Anna Faith Fuller: Hello, this is Anna Faith, and welcome to this episode of Faith Talks. Well, I am coming to you all the way from the country of French Guiana. Now, you may hear that and be wondering where in the world French Guiana is.

Don’t worry, I thought the same thing when we first started planning our trip here. French Guiana is located in the northeast corner of South America. So, as you can tell in the name, French Guiana is an overseas department of France, or what you might think of as a state of France just far away from the continental France.

So we are here with Missionary Ray and Jennifer Teachout, who are ministering right outside the capital city of Cayenne in the town of Matoury. And they have been here for the last nine years. So my husband and I have been able to visit them.

And this has been on my husband’s heart for a couple years. I know he’s been following the Teachouts. I wasn’t familiar with them, but it’s been really neat to get to know them through the updates and my husband’s burden and then here visiting them these past two weeks.

And we’ve just been so blessed to spend time with them and get to know their heart and their burdens for the people here and see the ministry that they have with the church here. I think it’s Biblical Baptist Church here in Matoury. And we’ve been able to see the ministry here in the urban area.

And then the Teachouts also had a burden for unreached villages up the river. But during our time here, I’ve been especially blessed to spend some time with Mrs. Teachout and hear her heart for the people and the ministry here and just how God has used their family here.

So I wanted to take advantage of her time here and have her share with you all her testimony. So thank you so much for joining us today. I think we’ll just go ahead and start at the beginning with your journey of faith, your salvation testimony, and just how God started your journey of faith?

Jennifer Teachout: Sure. Well, I grew up kind of between the states of Pennsylvania and New York. And I think I’ll start a little with my parents.

My father came to Christ when he was a little boy because of a child evangelist missionary that he would help prepare for the clubs and stuff. But he was never able to grow spiritually for various reasons. And he married my mother.

And it was around that time that my mother was saved shortly after I was born or while she was carrying me. I can’t remember, but it was when I was coming along that my mother got saved. And so the two of them started to grow together.

And they were public school teachers, and they were making really a decent salary at the time, you know. And we had a nice house, and we had things, you know. And the Lord really touched their hearts.

When I was probably, I think it was around four, that the Lord led them into Christian service and to teach in Christian schools. And that was That was back in the 70s when there was the big boom of a lot of Christian schools starting, and they really felt that the Lord would have them work in those Christian schools.

And so I was blessed to see their sacrifice, you know, as a child growing up, and their love for the Lord and willingness to really do whatever the Lord would want them. And that benefited me because then I grew up in these Christian circles, you know. And I grew up in good Christian schools.

And it was when I was in the first grade that it was after a chapel message that I was very convicted of my sin. And that night, for whatever reason, I was a little embarrassed to call my mom in because I wanted her to show me how to be saved. And so I called her and I asked for a glass of water.

So she went and got me a glass of water and brought it back. And then I asked her how to be saved. And that was when she led me to the Lord on the side of my bed.

And for some reason, I expected the next day when I went to school, I was going to tell everyone I got saved. And there was going to be a big party and everyone was going to be celebrating. Because for me, that’s what it was.

You know, it was really something wonderful and special, which is what salvation is. Well, I probably chose the wrong moment in the school day, you know, to raise my hand and say, I got saved last night. You know, and I’m sure it was in a moment where no one was supposed to be talking and stuff.

And I was so disappointed. You know, that’s kind of silly, but I was disappointed that there wasn’t a great big party for me. But it didn’t really matter because it was done in my heart, you know.

And while at that same Christian school in the third grade, I heard another chapel message. I don’t remember who it was. It was probably a missionary.

I don’t remember. But he really kind of gave the call for children. And this was kindergarten through sixth grade chapel for any children who want to surrender their life for missions.

And I thought, well, of course, you know, and the Lord really spoke to my heart at that moment. And I dedicated my life to missions at that time.

Anna Faith Fuller: What grade was that?

Jennifer Teachout: Third grade.

Anna Faith Fuller: Wow.

Jennifer Teachout: That was in the third grade. And after chapel, I asked my best friend, I said, did you do that too? No.

Why would I do that? You know, it’s kind of her response. And I just thought, well, why wouldn’t everyone do that?

You know. And from that moment on, I never, never questioned my direction in life, you know, which is a little different for most people, you know, you know, most, especially young girls, you know, you don’t really know what you’re going to do, you know, what your next step is. And I never doubted it.

