When I first announced I was going on The World Race back in January 2016, that also meant leaving my full-time job. I even wrote a blog about it called: Leaving a World of Politics for a World of Missions Well, turns out… God actually wants me back in that world of politics.
If you’ve been following my blogs on the race… back in month 4, I crashed a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) conference in Cambodia. Through a series of weird and extremely God-ordained events, I ended up speaking with one of the conference speakers from Cameroon named Jackson. I told him about The World Race and he requested a meeting a few hours later to see how we could partner together. After two hours of sharing testimonies, experiences, Kingdom visions and spiritual gifts… he asked us if we believed in Divine Appointments. He shared with me and my teammate that God woke up him when he was napping after speaking and told him he needed to meet two foreign girls at the conference. The Lord even shared exactly where he needed to stand to meet us… (let’s just say a cat was involved). Jackson told us he met a French women right before I got there…but God kept telling him that wasn’t her. We then prayed about this “divine appointment” and what He desired us to do. At the end, Jackson (man on the very left of the picture) gave us his commitment to join his team and be part of a conference tour YWAM was launching in the future.
If you don’t know what YWAM is, that’s okay because I didn’t either. But if you know anything about the history of short term mission trips and how it’s evolved, YWAM’s name is all over it. “Youth With A Mission is a global movement of Christians from many different cultures, age groups and Christian traditions, dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world.” YWAM began in 1960 and since then, they have more than 1,100 locations in over 180 countries with a staff of over 18,000. YWAM paved the road for what short term missions are today and their impact to millions of people and communities around the world.
One of YWAM’s University of the Nations key foundations is the 7 Spheres of Influence: the gospel cannot be reached through just the church and its missionaries. Christ needs to be spoken into every sphere of life: arts, media, business and economy, technology, government and law-making, education, science, family, sports, everywhere. Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM, believes “we need to stop thinking that the church is the spiritual sphere and the other 6 are secular. There’s something we can do by serving each other in The Body of Christ. The Kingdom of God is not confined to the four walls of the building we call a church. It’s in every part of society! We should be refilling His people with truth and teaching them how to use their gifts and callings into THEIR sphere.” Through influencing these areas of societies, the entire nation can be influenced by the gospel.
A position with YWAM sounded too good to be true. Before the World Race, I was just a measily staffer for the Texas House of Representatives and a Campaign Manager during election season. And now, I have the possibility of being a missionary and teacher in the political sphere all around the world?
I prayed. I prayed a lot. For 3 months exactly. I wanted confirmation… God, is this really you? Anytime I asked Him directly, He was completely and utterly silent. Instead, He gave me 3 listening prayers in that 3 month span.
- February- I asked The Lord to show me a vision of my future: everything was on fire. Houston, my house, my personal belongings. Kind of scary, really hoping my cat wasn’t going to catch on fire…
- March- Ellie, a squadmate from Fort Worth, told me that God wanted me to read Esther again.
- April- Paul, a long term missionary with the World Race, told me that God wants to remind me that I’m His “little princess” and that I need to “forget my household name” from Psalm 45
A week after Easter, I get a call from Jackson… 3 months after he offered me a position on his team. He asked how the race was going and if I had any direct confirmation and an answer to his offer. I couldn’t lie. The Lord really hadn’t said anything! I told him, as an only-child Asian daughter, I’m expected to go home after The World Race, find a real job (because being a missionary isn’t a real job apparently), get married and take care of my family. But I went on and on about how, as much as my flesh wants to do the easy thing and do what’s expected of me… I wanted to be obedient to what HE wanted me to do. Jackson chuckled and laughed over the phone. He said from the minute he met me, I reminded him of Esther. Esther didn’t do what was culturally right. But THROUGH her obedience, her people group was saved. Then, he reminded me of how valuable I was to God and how no matter where I was, God was going to use me for His glory… but if I “forget (my) household name,” I would be used the way He created me and fulfill my true calling.
There were a lot of other listening prayers answered during this phone call but I would have to write a whole book to explain them. But honestly, I can’t make this stuff up. The Lord didn’t directly say yes or no to give confirmation, He did more. So I made a faith-based decision and …. on September 28th, I will be moving to the YWAM base in Kona, Hawaii! From October to December, I will be trained on how to teach other YWAM leaders and governmental officials from around the world on how to implement biblical principles in laws and integrate God’s Word in policy making.
Oh, and remember the vision with the fire? I’m happy to announce that I’ll be applying for The Fire and Fragrance Discipleship Training School in Kona, Hawaii starting January 2018. In case you’re thinking…. Why a DTS when I just got back from The World Race? I became a believer 2 years ago on May 28, 2015. Since then, God has sent me to Madrid for Islamic Outreach, Nepal for Earthquake Relief and 11 countries in 11 months as a full-time missionary. He’s taught me how to trust Him in every sort of situation. I would say in 2 years, I’ve gotten more than enough exposure on the field with many types of ministries… but what I desire and what I need is a solid foundation.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25
A discipleship training school is incredible for anybody who wants to seek His Kingdom… not just missionaries. I don’t want my relationship with God and foundation with Christ just a huge resume with all sorts of missionary experiences. A huge saying on The World Race is “intimacy proceeds fruitfulness” and I can’t stress how much this applies to my current season of life. That’s where discipleship and biblical schooling would come in. I have that hunger. I want to know Him more. I have a burning desire and passion for others to know God but how can I continue pouring out when I haven’t been poured into?
The Lord called me out of my career in politics, sent me on The World Race, all the way to Cambodia, through a series of divine appointments in Africa and South America, spoke directly to me and through multiple people through visions and listening prayers… to call me into my dream job: a missionary in politics.
I’m humbly asking the Body of Christ to answer the call again. We did it once already! I fundraised 17k for The World Race in 6 months and I’m going to need to rely on the generosity and supporters of missionaries again. The Spheres Training, Housing, Food, Flight to the base, and Living Expenses between October and December will be around $5,000. The Fire and Fragrance Discipleship Training School is $3,995. If you feel led to financially give, please contact me at [email protected]m or visit www.youcaring.com/sendallisontoywam
Also, if you’re interested in being part of my Prayer Warrior Team and joining my email/update group, please send me an email or leave your email in a comment below!
Thank you to those who have supported me through the highs and lows of these last 11 months. Thank you for all of the encouraging messages, blog comments and emails. Thank you for making me feel seen when I very much felt unseen across the world. And if you supported me, financially or prayerfully, thank you for having a direct role in bringing Kingdom to 11 different countries and for the Kingdom to come in my next season with YWAM. I’m so excited for this next season of life and I hope you will want to be a part of it!
