I had this really strong burden—so I asked God to take it away."
After the two were married, Hazel again felt the weight of God’s call. She and Jamie discussed going overseas, but he remained closed to the idea. So again, Hazel tried to set that calling aside. “I knew that God wanted us to be married. But I couldn’t figure out why I had this really strong burden—so I asked God to take it away. But He would not take it away.” Finally, she surrendered. “I remember saying, ‘Okay, God—I will be a missionary for you. But I don’t know what that means, because my husband’s not going to.’ And I didn’t think Jamie would change his mind.”
As Hazel struggled over God’s plan for her, Jamie also began to wrestle with God. “In my heart, I kept saying, ‘No, I won’t; I’m terrified.’ But day after day, it kept eating me up.” In the winter of 2014, God took Jamie through a season of hardship. “Looking back, I think it took that to bring me to the point where I was willing to say yes to God.” In the spring of 2015, as the couple crossed the Susquehanna River on their way to a wedding, a sudden peace came over Jamie. “All of a sudden he said, ‘I’m going to say yes,’” Hazel remembers. “And I knew exactly what he meant. I knew our whole life would change.”
After Jamie said yes, the dominoes fell in rapid succession. Within 24 hours, they learned of an opportunity for missionaries in Spain. Within 48, they’d received a blessing and confirmation from their pastor. “He told us that [the previous day] he had felt strongly that he should tell us to attend long-term orientation for mission work. It was just undeniable what direction we were going to go next.” Jamie, Hazel, and their children would go on to study local language and culture in the Mediterranean before moving to Spain to work with Mediterranean immigrants. Although they returned to the States due to COVID-19 and visa complications, they have continued to seek God’s direction and wait for His nudging.
Their journey is a beautiful picture of God working in the hearts of His followers. Because God doesn’t work in a vacuum, the story doesn’t end there. As Jamie and Hazel asked God to reveal their next steps, a small team of women in the Mediterranean began to gather. These women sought to respond to their country’s lack of care for—and exploitation of—vulnerable women with exceptionalities. In a previous Beacon article, RI worker Alice shared, “In our government system, women with exceptionalities are especially susceptible to exploitation. We hope to begin a home where they can live safely, with purpose and dignity. We wait and pray in faith that the Lord would lay on someone’s heart to come here and make this their full-time work.”
Through Jamie and Hazel, God has answered this prayer, and this fall they will join Alice and her foundation in building and operating a home for vulnerable women.
As this family embarks on a new stage of life, please lift them up in prayer. Ask for God’s blessing and vision as they help build the House Project from the ground up. Ask that they could remain in the leading and guidance in the Holy Spirit. Ask for perseverance in serving, giving, and loving others faithfully.
