Chapter 6

Preparing Me for the Call

2021 - 2025

God Knew Before I Did

When I moved to Northeast Texas, I still believed banking would be my long-term career. I genuinely enjoyed that type of work, and when a position opened at a local bank, I was excited to apply. The pay was more than five dollars an hour higher than what I had been making before, and after being out of work, it seemed like an incredible opportunity.

As I prepared to apply, the Holy Spirit spoke quietly to my heart and said, "That is your job."

With that assurance, I applied and waited.

Weeks turned into months. Three months passed without an answer, and there were moments when I wondered if I had misunderstood what I believed God had spoken. Yet I held on to His promise and continued to trust Him.

Finally, after several interviews, I was offered the position.

I thanked God for opening the door, but I also shared something with my pastor that had been weighing on my heart.

"I have a feeling that once I settle into this job, I'll become comfortable. I'm afraid I'll begin looking at it as my career instead of continuing to pursue the calling God has placed on my life."

Sadly, that is exactly what happened.

As the months passed, I became comfortable and slowly allowed my focus to drift from the calling God had placed on my life. But even when I became distracted, God never forgot His purpose for me.

Looking back, I can see that the bank was never my destination.

It was simply another step in God's preparation for what He had planned all along.

The Door Closed

In June 2025, the company where I worked announced that it would be merging with another company. As the transition continued, I learned that my employment would eventually come to an end. Although I knew I would be leaving the company, our department continued operating for several more months.

Sometime during the summer, one of my two coworkers was transferred to another department. The two of us who remained continued our work until the final transition of the computer systems began on February 21, 2026.

When we returned to work on Monday, February 23, our department no longer existed. My remaining coworker was assigned other responsibilities, while I spent my final week—and one additional day—assisting wherever I was needed throughout the Operations Center.

Although one chapter of my life was coming to a close, God was already preparing to open the next one.

This chapter has taught me that God is faithful to complete what He begins. Looking back, I can see that He was preparing every step long before I recognized where He was leading. He opened doors no one else could open, strengthened me through seasons of waiting, provided for every need, and faithfully confirmed His calling again and again.

One lesson has remained constant throughout the journey: God does not call us to figure everything out before we obey Him. He calls us to trust Him one step at a time. As I followed His direction, He revealed the next step, provided what I needed, and confirmed that I was walking in His will.

Today, my confidence is not in my own abilities, resources, or plans. My confidence rests in the One who called me. The same God who prepared me for the journey continues to guide every step as I seek to faithfully follow wherever He leads.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

— Philippians 1:6 (KJV)

Preparing the Way

In 2021, the Lord led me to Northeast Texas. A childhood friend whom I had known since 1983 reached out to me after we had stayed in touch on and off through the years. About ten months before my move, I spent a few weeks visiting her.

Although I enjoyed my time there, I had already ruled out the possibility of moving to Northeast Texas. Before returning home, I prayed, "Lord, if it is Your will for me to move here, You will have to open every door."

Not long afterward, something unexpected happened. My friend came into some money and generously offered to help me move. Within just a few days of that prayer, I found myself packing my belongings and heading to Pittsburg, Texas.

There was only one problem.

Every apartment complex I contacted had a waiting list of a year or more. It seemed as though every door had closed before I had even arrived.

Then God opened one I never could have arranged myself.

Someone my friend knew owned several apartments. One unit had been sitting vacant because no one wanted to rent it due to the parking situation. We looked at it, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed.

God didn't simply provide a place to live. In time, He also provided the finances for me to repay my friend for helping me make the move.

Looking back, I can clearly see that what seemed impossible at the time was simply another step in God's preparation. He had already gone ahead of me, opening doors that I never could have opened on my own.

Reflection

Strength for the Journey

Not every season of preparation is filled with visible milestones. Sometimes God prepares us quietly, teaching us to trust Him through the ordinary challenges of life.

Between 2023 and 2025, I faced several significant health challenges. Because of insurance requirements, I first had to complete physical therapy and receive multiple pain-management injections before I could finally undergo back surgery. During that same season, I also underwent an elective surgery and later faced extensive dental work.

Then, in 2025, I suffered two mini strokes. Initially, I was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis, only to later learn that my symptoms had actually been the result of one of the mini strokes.

