My Safe Place

By Barbara Gibbs

Since I was a kid, I have had the habit of keeping clippings: an article that touched me, a recipe, pictures of home decorations, a beautiful or interesting picture, a nice drawing. When I was young, I wanted to be an artist; I wanted to attend art school. My parents wanted me to go to Welch College. So, I went, thinking I would stay only one year then transfer to where I really wanted to go. I ended up staying four years and graduating.

During those years, I wrestled with God’s will for my life. I knew what I wanted, but I felt He wanted something else. I remember the day I finally said, “Okay God, I will do anything you want…except be a missionary or marry a pastor.” I was a PK (preacher’s kid), and I knew you don’t get rich in that profession. As for the missionary part, my head was filled with images of life in a hut on the backside of a jungle.

I’m convinced God has a sense of humor. I met Jerry; we became friends; we fell in love. I knew he felt God’s call on his life to be a pastor. Then, in the summer of 1970, he and Dennis Teague went to France as student missionaries to work with the Joe Haas family. He saw the lack of evangelical churches in that region, and when he came back to the United States he said, “I left my heart in France. I have to go back!”

He also asked me to marry him. What to do? Not only did he want to be a pastor, he wanted to do it in France. I cried before the Lord more than once. But finally, I realized a truth that has stayed with me to this day: the safest place in the world is where God places us. It is in His will we find peace and joy. So, I said yes to God…and to Jerry.

We left for France in March 1974 and attended language school in Switzerland. We followed that with a year in language school in Albertville, France. During spring break, we, with another couple, made a whirlwind tour of neighboring countries: Germany, Luxembourg, and Austria. We had a limited budget, but we still saw many sights. One place we visited was the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, a home of King Ludwig. It was quite impressive.

Some time later, I spent an afternoon sorting through my clippings and pictures. I ran across a photo, a full-page magazine ad where I had written “my dream castle.” It was the castle we had visited in Austria. When I tore that page from the magazine in my high school days, I never dreamed I would actually see the castle. I was overwhelmed to realize that because I said yes to God one of my dreams had been fulfilled.

Perhaps that is the symbol for me of our life in France, a life so rich—not financially, but in everything that counts. When we arrived at St. Nazaire to help plant a church, we thought we would stay five to ten years, like good missionaries do, and then move on. But it didn’t happen that way. Our ministry was a lot longer, a lot more laborious. The French people are stubborn. But what a blessing to be able to spend all these years in St. Nazaire! Our children grew up here; they have their roots here. They grew up with two cultures, and that has changed the way they see the world.

And now, we come to the bittersweet time of leaving. But we are firmly convinced, Jerry and I, that leaving St. Nazaire is God’s plan for us and for the church. I have always said that life with the Lord is an adventure. We don’t always know the next step, the next person we will meet. But I can assure you, there is joy, peace, and freedom in this walk with Him.

About the Writer: Barbara Gibbs and her husband Jerry were appointed career missionaries to France in 1972, working in Rennes during their first term before turning their attention to starting a church in St. Nazaire, where they remained until 2014. They are currently on stateside assignment. If you would like to host them at your church, email jgibbs@fwbgo.com. Learn more about Free Will Baptist International Missions at www.fwbgo.com.