Josiah’s love for and interest in serving in Cambodia began with his family heritage. His mom was a Khmer refugee that moved to the US in the wake of the Khmer rouge. Her family was among the first Christians in Cambodia. During Josiah’s childhood, he and his extended family visited Cambodia and he experienced firsthand the needs of the people. This instilled in him a desire to pursue an education that would be effective in serving the people there one day. Since then, God has impressed on him the call to serve in Cambodia long-term.
Becca’s interest in international missions began with short-term trips in high school and, after graduating, she decided to take the next step with a longer commitment to serve for four months in Peru. She felt that living overseas was God’s plan for her life and prayed for a husband that shared this interest and was called to a specific location.
Josiah and Becca met while attending Oregon State University and serving on the worship team at Grant Avenue Baptist Church. After many years of serving and singing together, and learning about each other’s heart for international missions, the two got married in 2016. They have been planning and preparing to transition to service in Cambodia since then. Josiah has been gaining experience practicing as a Geotechnical Engineer while Becca taught High School Spanish. This past year, the two have been pursuing a Missions Certificate through Gateway Seminary and preparing to become parents. They joyfully welcomed their baby boy Malachi Samuel into the world in April 2020.
After participating on several Engineering Ministry International (EMI) project trips, it was clear that EMI is the perfect fit for Josiah’s experience and their long-term goals. Josiah has been appointed as a Staff Engineer with the Cambodia office located in Phnom Penh. EMI is a Christian Ministry that specializes in engineering, architecture and construction management services for other Christian ministries and NGOs serving in developing countries around the world. EMI is committed to three core values which are Design, Discipleship, and Diversity. This is exhibited in the way EMI mentors local staff both in their faith and their profession. The vision of EMI is absolutely thrilling: People restored by God and the world restored through design.
We hope that through this blog we can stay connected to you and that you can stay informed about our doings. Please check out our Facebook page, where our blog will be posted, and our Support page which links to our EMI Direct Donate page and includes a signup for our newsletter. We are so thankful that you have prayerfully considered supporting and partnering with us on this journey! We are excited to see what God has in store for us in Cambodia and throughout SE Asia.