Micah & Lindsey Jimison Join the Team!
Micah’s Story
There is no shortage of material to write on to introduce y’all to Lindsey and I for one as verbose as myself, but if you want the long version of this story you’ll have to let us brew you a good mug of coffee sometime. The quickest way to explain why we have decided to leave the God-blessed state of Texas for Honduras is that we both fell in love with Jesus early in life, and that sort of pursuit has a way of making life interesting. I can’t speak for Lindsey as well as Lindsey can speak for Lindsey, so I’ll let
her explain what God was doing pre-handsome intelligent husband.
As for my own testimony it’s one of those boring ones…then again, if you want the crazy parts we will need a few good mugs of coffee. Suffice it to say I was saved around five years of age when I accepted the altar call of my pastor father, while even then being a bit stubborn. Mom, the hero pastor and mother of five, was holding me by the soundboard in the back of our little Indiana church because I was being bad. When dad asked us to come forward something clicked in my little red head. I wanted to follow Jesus just like my dad did. Ever since, I have wanted to go into some type of full-time vocational ministry like my parents.
As a boy growing up in Indiana I wanted to be a farmer, but when we moved to the mountains of northern Arizona to pastor a new church plant I felt a different call. At twelve I read about the great reformers of the church in America and I decided the U.S. was ripe for revival. I had a plan to pursue this revival through joining the U.S. Army Special Forces, but at fifteen I felt called away from that vision of mine. All the while I still loved ranching and farming, but my spirit thirsted for revival and I would pursue nothing else. At fifteen I felt a call to Pro-Life ministry, and I believed by awakening the church to the atrocity of abortion we could revitalize the American church and spark revival. That may still be true, but God was using that desire to bring me to Texas. I went to Houston Baptist University in the hopes of pursuing a newly developing degree in Bioethics, but that program never got off the ground. In lieu of a
Bioethics degree I pursued a degree in Philosophy with a minor in Spanish while founding a Pro-Life club on campus. I believed I needed to know Spanish to effectively teach on Pro-Life issues in the States, not even remembering Honduras existed at this point. My involvement with my club got me a paid internship with Texas Right to Life, and until my last semester at HBU I believed I would be working full-time there right now. But I’m not because, like I said, loving Jesus has a way of making life interesting.
The most interesting thing to date was realizing I loved Lindsey on a night when I had a date with another girl the next morning and was actively trying to set Lindsey up with one of my best friends. That night, after being unsure about the date with my buddy, she realized the same thing as me and crazy started for real. By my last semester I had worked two summers on a ranch pulling 60 plus hours a week to buy Lindsey a ring and we were engaged. But let’s let Lindsey catch up.
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Lindsey’s Story
I grew up in a Christian home, going to church every Sunday. My mom and dad were both heavily involved in serving in church. When I was 8 years old I said the prayer and accepted Christ. Even today I can remember the exact moment, when I was in “big church” that I heard the preacher inviting me to pray and accept Jesus into my heart. I know, without a doubt, that was when Christ entered my heart. Looking back, it’s wild to me that 8 year old Lindsey was capable of making such a life changing decision. But there she was with hands open to the Lord, ready to change the world.
When you grow up in the church, you know a lot about the Bible. You grew up going to Sunday school, learning verses at Awanas, and going to every local VBS. You know the stories, the names, and the facts. By the time I was 14 I thought I was practically a Bible scholar, but that was the year I realized I didn’t know God. I was at a church camp called Super Summer, and there were people around me who talked about this God who was more real than the air they breathed and closer than their skin. I began to grow frustrated with the Christianity I lived. I hadn’t experienced this radical presence of God and I didn’t know how people could know God with such certainty when I felt like I was grasping at straws. It was during that week that something clicked. I began asking God that I would be able to feel his presence, that I would understand Him as the reality He is. When you start asking, it’s kind of crazy because God starts answering. It was in that week that I realized, if I wanted to be a Christian I wanted to be real. I wanted God to be my reason for everything I did.
After graduating high school and having absolutely no clue what career I wanted to pursue I decided to attend Houston Baptist University. My freshman year, still not knowing what career to pursue, I knew two
things: I wanted to continue learning Spanish, and I liked studying History and Literature. I didn’t know what I was going to do with a double major in Spanish or Classics, but I knew God’s plan was bigger than anything I could dream up and He would use me no matter what I did.
The hispanic culture has always been close to me. My grandma was from Mexico, and my dad’s first language was Spanish. I grew up visiting the little mission church my grandpa served at, dancing ballet folklorico, eating pan dulce, and only going out to mexican restaurants. My mom taught us some basic Spanish when we were kids, but nothing much past colors, numbers, and “¿Dónde está el baño?” When I was in high school I took two years of Spanish through an online academy with local Spanish teachers stationed in Guatemala. It was through that personal connection with my Spanish teacher, Kevin, that I began to be interested in Central America. The more I studied Spanish the more I fell in love with the culture, and I kept coming back to this idea of teaching English in a Spanish speaking country. My senior year I started researching programs to teach in Spanish speaking countries. I asked my professors for suggestions. I even applied to one, and the day I received the rejection email from the program I was so frustrated with God. I knew He was pulling me towards teaching in a Spanish speaking country, but I didn’t understand why He was saying no. The same day I received my rejection letter I saw that a school from Honduras was visiting my college campus, and I thought, okay God, is this what You would have for me?
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God Opens the Door to 61 Isaiah
One day I was in Ancient/Medieval Philosophy waiting to get out to go back to my internship when Lindsey texted me to tell me a school from Honduras was tabling on campus. She had graduated a semester early and was working for HBU; I was annoyed to be losing hours, but I knew she dreamed of teaching in Central America. So we talked to Abundant Life Christian School and we were excited to maybe have a way to teach in a Spanish-speaking country, but the idea didn’t hit until Shannon spoke up about 61 Isaiah. He was helping the school recruit, but when he mentioned agricultural missions and the need 61 Isaiah had for a farm manager I was hooked. Lindsey emailed the school and I emailed Shannon. I left my internship upon graduation to work on the farm/ranch again to learn more agricultural skills, and soon after my return Lindsey and I got married on January 4th, 2020. A week after our honeymoon we received our official acceptance from 61 Isaiah, and two months later Lindsey received her job offer from Abundant Life Christian School to teach, you guessed it, History and Literature.
We had been praying daily at 9:38 with the 61 Isaiah prayer initiative asking God to clearly shut or open our door to Honduras. It seems God opened the door! We still took a week to talk with family, mentors, and our church, but our answer was clear – God was, and is, calling us to serve in Honduras. Before we got married, while I was still a cowhand, Lindsey and I took a week-long vision trip to Honduras to meet the team. We have now committed to a year of service with hearts open as God might lead beyond that – if He calls we will answer – as long as God wants us in Honduras you will find us there.
My task in Honduras will be to take a leading role in the further development of 61 Isaiah’s Lenca Hunger Farm. The vision is to bring the farm to profitable sustainability through cash crops like coffee and fish so that we can grow staple crops like corn and beans along with chickens/eggs, goats, pigs, etc. as a means for the local churches to support their own poor independent of foreign aid. Lindsey will be spending her time serving students at Abundant Life Christian School in Honduras teaching History and Literature in the secondary school. I would love to tell you more about the vision God has for us, but that will have to wait for another time.
We appreciate any prayer y’all can muster as we face this international move as newlyweds, and we hope y’all are as excited as we are!
Yours as God wills,
Micah and Lindsey Jimison
P.S. For anyone reading this near Houston or within traveling distance I am serious about that mug of coffee. We would love to sit down and talk. And if you are too far, give us a call!