Jesus commissioned His disciples for the work of His kingdom by saying, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” (Matthew 9:37-38). My hearts cry in response to Christ call on my life comes directly from Isaiah 6:8 “Here I am. Send Me!”
And send me He is; to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Cambodia, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, and India. The Lord has placed a direct call on my life to serve as His ambassador to the broken and downtrodden people of this world. People who desperately need the saving grace, unconditional love, and freeing redemption, that only comes through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He placed this call on my life at an early age, but more specifically my passion for this mission has been cultivating in my heart for about 4 years. In that time the Lord has been preparing me for such a time as this, where I must step out in faith, take up my cross, and follow Him. He has called me to lay down my life for His cause, which in my case means surrendering all the comforts of home, family, and friends to live out of a backpack for 11 months; to live amongst, and more importantly love on, people groups that in most cases have been abused and forgotten in this life. God has called me to be His hands and feet to the untouchable people, the invisible people, the battered people that justice has seemed to pass over completely. My heart breaks for the brokenness that is their lives. My heart yearns to hold them, love on them, fight for them, and meet their needs in every way. In doing so may my actions forever point not towards myself but always towards the One whose love is far greater than mine will ever be. My entire purpose in going where Christ has called me to go is only and always to bring Him all the glory and honor and praise worthy of such a glorious Savior! To minister to the broken, speak truth in love to the hurting, and ultimately to further His kingdom on earth so that one day when He returns to the fulfillment of His kingdom I may hear him say “Well done good and faithful servant!” So to His precious call to go, I answer in humble faith, “Here I am. Send me!”
So now you’re all probably wondering what exactly I am going to be doing. And for how long? And with what organization? And the million dollar question of how much is this going to cost? (Which in my case seems truly like the million dollar question). Well let me tell you a bit about this wonderful organization that I will be working with for the next year and a half. It’s called Adventures in Missions (AIM) and it’s a mission’s organization that sends teams of missionaries all over the globe, with trips for all age groups and for varying lengths of time. I have actually served with this organization in High School when I went on a mission trip to Guatemala with my youth group and then the next summer when we served in Trinidad and Tobago. It’s a great organization and I’m really looking forward to working with them again. This new adventure that I’m embarking on is called the World Race and it involves sending teams of missionaries to serve in 11 different countries for 11 months. My team will be sent out this coming January, 2013, to serve in the 11 countries I listed above. We will spend a month in each country partnering with existing ministries, missionaries, and organizations already established in each country. Our time will be spent living within the communities, working side by side with the people there and building lasting relationships with those we are serving. The service will vary depending on the needs of the country and the people group we will be working with. Some projects will consist of providing for needs such as building homes, schools, and churches. Other ministries will be focused on feeding the hungry and providing healing medical care to the sick. A lot of our ministry will be focused on caring for the orphans, the widows and the outcast of society and advocating for them. Some of our ministry will even focus on rehabilitation efforts for young girls either coming out of the bondage of human trafficking or fighting for the justice of those still entrapped by it. Throughout all of the ministries our main focus will be on loving the people through whatever need they may have and most importantly building those relationships with them and sharing the redeeming message of the gospel through our actions and our words. As we serve in each country and meet the needs of those we begin to build relationship with we will be living a life of abandon just like the people. I will be living out of my backpack for 11 months, my only possessions being the items on my back. I will have to learn quickly true surrender to the work of Christ. My selfishness will be pushed to the limit and hopefully conquered through Christ, my strength will be weakened at every turn in order to allow His strength to be mighty, and my pride will be humbled in massive and transforming ways so that by the grace of God I may never be the same. Yet again my answer to it all, even in the midst of the unknown and the foreseen trials is, “Here I am. Send Me!”
You can imagine what step is next in this journey of faith, as many of you have been partners in this gospel ministry with me for years now. It’s time for me to put this idea of trusting God’s faithfulness and provision to the test. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am walking in obedience to the Lords call to serve for 11 months with this organization. Now I must step out in faith again as I ask of Him, and trust Him, to provide for my needs mainly through all of you. A trip of this magnitude comes with a financial responsibility of the same magnitude. The final cost of this trip which includes travel to each country, food for the 11 months, and all other ministry related expenses totals $15,500. That seems like a hefty amount to raise in less than 7 months for any one, let alone a poor post college graduate like me, but I know my God to be bigger than that amount and I know Him to be faithful to provide. I am expectant of God to move in mighty ways to provide for all of my needs, and I have prayed and fasted over this process, and all of you being part of this process, for months now. I would ask you all do the same before even considering supporting me in any way. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builder’s labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). I don’t want to have anything done within this whole process without the Lord being the center of it, behind it and ahead of it in every way, lest I labor in vain and put my trust in my own abilities. So I’m asking all of you to prayerfully consider your partnership in my ministry. If the Lord places it on your heart to be my prayer worrier not only as I prepare to leave but during the long months that I am serving as well, I welcome that with more joy than you know. If the Lord has you provide for needs in other areas of ministry than my own I would ask you not give to me out of obligation, but remain obedient to the Lord and continue tithing where you already are. But if the Lord lays it on your heart to partner with me in financial support, whether through a onetime gift or monthly support, then I ask you to step out in faith and allow the Lord to use you as a means to provide faithfully for my needs as well as the furtherance of His kingdom in the efforts of this ministry. What greater call on your life than to be my answer to prayer, my provision, and my faithful partners in what God is actively doing in and through my life.
I am so very thankful to you all for how you have impacted my life and encouraged and supported my ever growing heart for missions and this call that has been placed on my life. I ask with a humble heart that you would support me in this amazing adventure that lies ahead. I need your prayer more than you can know and your encouragement and support will help me each step of the way. I greatly anticipate God to work miracles in my life through you all! Thank you from the very bottom of my heart! “Here I am. Send Me!”
