God’s providential hand is evident in a Marshall County family’s decision to sell everything they own to move to Guatemala to do mission work.
BJ and Robin McCoy are members of First Missionary Baptist Church in Benton, where Alan Miller is the pastor. A mission team from their church went to Guatemala in January — but the McCoys weren’t on that trip. However, when the team returned to Kentucky, members told of making a brief, unscheduled stop at a school, then told their church about the need there for educators. That fueled the McCoys’ decision to leave their western Kentucky vocations to minister at Christian Academy of Guatemala. The school’s website says it “exists to support the missionary community in Guatemala by providing a biblically-based, quality English education to prepare lives for Christian service.”
Robin McCoy is currently the principal at Marshall County High School, a role she began in June 2020. BJ works for the state as an environmental scientist.
BJ said the Lord’s leading in this move shows that God is sovereign and He is providential.
“He has things designed and planned out, and has works for us to do,” he said. “We are saying yes until he says no. Looking back over my life, you would think there is no way I was going to be a missionary. But then again, you look at your entire life and see all these things that happened to prepare you for this. That is how our family is viewing it.”
The McCoys are funding the move themselves, as of today. “We have not begun the funding process — we are not opposed to it, but we are not stressing about it because we know it will be taken care of,” BJ said. “We’re selling everything we have — including our house and vehicles.”
The family plans to leave the U.S. on July 11, and will stay the full school year. “Then we will evaluate if we are going to stay longer,” BJ noted.
Previously, the McCoys were members of Parkway Baptist Church when they lived in Bardstown. Robin was a teacher at Nelson County High School, then was comprehensive school counseling program coordinator for the state Department of Education. BJ was an educator for three years, then spent 13 years in law enforcement.
They have two children — a daughter, Scout, 8, and a son, Jay, 7. “They are both excited,” said BJ. “They have the normal kid worries about their friends here and that they will miss them. Other than that, they are excited about the adventure and opportunities they will have. It is a good opportunity them to not only grow in seeing new parts of the world, but as our son said, ‘Hey, we get to spread the Word of God everywhere, even in Guatemala.’”
Robin, a Muhlenberg County native, became acquainted with Marshall County High School after a January 2018 shooting that killed two students and injured 14 others. She said her background in counseling and instruction were probably what caught the eye of the school’s site-based decision-making council in choosing her for the principalship.
“All leaders reflect on their impact level each year and make decisions about the possibilities for the future,” she said in a newspaper interview. “This reflection, coupled with the opportunity to serve internationally spreading the gospel, allowed my family and me to think through what were the best next steps for our family and for MCHS.”