In 2003 I went on my first mission trip when I was attending Azusa Pacific University. 3 weeks in El Salvador working at a children’s orphanage filled with 70 adorable kids changed my life. I remember being fascinated by the impoverished people in the community surrounding the orphanage. They had such grateful hearts toward God, even though they had very little material items — nothing but a house made out of car tires and sheets of tin. My love for kids flourished during our time there, and I also enjoyed practicing the little bit of Spanish I knew. At the end of the trip, I realized that God had sparked a new passion in me for missions. From that time forward I knew that missions was going to be a part of my life in some way.
In 2006 and 2007 I went on mission trips to serve in New Orleans. We did yard work, food and clothing distribution, homeless ministry, and evangelism. (Handing out gospel tracts on Bourbon Street during Halloween and a Voodoo festival definitely took me out of my comfort zone!)
I knew I wanted to live overseas for a year at some point in my life, maybe get a taste of what missionary life in another country is like. But I’ve never felt lead to any specific area in the world. My sister’s friend gave the World Race website to my sister and asked her to pass it on to me. When I checked it out I was amazed at how perfect it seemed for me. It was exactly what I desired but didn’t even know it existed! After prayer and seeking counsel from others, I applied for the trip and — wham-bam — before I knew it I was scheduled to embark on this crazy adventure in August ’09.
Somewhere along the way I learned that we are to be missionaries wherever we are, whether it’s Cambodia or the office building you work in. I am a missionary here in the US today, and I will still be a missionary in 12 months when I’m traveling around the globe. Some words of Oswald Chambers resonated with me (which is very common!)…
“The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will, not to be useful or to win the lost. A missionary is useful and he does win the lost, but that is not his goal. His goal is to do the will of his Lord.
In missionary work, the great danger is that God’s call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. We tend to forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary work is not primarily the elevation of the people, their education, nor their needs, but is first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ – “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Mt 28:19) To “go” simply means to live. Where we are placed is then a matter of indifference to us, because God sovereignly engineers our goings.”
That is a great reminder to me to not try and fulfill all the world’s needs, but to focus on living in Christ, listen to His voice, and obey. Sounds simple enough, but I know I’ll need to remember this truth again… and again. I’m up for the challenge.