I never doubted it. However, when I was in the fifth grade, when I was in the fifth grade, I remember the teacher and we sat in alphabetical order. in that class.

And my maiden name started with a D. So I was kind of at the beginning of the class, you know, and she was going around and saying, I want everyone to say what they think they want to be when they grow up. And for some reason, I was very ashamed to say I was going to be a missionary.

And this was in a Christian school, you know, so it wasn’t like, you know, why would there be such a feeling of peer pressure and such for that kind of thing, you know. But I was like, oh, I can’t say I’m going to be a missionary. That will just, that’ll be kind of lame, you know, is what my heart was saying at the time.

And I was embarrassed by that thought. And I said, well, I’ll say teacher, because that’s pretty close, you know. So it came to my turn and I said, that’ll be a, probably a teacher.

You know, my parents were teachers, you know. Missionaries are teachers, so it’s not really lying, right? And so I said it, and we went through the rest of the class.

And then there was a boy in the class whose last name ended in T. So he was at the end. And he said, I’m going to be a missionary.

And I was so ashamed of myself. I mean, even though it breaks me up a bit, because I was so ashamed to be ashamed, you know, of that. And so I kind of, I said in my heart that I would never again, you know, be ashamed of what the Lord would have me do.

And I had, growing up, you know, my family, my extended family was not really, they weren’t believers. So we were around a lot of unbelievers, you know, and they would often say, you know, we’d be in family gatherings and things. Well, what are you going to be when you grow up?

You know, you’re supposed to say, I’m going to be a doctor or I’ll be this or I’ll be that. You know, and I was so committed to never be ashamed again that I would say I’m going to be a missionary. You Know, and they’re like, oh, well, you know, and they’re a little patronizing, you know, well, that’s nice.

But maybe you want, that’s nice. But maybe you want to think of something that would be more productive, you know, or things like that. Of course, that’s coming from, you know, an unbeliever’s point of view.

And so that can be hard, and it can be hard even in a Christian setting, you know, to stand up, you know, and take a stand on what you know is right. So growing up through my teenage years, I always knew I was going to pursue that. And went to college and pursued missions.

And so, boy, going through college, I mean, I knew I was going into missions, but as my four college years were coming to an end, I didn’t really have peace about a mission board to join. I didn’t have exact peace about a field. I had always been pulled towards more third world countries.

And so towards the end, and at that time, I was kind of thinking, I’ll be a single missionary. So we had a missionary come and talk in one of our classes. And he had mentioned that in Quebec City, there was a university that had a special program for teaching French, for non-French speakers.

And so I figured, well, going out of college, I don’t know what else to do. And I thought third world countries, well, English, French, Spanish, those are three biggies, you know, that can help you in those countries. So I figured, well, let’s go and learn French.

And so I heard that there was a man, well, yeah, I guess he was married. He was a married student at this college I was at who had parents from missionaries in Quebec City. So he got me in contact.

I tracked him down, you know, and got in contact with his parents. And this ends up being the brother of my current husband now, just to lay that groundwork. And so I got in contact with them and they said, well, we’re going on furlough this year, this coming school year, you know, but our son will be there replacing us.

I knew he was 27, single, and I said, oh, this is not going to happen. You know, he’s 27, he’s going to be, he’s going to be desperate, you know, and I, you know, I’m very focused on what I’m doing. And in any case, long story short, it was, it was, for me, it was what I needed to, to get to know him without interference from other people, without pressure from other people.

It was just, he was my only contact. I didn’t know any French, you know, he, you know, helped me get set up with different things and find the, the apartment that was in walking distance to the university, which was also in walking distance. to where, you know, his family house was, you know.

So we, throughout the year, we just got to know each other naturally.

Anna Faith Fuller: And were you just like at the beginning, of course, you’re like, nothing’s going to happen.

Jennifer Teachout: Oh, yeah.

Anna Faith Fuller: When did God start working in your heart? Well, okay. Concerning him.

Jennifer Teachout: Well, throughout the year, we grew close in that we were, we had the same philosophy of ministry. Same doctrine, same convictions, same vision for things. For the most part, I mean, no two people are exactly alike, but there was a church that was four to five minutes to an hour away from where his parents’ church was that was in real need of a pastor, hadn’t had pastor for five years was really going downhill.

