Ambassador Meryl Bailey left her comfortable life in South Africa to serve God in India. God met her in ways she never expected!
It’s safe to say I’ve had a pretty comfortable life. That might not be what you think when you discover I was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa – but it’s true.
I had a privileged, comfortable upbringing that extended well into adulthood. As a wife, homeschool mum, and business owner, I had the life many dream of. Even me.
Yet I was disappointed.
Disappointed with the fact that even with all the trimmings this world could offer me, I was unsatisfied, angry, and hopeless. From the outside, everything seemed picture-perfect, but on the inside, I was a wreck.
Then, I entered Revelation Wellness, and while running on the road and listening to their podcast – I met Jesus unlike I ever had in my 20+ years of following Christ. My freedom journey had finally begun.
It took a while of listening and devouring everything they had to offer before I jumped head-first into instructor training. In November 2021, I became a Certified Fitness Teacher Gospel Preacher.
I started growing a little community of women in Johannesburg who joined me in getting free and staying free – mainly through in-person events at my local church and a weekly online accountability group that met to work out with RevWellTV.
I saw God multiply in our midst, and within a space of 18 months – 4 new instructors in my community went through training. Our events were well attended, and online community was growing.
Once again, life was comfortable.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved this sweet season and all that God did in and through my community and me during that time – but if you’ve been around Rev for any length of time, you’re familiar with the phrase “Get comfortable being UNcomfortable,” and so it wasn’t surprising when God called our little family to an overseas posting – which fitted the category of ‘uncomfortable’ a bit too perfectly!
We were headed for India.
Leaving the 99
Truthfully, it was an answer to many of our prayers, with clear confirmation that it was for us specifically – but it didn’t make the extraction from our life of comfort any less painful, as we exchanged our beautiful home for 12 suitcases and months of uncertainty, with 4 children in tow.
Leaving behind this special community of Rev sisters was one of the most difficult goodbyes, and since then, I’ve had to watch from a distance as they all stepped more and more into their call and flourished in their own freedom journeys.
The last four months for my family and I have been quite different and far removed from our once idyllic suburban home.
Life is anything but comfortable as I navigate cultural and language barriers and aim to survive in this harsh land with an even harsher climate. I’m now the sole Revelation Wellness Instructor in India and in a community of locals who have NEVER heard how the message of the Gospel can transform their physical lives.
Yet God is kind, and “he determines the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” (Acts 17:26)
For now (despite the hard days), I have no doubt that for us, that is India. And here’s why: because after years of being a disciple of Christ – I finally “get” Luke 15:4-7
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.
Finding the One
So let me tell you about the ONE He found: a homeschool mama at a small church gathering whose children befriended mine and we ended up taking the train home together. I invited her and the kids to our home the following weekend and we got talking about Rev, and the latest challenge that was about to start: Get Strong.
She confides in me that she has never been well and cannot imagine that God would have any other life available to her other than the ailments that have plagued her since she was a child. But her interest is piqued, and she takes down the details of the programme.
Fast forward a few weeks, and she is THE ONLY local that joins me for that challenge. Typically, life happens, and neither of us finishes more than a couple of weeks, but I got this message from her the other day after she re-started the programme for a second time:
I just finished day 2 week 1 and I could do much much more than I could the first time around.
Thank you so much for this Meryl.
This is the first time in my life that I’m really looking forward to and enjoying exercising because (a) it’s all Jesus centered and so fulfilling in just that and (b) I can do it with so little time and planning at home.
I bless the day I found you.
Following My Shepherd
He cares so much for that ONE that He went out-of-his-way to get my family here.
He had the ONE in mind when I was packing up my home in Johannesburg and selling off my furniture.
That He loves the life of this precious ONE – that he would ask me to move my 4 young children to a foreign country.
It’s true, he is a good shepherd and He will tend his sheep. He will go anywhere, he will do anything, he will never give up, until that ONE is found.
I had a comfortable life in South Africa, but I can say without a moment’s hesitation that this ONE – and the many others that I know will come after – was worth everything I had to give up to be here.
With tears of joy in my eyes, I can testify that He loves these precious ONES. He will move earth and families to bring them home to Himself.
And if He is going after the ONE, so am I.
Meryl has been married to her adventure-loving husband for 17yrs. Originally from South Africa, they have also lived and worked in China, and recently transitioned their family of 6 to India. She’s worn many hats over the years but predominantly lives out the role of homeschool mama to 4 amazing kiddos ages 13- 5yrs. Most days she’s in gym gear and a mom-bun, loving Jesus through service of her family, local church and wider community.
One Response
This is so good and so encouraging. Well done!