My Story

The second person I came across was a lady by the name of Bronnie Ware.  Bronnie was a palliative care nurse who took care of people during their final days of life.  During this time, she would sit and talk with her patients and ask if they had any life regrets. 

There were common themes that came up over and over, but the number one most common life regret she heard was,

“I wish I’d had the courage to live life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

As I continued down this path, I was led to make one decision that completely changed everything for me.  Thankfully, my wife, Bobbi, was on board too.

We decided to start seeking God’s will for our lives, instead of our own. 

After this, a generous dear friend of my wife gave me a book called, Every Good Endeavor, Connecting Your Work to God’s Work by Timothy Keller.  This book further supported this new enlightenment.  Also, besides God’s Word, this book has been the most instrumental in developing my entire worldview.  I highly recommend it.   

One of the many things Timothy Keller has taught me is regarding Martin Luther’s Reformation movement. 

In Martin Luther’s day (1483 - 1546), there was a great sacred-secular divide regarding work.  Sacred work was held to a much higher esteem.  It was seen as much more important and valuable than secular work. 

Martin Luther set out to reform this way of thinking.  He came to the realization that all work was important.  That it takes all people doing many different things to accomplish God’s work. 

For example, for God to feed His people, there are farmers involved.  There are workers reaping the crops.  There are truck drivers delivering the crops.  There are workers in the processing plants.  There are workers in grocery stores, stocking and selling the food.  

The world cannot function if everyone works in a sacred role.  What the world needs is people doing work they were created to do with a heart and mindset that they are working for God, not people.  

Unless immoral, all work matters; all work has value; all work can be done for the glory of God. 

“...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  —1 Corinthians 10:31

A few years after Jayden was born, Bobbi was called on her first ever mission trip.  

At the time, Bobbi didn't have a good perception of missions.  She had never had a desire to go.  Like visiting prisons, this, too, was completely outside of her comfort zone. 

She felt mission trips were a way for “church people” to go to cool places for shopping and other fun stuff with just enough good sprinkled in to call it a mission.  Not that she was against fun stuff and shopping, but she felt some of the trips seemed disingenuous or had ulterior motives. 

However, one day during her morning quiet time, Bobbi felt God say, “You’re going on a mission trip.”  She didn’t question it; she didn’t ask me about it; she simply said, “Ok, God, I’ll go.”

Some friends of ours were moving to Uganda to start an infant orphanage.  At their going away event, a local ministry had room for two more people.  Bobbi had previously checked into mission trips through our church, but none of the dates had lined up.  Bobbi wanted to take her first mission trip with Shelby during Shelby's Fall Break.  At this point, Shelby had already been on her first mission trip, at age 14, to Haiti.  She was the first person in our family to ever go on a mission trip.  Shelby was leading the way at a young age.

The new dates lined up perfectly.  Bobbi knew these last two spots were for her and Shelby.  They were going to help our friends serve in Uganda.  It was a trip to help care for orphans. 

The following year, it was my turn.  Unlike Bobbi, I had always wanted to go on a mission trip, but could never see a way to afford it, nor get the time off work.  This time, however, was different.    

This time, I was approached and specifically asked to go due to what I did for a living.  It was a medical mission trip and they needed someone who was trained in my profession.  How could I say no?  I had never been specifically asked to go, and they needed someone trained in my field.  

I decided not to worry about the money, nor getting time off work.  I chose to trust that everything would work out; that if I was being called, the way would be provided.  I told the team "yes" the same day I was asked. 

Turns out, I went to Uganda as well.  Bobbi went through an outside organization; I went through our church.  Both had the same destination…to serve the people and children in Uganda, where our friends had just moved. 

My trip was a medical mission that our church did every year.  We gave free medical care to over 1,800 people. 

A few weeks before my trip to Uganda, we had taken a family vacation to California.  This trip had been planned for years to celebrate Shelby’s 18th birthday.  Bobbi and Shelby loved The Price Is Right and had planned to visit the show when Shelby turned 18.  

When we needed to book our flights, Airbnbs, and rental cars, the show’s schedule for our vacation dates had not yet been posted.  However, we saw that during the previous year during our dates, they were filming, so we decided to go ahead and book everything. 

We later found out the show was taking a 3-month hiatus.  They were not going to be filming during our visit.  We had seriously been planning this trip for years.  

I offered Shelby the option of rescheduling everything, but she said no, it was fine.  She knew we would have a good time anyway.    

