Hello! My name is Grace Popken.
I am a full time missionary with YWAM (Youth with a Mission), one of the largest non-profit missionary sending bases in the world, located in Kona, Hawaii.
When I was a young girl, the Lord started to stir my heart for missions through the stories my dad used to tell of his many years seeking the Lord and seeing signs and wonders follow. These stories of blind eyes opening and people coming to know God in miraculous ways wet my appetite for relationship with God, but it wasn’t until about two years ago that I actually decided to taste and see for myself just how good God really is. In 2021, I did my DTS (Discipleship Training School) with YWAM Kona and met God. All of those years of growing up in church and knowing about God did not compare to the reality I stepped into when I met God. He broke down my walls of religiosity and set my heart to follow Him.
Before this moment with the Lord, I knew, even back then, that I was called to be a missionary. The Lord has given me not only a heart for the nations, to share the gospel with those who have never heard, but also a heart for those who already know about God. Those who know of God, but don't truly know Him. The ones who desire more, just like I did. (Matthew 28:19-20)
More than just doing ministry, the Lord has simply given me a heart to follow Him, to give Him my obedience. Out of this obedience, I found myself led back to YWAM in the summer of last year, which just so happened to be the perfect place to step into both of these callings the Lord has placed on my heart. As a staff, I have the opportunity to not only lead students into a deeper relationship with God, but to also lead them to the nations to share the gospel.
As a missionary, I do not make a salary and therefore I am relying on the Lord and partners to help pave the way of expenses that would send me to the mission field. I can’t do this alone which is why I would be honored if you would prayerfully consider partnering with me.
Would you consider joining my team of partners to see the lost saved and the prodigals return home?
Grace