Stepping Out: Chloe and Nila

Chloe
She didn’t know it at the time, but a short mission trip to Panama would land Chloe in East Africa within the year. “It’s an interesting story,” she explains. “It was a five-week trip to help the refugees coming in from Venezuela. We prepared food, prayed for them, and served with a local church.”

During this trip, Chloe, a third-generation Mexican citizen, became close with a group from Pennsylvania. Soon after returning home, Chloe received a text from one of these friends. “[RI workers] Luke and Gloria came to her church to talk about [their work in East Africa], and mentioned that they were looking for a nanny. She knew that I desire to one day serve on the mission field, and asked if she could give them my contact information.” From there, the dominoes fell. “After the trip in Panama, I had felt God tell me, there’s something I want you to do. I felt at peace about going with them.”

Now, Chloe is the first from her church to follow Jesus overseas. She will depart for the field this month, and plans to spend a year serving as a support system for Luke and Gloria. She will take on much of the care for the couple’s young daughters, allowing them to direct more time and energy toward their team and ministry, language learning, and relationships with their neighbors.

Moving over nine thousand miles away from home to live among strangers is no small step, but Chloe says she doesn’t feel like a brave adventurer—she’s just answering God’s call. “Stepping out of what I’m used to is nerve wracking and exciting at the same time. I’m excited to see what God will do—for whatever growth may come out of it.”

Nila
Even as a young child, Nila felt the call to serve Jesus overseas. “I heard God say, tell my people about me,” she remembers. “I said, ‘okay God—but where?”

Around her twelfth birthday, Nila began having dreams about South Asia, and friends began recommending books and movies set in the region. When she thought about where she might serve, “South Asia always came to mind. I never wanted to live in a city—but the longer this went on, the more I wanted to go. It didn’t make sense, so I knew it had to be from God. I began asking Him to open doors for me.”

In the fall of 2022, Nila was offered the opportunity to move to South Asia for nine months. She taught English as a second language and served alongside a family of long-term workers, who demonstrated what long-term work in South Asia could look like. By the end of her nine months overseas, Nila knew that South Asia was truly where God had called her. “I very quickly fell in love with the culture and the people of my community.”

In May of 2023, Nila returned to the United States—but her heart remained with the people of South Asia. Within the year, she began exploring what it would look like to return. She recently committed to a three-year term with Rosedale International (RI) and is preparing to serve the people she grew to love, with a tentative departure date set for this fall.

During her first term, Nila will resume her work as an ESL teacher. She will dedicate herself to further learning the local language and investing in a new church plant. She hopes to build intentional relationships with the community’s youth and young adults, working to raise up future Kingdom workers. “I want to see my students seek Christ.”
When Nila talks about South Asia, her love for its people shines from her face. “South Asia is it—it’s home. I am beyond excited to return and serve the people I have come to love!”

Rosedale International is excited to see God call young women to bear the gospel to the world. Will you join us in lifting Chloe and Nila as they answer His call and step through the doors He has opened?

Names and locations have been changed or omitted for security.