Hi! Thanks for being interested in why I chose to join Baptist Mid-Missions. I first learned of Baptist Mid-Missions from my mom and her parents, William and Lucille Patterson. My Grandfather and Grandmother Patterson served with Baptist Mid-Missions for about 50 years. Even after retiring, they continued working in the ministries they had been involved in until, for health reasons, they had to slowly cut back on their ministry time. My siblings, cousins, and I always loved to hear ministry stories from them. Grandfather would share story after story around the dinner table. After cleaning up from the meal we would go into the living room where we would often watch a short movie and then talk about the lessons we learned from it. Those conversations often ended with more stories from their time as missionaries. Time with my Patterson grandparents was always filled with life stories and lessons we could learn from their experience. As my grandparents grew older, my mother would use what she remembered as the oldest of five, to prompt Grandfather’s stories.
When I arrived at Bob Jones University, I arrived with a great appreciation of BMM. Each year when Missions Emphasis week at Bob Jones University arrived, I took the time to visit each mission agency table. For reasons God only knows, each mission board I talked to turned away from me once they saw that I was a Biblical Counseling major. Baptist Mid-Missions and Silent Word Ministries International were the only two that attended BJU during those weeks that really seemed interested in me. My senior year I determined that I would not visit the tables during Missions Emphasis week. God definitely has a sense of humor. That week I found out that a requirement for an elective class I was taking was to talk to two missionary organizations. After trying to start up conversations and being turned down, I wound up talking to Silent Word and Baptist Mid-Missions.
I wound up going back to talk with the folks at the Baptist Mid-Missions table every day that week, I learned that BMM does First Look internships and individual internships. First Look interns work with a couple different missionary families for five weeks. Individual interns stay with one missionary family and the church they are working in. That week was a turning point for me. I began the process of becoming an intern with BMM. That next summer I interned with Glen and Tammy Galbraith for four months. One and a half of those weeks Glen and Tammy loaned me out to plan, organize, and run a Holiday Bible club (VBS) up in Luton for another BMM missionary. The next summer I visited three BMM missionary families. I greatly enjoyed working along side members of the BMM mission family. July 2018, I was appointed a missionary with Baptist Mid-Missions to the United Kingdom.
I am so grateful for where God has brought me and excited for where He will take me!
Mary - England Bound 