A missionary kid who grew up in Indonesia, Jeremy Devers of 2014 H Squad has found his journey coming full circle.
For Jeremy Devers of 2014 H Squad, the mission field feels like home.
Raised as a Missionary Kid (MK), Jeremy has spent the majority of his life not in the United States of America. Other than a few short years when his family returned for furlough, Jeremy grew up in Indonesia. Squatty potties, twice-a-day meals with rice, and soccer games filled his childhood, which adapted well to the slower paced, family oriented culture.
It was in Indonesia he gave his life to Christ.
And it was while in the States in middle school Jeremy wondered where in the world Jesus went.
Back in the country of his birth, in the instant gratification, individualistic culture of the West, he struggled with the routine of Americanized Christianity and the difficult process of making his faith his own.
He couldn’t wait to return to Indonesia for high school.
After college, Jeremy had a plan: get a high-paying job to pay off student loans, then return overseas. But while working in the oil fields of North Dakota, he hit rock bottom. He was alone, working a physically demanding job, with no passion or drive, not feeling any intimacy with God.
There, at his lowest, God met him. And gave Jeremy a hunger for God’s presence that cannot be satisfied.
“There’s only one currency in the kingdom: hunger. How bad do we really want him? How much are we willing to give up? How much do we like our idols and human comfort? When we walk in a place of complete dependency on him and hunger for his face and voice, there’s nothing he can’t do through and in us. When we live completely yielded lives, our potential to bring him glory is amazing. Each day offers an opportunity to know him deeper and more intimately than the last. There are no reasons to wait; there is nothing that can hold us back from pursuing him, if we really want it.”
It was the same hunger that led him to the Race.
While volunteering at a Christian hostel in Amsterdam, Jeremy met a girl who’d just returned from the Race. Intrigued, he started blog stalking, and found himself both challenged and convicted for his own life: “I saw passionate Jesus lovers my age writing with incredible vulnerability. I saw a form of community I knew I was missing in my own life. What I read placed a hunger in my spirit for ‘more’.”
Ever since, every moment in Jeremy’s story has been one of finding his identity in his hunger for God. “This journey is ultimately a process of truly understanding who and whose I am. When I stand in full confidence that I am completely loved, that my past can never define me, that what others think will never shape me, and that growth comes not from striving but from abiding, then nothing can shake me off the foundation I have with my father.”
The Race hasn’t come without struggle, as one of the most difficult aspects of the Race is never being alone. Being used to travelling solo and surrounded by other cultures, living with 43 Americans has been a challenge at times. But being an MK has given Jeremy a unique perspective and adaptability he’s been able to share with his squadmates. And they’ve taught him as well.
“My teammates have fought for me in my lowest moments. When I feel empty, dry, and worn out, they believe in me. I’ve never been so stretched, so challenged, or grown so much in such a short amount of time. I have learned so much about leading, setting boundaries, healthy communication, how to sit with others in their pain, how to call people up into their identities, how to fight alongside people, and how to love intentionally. I’m barely half over with this adventure and even if I went home today, I could never be the same person who started the Race last September.”
As Jeremy enters his seventh month of the Race, he has a unique opportunity – bringing the men of his squad to Indonesia for “Manistry” month. His life has come full circle. Only God knew he’d one day help others bring the gospel back to the land of his heart, the land he calls home.
The land where he himself came to Christ.
He’s hungry to see this Muslim nation know the Lord as he does.
Jeremy Devers is finally home.
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