by Brendan Kimbrough | Aug 14, 2026 | Bridger Missionary, Education, Kenya, SAMS Missionaries
“Go to the ends of the earth.”
For young adults opportunities abound to serve cross-culturally from one month to one year through the SAMS Missionary Bridger Program. CJ McDowell, a member of The Falls Church Anglican in Virginia, is one such example. Having graduated from Regent University with a degree in psychology, CJ had been wrestling with what the Lord was calling her to do next.
Even though she had spent time living abroad with her family growing up, the stories she had heard about missionaries didn’t seem to apply to her. Then last summer the Lord revealed to her that He is faithful to provide a way to go where He calls, and she felt Him saying, “go to the ends of the earth.” She spoke to church leaders, family, and friends while also taking two courses to learn more about missions.
The Lord connected her with Lucy Chaves, a SAMS Missionary working extensively in Kenya, and she realized a door was being opened. CJ will serve for a month in Kenya before returning to Regent University this Fall to pursue a master’s degree. In Kenya, she will be serving alongside the staff of Kenya Connection as they work to disciple youth and young adults, empowering them to impact their communities through supporting education, job skills, and entrepreneurship. With Lucy serving as her missionary mentor, CJ looks forward to learning how to serve in another culture and to build relationships with young Kenyans, walking alongside them as they grow to faithfully follow Jesus Christ.
by Brendan Kimbrough | Aug 14, 2025 | Bridger Missionary, Mexico, Missionary Discernment
by Adrienne Salyards
I had the opportunity to spend the majority of my summer in Aguascalientes, Mexico with my two young children, serving as a SAMS Bridger alongside two seasoned missionaries. I had 3 goals for my time there: evangelism, encouraging the missionaries, and increasing our cultural fluency. God answered all three in beautiful ways. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to meet other moms in my neighborhood (maybe it’s a universal pattern that moms tend to seek each other out). One mom, whose 5-year-son loved playing with my 5-year-old son, took us to get haircuts for our boys at her favorite local barber (I never learned his name, because everyone only called him “flaco” aka “skinny guy”).
Another mom discovered that our toddlers shared a July birthday, and neither of us had planned anything. Together, we threw a thoroughly Mexican birthday party, with street corn, tacos, giant piñatas and a bounce house. The whole neighborhood came out and partied well past bedtime. As I got to know both women, I was able to share my testimony of God’s incredible goodness in my life and found that both of them had recently begun exploring Christianity.
On my very last day in Mexico, one of them reached out and wanted to do a Bible study with me. Not only was I able to read the Word with her, I was able to connect her with the local missionaries and a church with a strong Sunday School program. As we said goodbye that day, she told me, “God puts the right people in our lives.” We’ve stayed in contact via WhatsApp. As I reflect on my summer in Mexico, I’m grateful to have been able to glimpse, even if briefly, the work of the Missionary. I look forward to continuing to invite neighbors to know Christ, no matter where I live.
Adrienne Salyards lives in the Washington D.C. Metro area with her two children and attends Falls Church Anglican. God led her to explore being a Missionary intern this summer while being placed with SAMS Missionaries, Roger and Joanne Griffin in central Mexico.