We did have a great vacation.  We flew into San Francisco; spent three days there; then flew south and spent eight days in Los Angeles.  It was me and Bobbi’s first time in California in over 20 years.

Three weeks after we returned from vacation, Bobbi and I were supposed to be in the mountains for a little weekend getaway.  This fell through for whatever reason, but we had already told our groups at church we would be out this day.  We decided to stay home and watch church online.  

Before the service started, there was a promo video for a new church plant in Los Angeles.  Bobbi and I were watching from separate ends of the couch.  Everything in the video, we had just been there…Griffith Observatory, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier.  I turned to Bobbi and said, “Is there any coincidence that we were just at all these places?”  Again, we hadn’t been in California in over 20 years. 

At the end of the video, the church plant pastor said he wanted to ask for two things. I honestly thought he was going to ask for money.  Instead, however, he asked for prayer, that God would continue stirring in the hearts of people in Los Angeles to receive the Gospel; and two, he said, “We also ask that you would consider, right now, to go with us…is God stirring within your heart to come with us?”

We were terrified, but we knew we had to get further information.  I emailed the church plant pastor, Jason Polk, and we set up a meet and greet.

Bobbi and I started praying for confirmation.  We were a roller coaster of emotions.  This was a massive surrender.  This meant selling our home of over 16 years, the only home Chloe and Jayden had ever lived in, and the only home Shelby remembered.  It meant Bobbi leaving her job of over 20 years.  It meant leaving our church of over 17 years.  It meant leaving all of our friends and family.  For our kids, it meant leaving everything they had ever known.  

We never told Chloe anything.  Instead, we started praying, “God, if you’re calling us, please call Chloe too.” 

While I was in Uganda with the medical team, several of us were staying with my friend, Dan Dropp, and his family that had moved there. 

One night, I started asking Dan about his call to move to Uganda.  It was very interesting, because I was serving alongside Dan before they were called to move.  I had the privilege to observe this calling on their lives as it developed over a few years.  Dan was my first co-teacher when I started teaching middle school boys, and later, I was one of his first students in his Experience God class. 

It was so awesome to witness their walk of faith through this entire process. 

When I got back from Uganda, Bobbi and Chloe picked me up at the Nashville airport.  Fresh off a long flight, one of my first stops was the bathroom.  When I came out, Bobbi was in tears.  I asked her, “What happened?”

While I was gone, out of nowhere, Chloe said, “I really miss California.  I'd like to go back sometime.”

We saw this as another answer to prayer and confirmation of our calling.  

Bobbi asked Chloe, “Really?  How would you feel about moving there?!?”  

Chloe was over-the-moon excited. 

After we sold our home of 16 years, we needed a place to stay for 3 months, until our move to California. 

A friend of mine had accepted a 3-month assignment in Hawaii for work.  He was taking his entire family.  They needed someone to watch over and care for their home, farm, and all of their animals while they were gone. 

Our dates lined up perfectly.  

When they returned, we had dinner together before leaving.  They wanted to hear our full story about our call to California. 

I started telling them about our decision to start seeking God’s will for our lives over our own, and the first thing that came from this was taking in a child from Jonah’s Journey.  

Stacey, the wife and mother of the family whose home we had just lived in for our last 3 months in Tennessee, said, “I was the one who called Bobbi!!!”  

I hadn’t even remembered that.  Our Tennessee journey with God had come full circle. 

We left Tennessee for California the year after my trip to Uganda. 

When we left Tennessee, we had no idea where we would be living.  We also had no idea where I would be working.  Bobbi had secured a job, but that was it. 

Thankfully, we secured a place to live while driving through Texas.  

An emotional morning...Bobbi saying goodbye to her mom and sister.

Our last stop for gas, leaving the area of our hometown.

Two hours West, the morning the Bell family left Tennessee.  Brian saying goodbye to his mom; one of the hardest days of his life, July 2019.

By the way, the name of the Los Angeles church plant?

Echo Church.

It was named long before I was ever even a part of it.  

My profession before being called to help start this new Los Angeles church plant? 

And part of what I did in Uganda on my medical mission trip in 2018?  

Echo.  

Short for echocardiography.

Back to you.

Have you ever had this feeling that there has to be something more to life?

If so, you're in the right place. 

I promise you, there is. 

Let me know how I can help.

Send me a message or set up a call with me.