Adam and Randi Blaylock have been on one adventure after another, and the twists and turns, upsides and failures of life have led them to Cross Mountain Ministry, where they serve full-time in Nicaragua.
Adam Blaylock, a native of Winona and a 2000 graduate of Winona High, said he always had a fondness of construction.
“I have been interested in construction as long as I can remember,” he said. “I started out helping my dad work on projects around the house. I had one of the coolest clubhouses ever. I would salvage supplies from my dad’s scrap pile and anywhere else that I could. Swiss Family Robinson and Indiana Jones encouraged my imagination and I always seemed to have a desire for adventure. As I got older, it seems that God grew my talents and led me to a very successful career in construction which took me to several new places.”
Adam said in 2009, he left the construction world and went into ministry fulltime with his wife, Randi, serving as house parents at French Camp Academy.
“This was one of the greatest times of our life. Our son, Ben, was born our first year there. We had a newborn, a four-year old daughter and ten boys from first grade through fourth grade,” Adam said. “Although it was one of our fondest memories, it was also one of the hardest seasons.”
But, it’s the growing pains they experienced at French Camp that prepared them for Nicaragua in a way they never imagined. After serving two years at the academy and in other different opportunities, the Adam returned back to the construction world.
And, it was the move back to construction that led them to Nicaragua and to fulfilling the calling placed upon their lives.
“I took a job in Beaufort, S.C., building a hangar for the F-35 fighter jet on the Marine Corps Air Station. It wasn’t long after we moved there that we got plugged in to a church and were planning to go to Nicaragua on a short-term family mission trip,” Adam said. “We were looking at this trip as a great experience to grow as a family. We wanted our children to experience a life outside of themselves and to grow their worldview.”
He said he and Randi decided that no matter what they saw, the trip to Nicaragua was not permanent. “We said we were never going into full-time ministry again,” Adam said, planning for the family to return to life as normal after the trip. But, God had other plans.
“It took two days for God to break us. He had shown us His world outside of ourselves. We knew immediately that we would be back,” he said.
“Over the next few months, Nicaragua was all that we could talk about. Every time that I looked at pictures, God broke me. There was no doubt in either of our minds that God was leading us here,” he said.
After speaking to their pastor back in Beaufort, the Blaylocks were obedient and began to take the leap of faith.
“We began the planning phases and made several trips back over the next year. We felt that it had gotten serious, and we needed to tell our families,” Adam said. “We didn’t really get much feedback. Maybe they thought that it was just a romance that would end within a year. After we told them, we began selling everything we owned.”
The Blaylock’s calling to Nicaragua has lasted much longer than a year.
“We moved to Nicaragua with 16 military duffle bags weighing 40 pounds each. The only things we brought were our clothes, the kids Legos and a few other small toys, the homeschool curriculum for the next year and a few small hand tools,” Adam said.
Adam said they never questioned why God led them to Nicaragua, but that they needed to be there.
“I don’t know that we felt that we had a choice,” he said. “We wanted to go, but I feel that we never questioned it. That may sound weird, but I really don’t remember questioning the call or if it were the right decision. We had been changed by what we had been shown. Our view on the world had been changed. Our view on people had been changed. Our sense of urgency for the people here and their souls had been kicked into high gear.”
He said before moving, he and Randi had an idea of why God sent them there. But, it took a year to figure out why God really led them there and what He wanted accomplished. A year into being there, the Blaylocks founded Cross Mountain Mission.
“We went into every meeting with an open mind and seeking God’s direction in each one. Some fell through and some were answers to prayer. After the initial learning curve and seeking phase, we finally have more average days. Once we figured out what God was leading us to, we started an organization here called Cross Mountain Mission,” he said. “This organization exists to provide holistic child development for children living in extreme poverty. We accomplish this through what we call Legacy Centers. Our first Legacy Center is in a community called Datanli.”
Cross Mountain Mission has around 250 kids that come on a daily basis, Monday through Thursday, and the Blaylocks teach four different age groups and four different subjects, with the hope that the children grow up in the Lord and are productive members of society.
He said the mission got the name from a cross which stands on a mountain that towers over the city.
“Cross Mountain Mission was born out of a desire to show people that when they lift their eyes to the mountains looking for help, they can rest assured in the fact that their help comes from the Lord, Maker of Heaven and Earth,” Adam said. “Although we have created an organization that we pray will be a beacon of hope for years to come, it is not there yet. It is a struggle to meet the everyday challenges of operating an organization and also meet the needs of our family. With only a few local staff and us, it is very difficult to balance all that needs to be done.”
As a way to bring in income, the Blaylocks also sell coffee, Lost Gringos, and are hosts for short-term mission trips. Adam said they also sponsor Give Back Tuesday, an initiative held the Tuesday after Thanksgiving to encourage people to give more.
“Our campaign this year is called Legacy Launch 2018. We are trying to increase the amount of sponsors for the Legacy Center that we operate in the community of Datanli. The Legacy Center Datanli is our very first child development center. Datanli is a community about 30 miles outside of Jinotega. It is largely a farming community and most children are expected to help on the farm. Many children here are behind in school, or do not go to school at all, due to the lack of financial resources,” he said.
If you would like to know more about the ministry here in Nicaragua, how you can get involved or if you would like to take a short-term mission trip, visit crossmountainmission.org or find them on Facebook at crossmountain. Adam Blaylock can be reached by email at adam@crossmountainmission.org.