And they had asked Ray, my current husband, if he would be the interim pastor until they could find a regular pastor, which is very hard in places like that because there just aren’t people. There aren’t men. It’s very hard to find someone for these little churches.

So he ended up going up to preach and I went up to play the piano, more or less play the piano. I’m not a pianist, but, you know, it was better than nothing. And so it was kind of through that work that for me, you know, this was a place that we could help, you know, and it was during that time that we were kind of talking marriage and everything.

And so about the time that they called him to be pastor, we were married. We both had the conviction that we could not let this work close. We were a little naive about how long it would take to establish the work.

We ended up being there seventeen years. I forgot to mention that during college I took a missions trip to Suriname. I am kind of skipping things.

To be with Daryl and Louise Champlin, who have both passed now. So I was there with them and saw their work there. And at one point, the missionaries took us to the Maroni River, which separates Suriname from French Guiana.

And one of them just made the offhand comment that they didn’t know of any good works going on over here, any good ministries, missionaries, and that there was quite a need. So that was always kind of in the back of my head, you know, all those 17 years that we were in Quebec.

And in fact, my first email, I know email, email’s kind of old now, but it was, it was a lot newer back then, had Guyana in it, you know, because my heart was really, my heart and my thoughts were always here.

Anna Faith Fuller: And this was all before you even started pursuing French, the French, the French language.

Jennifer Teachout: More or less, yes. That year I went to Quebec was a formal year of French learning. That’s when Ray and I were getting to know each other, and we were kind of led to this small ministry there.

Yeah, so kind of all linked together. In 17 years, all of our children, our five children, were born there. And, yeah, so then the Lord led us on for different reasons from Quebec.

And so that was kind of jointly our first thought. Well, let’s pursue French Guiana and just see if the Lord opens that door. There was a missionary.

I won’t be able to remember how that goes. But, no, there was a missionary that we ended up reaching out to Ray to publish a book that he had written. And he was a missionary here.

And that’s the one other work that’s on the other side along the Maroni River. So, yeah, Ray had that direct contact with this gentleman several years before we ended up coming here. So it was several things that kind of linked it together.

Anna Faith Fuller: That’s so neat just to see how French Guiana was on your heart back in college. Yeah, yeah. 18 years, 17 years later, Lord brings that back and just works the whole thing out.

That’s so neat to hear that. Can you just share some of what life is like in French Guiana for people that may be interested in missions to just understand what it is like for a missionary here?

Jennifer Teachout: Well, physically speaking, we’re five degrees north of the equator. So it’s pretty muggy. Doesn’t really get below 75 at night.

During the day, depending on the dry season or wet season, it’ll be, oh, high 80s, low 90s. And that’s pretty much all year round. Pretty much all year round.

It’s very multicultural. You have a small amount of French people. If you think French from France, there’s a small amount here.

You have a lot of Creole people, which would be descendants from the slave era who got their independence. And then you have a large amount of Haitians who are immigrating here to find a better life. A lot of Brazilians.

You have the Native American, various tribes, a lot of Chinese.

Anna Faith Fuller: And your ministry is mainly to Haitians?

Jennifer Teachout: Well, I would say the Haitians are the most religious, I think I would say. And so initially, they’re the most receptive. Once they really understand what you’re saying, you know, that you often lose them, you know, because they have their very, it can be an interesting mix of, you know, even some voodoo type things and, you know, spirit worship.

mixed with the Bible. Some things from the Bible. Yeah.

A lot of superstition, I guess, is maybe the way to put it. So they’re the ones that are the easiest to reach, but they don’t necessarily stick around a long time.

Anna Faith Fuller: Would you be able to share just some trials or difficulties that you face to have just grown your faith and walk, whether it’s here in French Guiana or just, you know, Anywhere in your walk of faith?

Jennifer Teachout: Yeah. Well, I will say one of the challenges we had in Quebec, and that was when our children, all five children, were born and they were younger, is that Quebec is traditionally a very Catholic province of Canada, very Catholic. It is French, French speakers.

And anything that isn’t Catholic is seen as a cult. and for instance where we were working there there wasn’t any other type of church any other type of group uh jehovah’s witness or Mormons or even more evangelical or anything like that there was nothing and so for our children growing up it was very hard for them and as a mother’s heart and you want your children to be happy. And missionary kids are just like any other kids.

