Introduction of Bonnie Esau by Ruth Letkeman
I got to know Bonnie (Glen) Esau as a young girl, becoming family friends, when we invited her family to be part of our small group at church, more than 20 years ago. We have spent enjoyable camping weekends with them and shared a dozen Thanksgiving Dinners with her family in her growing up years (as a result I know that she is partial to my homemade, pull-apart buns). We have cheered her (and our daughter) on in volleyball and basketball at Hepburn School and at Bethany College as well. I have observed Bonnie as she was growing up, developing in her spiritual walk and making her faith her own. Bonnie is very relational and a joy to be with. People are drawn to her through her welcoming smile, sparkling eyes and her bubbly personality. Bonnie is a creative and caring individual. It’s been inspiring to see the journey of obedience God has taken her on; relinquishing a secure life, family and things familiar, then stepping out in faith with her husband and daughter to a ministry in Thailand.
Compelled vs. CalledBonnie Esau
If you had asked me the question, “What is God’s call on your life?” in my first year at Bethany, I would have chuckled and stared blankly into space, completely unable to give an answer. Don’t get me wrong... I knew that I loved the Lord and that I wanted to follow His plans for my life. But at that point, I really had no idea what that “call” looked like.
I can’t say I even knew what God was “calling” me to, until a couple of years ago and a lot of it had to do with changing my perspective on that very word.... “calling”.
It all started in 2006. I knew there was a problem when my husband, Jon, began to feel God pulling his heart towards overseas missions work. I loved the life we had made in beautiful British Columbia, and had no desire to leave said life. But after being asked to join a ‘vision team’ with MB Mission, to Thailand in winter 2009, I was certain that life was about to change... drastically. And that is exactly what happened.
In December 2009, we spent 2 weeks in Thailand, observing and hearing about the ministry that had been happening there and what MB Mission’s missionaries hopes for the future were. While we were there, God started to get a hold of my heart. The words from Isaiah 42:6,7 almost jumped off the page at me: “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”
But it wasn’t until we returned home from that “scouting” trip that I felt I was finally starting to figure out God’s call on my life.
As we debriefed and processed all we had seen and experienced in our short vision trip, we knew we needed to gain more wisdom from some veteran missionaries, who had walked this road before. We spent an evening with some of my parents’ dear friends, who have been serving in Zimbabwe for over 30 years, and my biggest question for them was this:
“How do I know God is calling us to serve in Thailand? If we’re going to make this kind of decision, I need to know it’s because God is calling us, not just because it sounds like a fun thing to do. How can I determine if this is His calling on our lives?”
And that was when it all changed. Our friend, Bud, responded with this:
“In my experience, calling is almost always a thing of hindsight. It’s most often as we look back on our lives, we see God’s leading and “calling” on our lives, but we don’t always see it ahead of us. So, I would challenge you to focus less on the word calling and ask yourself this-- ‘Do you feel compelled to do this? Do you feel that if you don’t, you’ll be missing out on something great?’ Focus more on what compels you and I believe that as you do, God will continue to reveal his call for your lives.”
Total game changer. I knew in that instant, that I did, indeed, feel compelled. And so, started our journey to serving overseas in Thailand.
I love these kind of “light bulb moments” that come along every so often in life. I think all too often, we’ve made such a big deal of the word “calling” and have in turn, lost sight of what life’s really all about. And that is to make Christ known, no matter where we are or what we’re doing. To let HIS love compel us.
Bonnie Esau
Serving with MB Mission
