I have a sponsor child in another country who I’ve been writing letters to for a couple years now. We share prayer requests and recently, I asked her to pray for my non-Christian family members.
She replied, “Your family don’t feel bad that you are Christian? They love you or not so?”
When I read that, a host of different reactions came to me at once.
Humor: Hahaha, of course they still love me. That is so cute!
Sadness: Where she lives in the world, and many places around the world in fact, it is a very real possibility that the decision to follow Jesus means being rejected or even persecuted by your family.
Gratitude: For all their issues (of which there are many! 😉 ) I have never once considered that my family might stop loving me because I became a Christian.
Motivation: Next year, God-willing, I am going to the 10/40 window. In many of these countries, including the one she is from, following Jesus involves a lot of sacrifice. As a missionary, I want to do my best to show people that following Jesus is still worth it, it spite of what you might lose.
To be honest, as an American with loving parents, I have not even begun to suffer for my faith. Yes, there are hard decisions I have had to make as a Christian, but they do not come anywhere close to losing my family, my home, or my job over my religion. My sponsor child’s comment filled me with a heightened sense of purpose, passion, and desire to share the Gospel with the nations.
“Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” Matthew 19:29
To my non-Christian family and friends who are reading this: I can see you, shaking your head, calling me a religious zealot, cult member, blah blah blah. 😉 BUT I am so thankful that I know you love me and respect me anyway. I love and respect you too! Also, just to clarify, this is not to say, forget all my friends and family, they are not important. You are!
ABOUT SPONSORSHIP: The organization I sponsor with was recently kicked out of my sponsor child’s country because that country is tightening its restrictions on international aid, especially aid from Christian organizations. My sponsor child’s pastor was able to find me and a few others on Facebook, but there is still a HUGE need. At his center alone, there are only 8 kids sponsored. 277 children are still in need of a sponsor! If you would like to become a sponsor, please reach out to me and I can put you in contact with someone who can help. If you know what organization/country I am talking about, please don’t comment publicly. It needs to be handled carefully so as not to get the pastor in trouble.
Additionally, if you would like to be a part of my trip to help those in need and to tell others about who Jesus is, please consider donating, through my blog or by check. I need to have raised $10,000 by December 18th!
Thank you for reading! Training Camp is NEXT MONTH!! 😀
