What is the most valuable thing in this world? Almost everyone asks this question but people often come up with different answers. Some will say that love, courage, money, or family is what they treasure. I treasure something greater.
When I was younger, my life was completely and totally transformed. When looking at our world, I knew that there was a God— that someone had created this beautiful world we live in. Coming to this conclusion, I wanted to know more. Who was it that made this place? And why was I included in this creation? I searched in different places for these answers, and where I found them was in the Bible (Gen. 1:1, Gen. 1:31).
Then I read that we had a Triune God that not only created us, but loved us. This Father loved us so much that He sent His son Jesus to save us from our sin (John 3:16). To comprehend this love is impossible, why would such a mighty God that created the ocean and the sky sacrifice Himself for me? This is what I treasure, this is what I hold greater than everything else in this world. That Jesus came to save the world from our sin— that he was able to overcome that sin and rise out of the grave. This is what transformed me, this is what has made me whole. Jesus came and took away my sin and rose from the grave to His glory on high. He then called all changed by Him and gave us a mission. And that is where I find myself now.
I have always felt that God was calling me to the mission field. From the time I was 16, I have wanted to serve God in the remote parts of the world. I want to go to the places others thought unreachable to spread His gospel and interact with different cultures. Matthew 28:18-20 gives us the great commission and says “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” Jesus gives us this simple command: Go.
So, I plan on going for Him. The World Race is an 11-month Christian mission trip to 11 countries around the world. One of the unique things about the World Race is that it’s not only a mission trip but also an intensive discipleship program, designed to launch my generation into our specific kingdom calling. Through the World Race my team and I will serve in partnership with churches and ministries in local communities. We will preach the Gospel, help with planting churches, work in orphanages, minister to women and children trapped in prostitution because of human trafficking and bring the restorative hope of the Father’s love to many tribes and nations.
Why is this command to go so hard to obey? My life has changed since I had that initial desire to go into the mission field. Since college, I have been working a job that I love and a career that is difficult to walk away from. I am a pilot and I have been working as a flight instructor for the past few years. The whole reason to be a flight instructor is to build flight hours and experience before going to an airline. By the time this mission begins, I will have that flight hour requirement and will be ready to move onto the next stage of my career. I started to make up excuses of why the World Race was a bad decision and why this wasn’t how God was going to use me for His kingdom. But I kept hearing Him say Go. So, I started asking friends and family expecting them to tell me that this was a bad idea and that I should stay and do God’s work in Cincinnati. But God used everyone I talked to and they all said I should go.
I was amazed, the last thing I imagined myself doing at this point in my life would be the World Race. I felt so at peace working with the local church in Cincinnati and had forgotten about the desire God had given me to serve Him abroad. In truth I had become comfortable with my situation and didn’t want to throw a monkey wrench in my life plan. Every time I prayed, I felt God was telling me, “Go”. I realized that fear was keeping me from accomplishing God’s will; fear of leaving my family, fear of this not being the right choice, and fear of the unknown. But Jesus said, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” he knows that I would have to be apart from the people I love to serve Him. So that is what I am planning to do, to lean on Jesus for the duration of my mission, to find my comfort and joy in Him, and to be able to say that I am who I am because of His sacrifice.
I write all of this so that you may know how God has changed my life, and the reason why I would do something so crazy as drop everything and go. Please pray for me as I begin fundraising and preparing to leave the US to go on this adventure with Jesus.
