“Wait … do I see two babies?” my husband asked the ultrasound tech. I blinked hard to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. Then I got lightheaded. Sure enough, there were two little bodies showing up on the ultrasound monitor. We were going to be parents for the first time—twice! The trouble was, we were living on the road with no home, and in the middle of trying to raise tens of thousands of dollars.

That was five weeks ago.

Erick and Joanna Paradizo.

My husband, Erick, and I are brand new MAF missionaries, called “pre-fielders.” It was just this January, at the frosty MAF headquarters in Idaho, that we were officially accepted into MAF. We were assigned to serve in Shell, Ecuador, with Erick as a pilot and mechanic. Before we could hop a jet to South America, though, we had to build a support team and harvest the funds required to do the job.

We were stoked. Right away we drew out our plans for how we would quickly raise the $8,400 in monthly and $55,000 in outgoing support. We set out across the country meeting daily with individuals, small groups, and churches, telling about MAF’s mission to share the love and gospel of Jesus with the isolated. It was an overwhelming blessing to see people’s hearts respond, passionate to join in this great cause through giving. We were well on our way to meeting our time goals. Then, at an ultrasound appointment in a Nashville clinic, God let us know that He had his own plans.

Sharing about MAF’s ministry.

We’re learning that we are on His timeline, not ours. His plans were drawn out from the beginning—and they’re actually better than ours! We will leave for Ecuador later than we thought, but God is providing for us in miraculous ways. He has brought many generous partners that we didn’t even know onto our support team, due to no effort of our own. He has generously provided for us a safe and beautiful home (free of charge!) in Tennessee for us to nurture out twin infants before we head overseas. And we are confident that He will guide our family, according to His will and timing, to Ecuador and beyond.

A medical evacuation flight in Ecuador for a mother and her sick infant. Photo by Mark and Kelly Hewes.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” —Isaiah 55:9

To learn more about the Paradizo’s ministry with MAF or to partner with them, visit maf.org/paradizo.