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By Taylor Cranfill
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward,
but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he
doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself
on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he
knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I
shall come forth as gold (Job 23:8–10).

These are the verses God has given us as our yearly
family theme but more pointedly, they wonderfully
describe many of the tribulations we have been
through in this season of deputation. Time after time
we have wondered “Why, God?” and “Where are You,
God?” Yet, in his perfect timing He has continued
to show Himself mighty and to give us the peace we
needed in the restlessness, unexplainable joy in the
suffering, and miracles when all seemed impossible.

To better understand this though, I want to rewind
and walk you through our journey, starting in the
Taylor, MJ & Lynsey
32 BIMI
Number 2, 2024
summer of 2021 when we knew we
were heading to Chicago or that
was at least where the Lord seemed
to be leading us. During this time,
I was still serving at my sending
church and my pastor suggested
we attend CAMP BIMI at the
BIMI World Missions Center. Of
course, we were excited about the
opportunity and we quickly made
plans to be there. However, due
to prior engagements and short
notice, my wife, Lynsey, was not
able to make the trip, so I set off
on the journey alone. During that
week at CAMP BIMI, I was able
to learn valuable lessons but more
importantly, God showed me and
ultimately our family that it was His
will for us to join the BIMI family so
they could help us more effectively
reach the wonderful, yet needy city
of Chicago. Many things led to this
decision, including such things
as BIMI helping with finances,
assisting in getting meetings, and
building profitable friendships. We
began the process of filling out the
paperwork and doing the required



appointments to be able to attend Candidate
School and get the final approval to join. In
December, we went to Candidate School
and were approved to join the BIMI family.

Lynsey and I were extremely thankful and
excited. We were looking forward to seeing
new places, visiting like-minded churches,
and meeting God’s people beyond our place
of familiarity.

We started setting up meetings and going
to churches to share the burden we had for
God to reach the city of Chicago. Then just
as we are celebrating one of the most joyous
moments of our lives, besides our salvation,
marriage, and the birth of our little girl,
darkness started to creep in. My wife became
extremely sick to the point that she passed
out. We rushed to the Emergency Room
(ER) to see what was wrong just to find that
they did not know and the equipment they
needed to find out was broken and unusable.

We sat in the ER with Lynsey in major pain,
and no answer as to what was going to
happen to her or for her. Three days
passed until doctors determined it
was her gallbladder. Thankfully, on
day four and then again on day five
she had several surgeries where the
doctors were able to successfully
clear numerous gallstones and
remove the gallbladder completely.

We started back on the journey,
continuing to do what God called
us to do, thankful for the reality
that He had protected and healed
Lynsey, and answered the prayers
of many who had prayed for
us. Things were “good” for the
next several months and soon
we got into a rut. It became our
doing what we were supposed to
do—but instead of doing it with
the right attitude and the right
motives, we became more focused
on the support rather than the
ministry. The mindset was more
on completing one meeting so we
could go on to the next instead of
being who God had called us to be and in the
place that He planted us.

As many know by personal experience, it
is in those times that God allows testing
or as John 16:33 states, tribulation. That is
exactly what we got when we hit a wall on
May 21 when our eight-month-old little girl
experienced her first seizure. It was 2 a.m.

EST when I would receive the call. It was my
mother-in-law. She said, “MJ had a seizure
and is in EMS being rushed to the hospital.”
Those words were hard to hear, but beyond
the words was the distance. I was in North
Carolina at a meeting and Lynsey and MJ
were in Colorado visiting family. I had no
way to hold my wife and comfort her or hold
my little girl’s hand as she journeyed through
something she could never understand in
the moment. As I was about to get on a plane
to go be with them, I got several more calls
that she had experienced one seizure after
another. When that day was over, she had
experienced 15–20 seizures lasting from 30
MJ rushed
to hospital
33