Jake and Becky Hjemvick

Faithfully serving the Lord can sometimes mean giving up something that is extremely important. For Jake ‘99 and Becky Hjemvick ‘00, following God’s call meant giving up secure jobs and a comfortable life in Wexford, PA to serve in the mission field in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Along with a few worldly possessions, Jake and Becky took their six-year-old son, Adam, and four-year-old daughter, Abby, with them thousands of miles to serve as missionaries for Christ For the City International (CFCI). CFCI is a global mission organization that aims to transform the lives of communities in 15 different countries and develop leaders for Christ.

Jake graduated from Geneva with an engineering degree and Becky with a business degree. After graduation, he secured a job at Eaton Corporation. At that time, Jake had no idea he would be giving up his nice savings account and 401k to live a life of continual dependence on God in a country he barely knew, but God prepared them both for this step into the unknown.

Becky explains, “God gave me a passion for the country and people of El Salvador and a feeling of strong calling to serve the people here.”

Jake recognizes that one of the greatest impacts of his Christian education at Geneva was the focus on leadership. As a foreign missionary and base director, now leading a team of nationals, he realizes that the way to lead is to follow the perfect example of Jesus Christ in servant leadership.

For Jake and Becky, service to God and neighbor is coaching volleyball, making crafts, teaching English, doing devotionals, working with children, and ministering to incarcerated women and their children.

“I have found that when you yield your life to Him, He begins to reveal Himself everywhere...I have seen God’s hand clearly in so many things,” Jake states.