They have the same wants, the same needs. And our neighborhood children were not allowed to play with our children because their father was a pastor, pastor of a Baptist church, of all things, you know, because that’s the worst of the worst. And so there were, at the beginning, I would try to have birthday parties for the kids, you know, and invite neighborhood kids.

And they would say, sure, sure, we’re coming. And in the end, no one would show up because the parents wouldn’t allow them to. And it was so hard on the kids that very early on, I stopped even trying because it was just hard.

So they kind of, especially the three older ones, grew up more in Quebec and they didn’t have friends, you know. And so for me, that was a burden for me that I had to just leave in the Lord’s hands that these children are, yes, they’re my children, but they’re God’s children and God’s going to take care of them and take care of their specific needs. But that was always hard for me, especially in Quebec.

Here, there’s a little more outlet for that. There’s more openness. There’s not the stereotype that there was in Quebec.

So I think being a mother, that was one of the harder things that I’ve had. And yeah, inadequacy, you know, feeling that I can’t, I just can’t get up this Sunday and, you know, here, face the heat, face the bugs, face the craziness of these different cultures that I don’t fully understand. And that since I don’t understand them, there’s a risk of people being upset with me, offending people.

So it’s the thought of, Lord, I need your mercy. And not to just quit. You know what I mean?

I mean, not necessarily literally quit, but even just in your heart, just say, I don’t care anymore. And just knowing that God will guide you. And if you do your best, and at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters, is that you’ve done your best.

And God will make up for all of your weaknesses. And God has led you here. His hand is the one that’s going to bring the fruit, not necessarily you.

So just do your best every day.

Anna Faith Fuller: Right. That’s so encouraging. It definitely is.

In the mission field in general, there’s so many different challenges that you have to work through on a daily basis that maybe don’t just go away or you get over them. like something like the heat, you know, just there every single day. And so just feeling the weakness is, you know, a lot more, it’s just present there.

So it’s neat to know that and know that you have to place your trust in the Lord. As we conclude here, is there any encouragement that you would give to young girls, whether teen or college age, just wanting to know God, know who he is and just even looking ahead to what God has for their future. Yeah.

I think, I mean, I know

Jennifer Teachout: when I share my testimony, it’s very different than most young girls because I’ve really had a direction from a very young age that never wavered. And I think the main thing for young ladies especially is like Abraham’s servant, you know, I being in the way, the Lord led me.

And so if you are walking with God, if your personal walk is with God, and you can put your head down on the pillow at night and have that fellowship in the quietness of those moments with your Savior, you know, He will guide you.

And if your heart is to serve him in any way possible, especially in the small ways that people don’t notice, that’s not going to lift you up in the eyes of people, you know, that you pick up the tissue that someone has accidentally dropped and you throw it away or you set the hymn books right, you know, or you see little things that can be a blessing that no one’s going to notice, you know.

And through every stage of your life, if you just be in the way, you know, being willing, willing to walk through doors and willing to take opportunities that come that present themselves, even if it’s washing a toilet, you know, no one’s going to see it. God sees it, you know, and that’s the kind of perspective that God wants in us, especially as young ladies. And it’s in that that your walk with God will grow and he will guide you.

He will guide

Anna Faith Fuller: you. Well, thank you so much for sharing just what God has done in your heart and how he’s led you.

And it is so encouraging to hear fellow believers share how God has led them. It is a reassurance that God can guide me as well, especially as young girls have so many questions about the future.

Who am I going to marry? How is God going to lead me?

Maybe God has given one young girl a desire to serve the Lord as a missionary, or a burden for a particular place. Right now, it does not seem as though that could ever happen. But Jennifer’s story shows how God brought back a burden she had carried for seventeen years.

Sometimes a missionary husband has a burden for an area while his wife does not share it, and they cannot sustain that life. God gave that burden to Jennifer as well, which supports her husband. We were reading Romans 8 last night, and God works every single thing together for good.

God will take care of us in our weakness and inadequacy. Young girls, continue to trust God in every little step; do not despise the little things. Do what is right, and God will bless you and lead you step by step.

You can completely rest and trust in Him and live that life of faith. Remember: faith does not just talk; faith walks.