I have wanted to go on a missions trip for years now.
I became a Christian just before my first deployment in the Air Force. When I got back, I got connected with this awesome group of women led by the greatest theologian that I know, Mama Rhonda. She believes that it is vital for not only the men to be brought up in knowledge in the church-but also the women! I started out in her women’s bible study and eventually was one of her first students in what we affectionally called “Cracker Barrel University” which was our Friday morning theology class (we went through Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrine textbook). We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel (one of the few places with real maple syrup!) and discussed theology and how we were doing with God. It would be impossible for me to overstate the importance of this time.
Mama Rhonda’s daughter Erin was just about to leave with her husband to live as missionaries in Namibia, Africa. As a bright eyed brand new Christian, I thought that was about the coolest thing I had ever heard! A missions trip!? That was like a deployment for God! I wanted to go so badly! But I still had a few years left in the military, and I was obviously not at a point of spiritual maturity that I would have been very much help-I was in sponge mode just absorbing everything that Mama Rhonda said. Honestly, I still needed her. She reassured me and said that when God puts something in your heart, He is growing you. You know that it is from Him if first of all, it is in alignment with the corpus of the text in the bible (you can’t have some crazy idea and say it is from God if it goes against the truths taught about him in the Bible!). The really exciting thing, though, is when this biblically sound desire that God has given you INTERSECTS with OPPORTUNITY! That is one way to know that you are in God’s will. This was back in 2006, and I have been not-so-patiently waiting ever since.
Sure, the churches that I have been a part of near my duty stations have had missions trips. And I think it is awesome that churches do that! But I am more of a “dive in head first and figure it out when you get there” kind of girl, and I basically wanted to move to a country and become a missionary, not just go for a week. But up until now I have been active duty, and that wasn’t possible.
For the past year and a half, I have been on medical hold because I messed up my knee. I have not known even what the next day would look like-nevermind the next week or month. This all began 6 months after my husband and I got hitched, so most of our marriage has been full of uncertainty. This basically drove me nuts and I have been pretty unpleasant to live with. But finally the military has decided that they are booting me, which I finally have peace about, and am excited to pursue a new adventure.
I have been working in an anti-human trafficking non-profit for the past year, and I truly, with all of my heart- after much prayer and fasting and frustration and crying-believe that this is my true calling. Going toe to toe with these pimps/traffickers and seeking justice for the oppressed is WHY God put me on this earth. I have never been this fulfilled doing anything else.
I decided that I wanted to expand what I do with the non-profit to more local endeavors (I work about an hour away from where I live). I googled “bar ministry” to see if one already existed (since there are no existing strip club ministries around here) and a girl’s blog came up. She was a World Racer writing about her experiences in Thailand. I was up until then unfamiliar with the World Race, but I was intrigued by what I read. I clicked on the link to the Race and saw that it is an 11 month missions trip! How cool! Unfortunately, the hubbs would never go for me being gone for that long, and at least as of now, long term missions work is not on his heart, so I knew that it wouldn’t work out. I had a little pity party for myself and Satan started attacking my thoughts telling me that I was being tied down by my husband. (Anyone who knows my husband would definitely disagree with this since he is about the most supportive and encouraging man on the planet.) Anyway, I came back to the website a little later and saw the “Human Trafficking Edition”. “WHAT?!” I clicked on it and it is a FOUR month trip. Oh- and it falls exactly in the middle of the hubbs deployment, AND I will be home in time to greet him at the airport and give him a much deserved hero’s welcome. I couldn’t believe my ‘luck’! It just got better when I learned that the mandatory training camp falls exactly on the week between term A and B at my Seminary!
It seems that my long standing desire to go on a missions trip has finally intersected with an incredible opportunity! As are so many things in the Christian life-this trip is so much better than I even hoped it would be. I can’t wait to get boots on the ground and begin ministering to these women and children.
Thank you for allowing me to share my heart with you.
Love,
Erika