Although these years brought one medical challenge after another, they also became another testimony of God's faithful provision.

The elective surgery carried a cost that could have been overwhelming, yet God provided in such a way that I paid only a small fraction of the total expense. The same was true for my back surgery. What could have become a tremendous financial burden was greatly reduced, and the dental work that I needed was also covered through insurance, leaving me with little to no out-of-pocket expense.

Looking back, I can see that God was caring for every detail of my life. He strengthened me physically, provided for me financially, and faithfully carried me through each challenge.

Throughout those years, I knew that as God worked in my own life—bringing healing, strength, and provision—He was also equipping me to minister to others who would one day face similar physical battles. I have always believed that the comfort, healing, and encouragement we receive from the Lord are not meant to stop with us, but to be shared with those who need hope.

As I prepared for the ministry He had called me to, God wasn't only opening doors around me—He was strengthening me for the journey ahead.

CHAPTER

God Confirmed the Calling

Although my employment with the bank would soon be coming to an end, God was already confirming the next chapter of my life.

When the company announced it would be merging with another company, I had no idea how quickly God would begin confirming the calling He had placed on my life years earlier.

While working from home on a Tuesday, I learned that the merger had officially taken place. Two days later, I was informed that two departments had been eliminated. Almost immediately, a thought crossed my mind—not in my own voice, but as though someone were asking me a question:

"What if you were terminated?"

Before I could even process the question, I heard the Holy Spirit speak to my heart:

"You will be traveling, doing the Lord's work."

The following day, I returned to the office.

A coworker named Tina approached me and said, "I've noticed from your Facebook posts that you're on fire for God. What if you were terminated? I don't know why, but I think you will be traveling, doing the Lord's work."

I was stunned.

No one at work knew about the calling God had placed on my life. Yet she repeated the exact words the Holy Spirit had spoken to me the day before.

That evening, I learned that my employment would eventually be coming to an end.

Several months later, while ministering in Midland, Texas, Pastor Melba Arizpe shared something the Lord had shown her.

She said, "I see you going from church to church to church, and I see those churches set on fire with Holy Spirit revival fire."

I stood there amazed.

Years earlier, the Lord had given me that very same vision. I had never shared those specific details with her, yet she described exactly what God had already placed in my heart.

As I shared my testimony with others, many people would ask me the same question:

"What are you going to do for a job?"

My answer was always the same.

"I don't believe I'm supposed to do anything else, because this is my job."

I had complete confidence that God had called me to be a traveling evangelist. Yet, in His kindness, the Lord continued to provide confirmation after confirmation—not because I doubted Him, but because He was faithfully establishing the direction He had already given.

Several weeks later, I was talking with Tina—the same coworker God had used months earlier to confirm my calling. I told her that people kept asking what I planned to do for work.

Without hesitation, she replied,

"I don't believe you're supposed to do anything else, because this is your job."

Once again, God used someone else to confirm exactly what He had already placed in my heart.

As a traveling evangelist, I knew that ministry itself was the work God had called me to do. A traditional full-time job would have made it impossible to follow Him wherever and whenever He opened the next door.

Although I only had one opportunity to preach during that season, the Holy Spirit continually directed my steps. Most of the time, I knew exactly where He was sending me and why. On one occasion, however, I believed I was going to pray for one individual, only to discover that God had someone else in mind all along. Even then, His purpose was accomplished exactly as He intended.

One trip especially strengthened my faith.

I didn't have enough money to buy the gas I needed to make the journey. The Holy Spirit directed me to a specific gas station and instructed me to wait at a particular gas pump. After a short time, He impressed upon my heart to approach a woman who had just arrived. He gave me the boldness, confidence, and courage to ask a complete stranger for assistance.

She graciously filled my gas tank.

It wasn't coincidence.

It was God's provision.

Between July 27 and December 20, I drove more than 8,000 miles, following wherever the Holy Spirit led me. Along the way, I witnessed nearly a dozen miracles as God healed, encouraged, and transformed lives through His power.

With every mile I traveled, every confirmation He gave, every need He provided for, and every miracle I witnessed, God continued to affirm the calling He had placed upon my life years before.

The calling was no longer something God had simply spoken to me.

It had become the life He was leading me to live.