Since going on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic in 2008, I have been able to go to China and France as well. My purpose was the same in all of those countries, but each country looked a little different. Through the next few blogs, I will share a bit about each country as well as what I will be doing on the Race next year.
Why do I love missions? I love to see God’s creation. The world is so vast and different. Each country is unique and I marvel at God’s ability. He is so much bigger than me. He imagined mountains, and vast countryside, and different terrains from nothing. He created a world that is more diverse than we can even discover. I love that! Not to mention space and stars and all that He is doing up there. I mean seriously, WOW! I also love to see how being a Christian is lived out in different countries. I long to discover what it looks like to be a Christian in Romania verses Africa verses Brazil. How does it differ, how is it similar?
I traveled to the Dominican Republic (DR) with a group of college girls in 2008. We partnered with Student International for 2 weeks in order to put to use our college majors. While there, I worked for a preschool. I enjoyed seeing the smiles on the little kids faces and joy they had despite their circumstances. Circumstances that would make any American feel poor or down trotted didn’t snuff out the children’s joy for life. It made me realized that God is bigger than circumstances and outward appearances. Joy that comes from God cannot be squash by the lack of this world.
What I enjoyed most in the DR was not my experiences, but rather hearing the experiences of others. I loved hearing what people “gave up” for Christ and hearing how people were lead to the mission field. I remember one man’s story of how he sold his car for God. Another man heard the call from God at age 40. So he packed up his entire family and moved to the DR. (This fact greatly comforts me. When I desire to be adventurous right now and want all of the exciting parts of life to happen at 25 I pause and remind myself of this man. God didn’t call him over seas until he was 40. Even if I don’t become a missionary until 40, I will still have many amazing years in the field. I tell myself to be patient and wait for the call.) While journaling late one night, I heard myself say, “I think I want to be a missionary.” I literally covered my mouth and thought did I really just say that. O no, did anyone hear me say that. The DR is where I first had a desire to see the world.
Over the next few years, I remembered this late night conversation with myself, but disregarded it because I knew I’d never be a missionary. Being in missions requires money, which requires fundraising, and that is the scariest thing in the world. I don’t know enough people in order to raise money for a trip, let alone a lifetime. These were my thoughts until I raised $7,000 for my DTS. I was shocked by the generosity of people and the power of God. Just maybe God is bigger than I realize.
China blog coming soon…..
