“If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today,
and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe
you – you of little faith!” – Luke 12:28
Missions. To travel around and spread the good word that is Jesus Christ to those who don’t know Him. The people who do this (missionaries) are insane. You could describe them as an adrenaline junky, travel addict, Jesus freak, know it all, pretentious, and most likely perfect in our eyes because they’re doing something that we don’t want to do.
We see them come to church and tell the congregation all about their passion of going to some village in a place that really only them and our Lord knows where and asks us to send them there. Who are we to say no? They’re going somewhere that no other Christian has been before!
Then the missionaries go. They hike up their giant backpack (necessities only), say goodbye to their friends & family with the most infectious grin, and get on that plane that is the bridge to their next journey.
They arrive and begin serving and being selfless which is who Christ is. They experience a new culture, live on a tight budget, meet new people everyday, learn a new language, miscommunicate, sacrifice their time 24/7, eat food that isn’t tasty or nutritional, get lost, gets jumped and has all their money & credit cards stolen, volunteers for anything that they can volunteer for, begins missing out on their own personal devotionals because they’re so tired doing everything else, cries anytime when they’re alone, can’t get support from family back home because they cut them off to volunteer all their time to the field, and eventually begin to look for ways out of the missions field because it’s “too hard.”
The fact is that I’m a missionary. During this trip I got too caught up in the serving aspect that I forgot to balance that with taking care of myself spiritually. To fill others up you must first be filled up. But I wasn’t. And it was even worse when I was a Squad Leader trying to disciple others. I realize that now and I am reaching towards the Lord in these insane moments to completely reach the nations that He has called me to.
Missions is a mistake if you don’t take care of yourself. It is a mistake if you are so selfless that you forget about the Lord which in turn makes you selfish. Please just think of yourself! You aren’t helping anyone if you aren’t helping yourself. If you are on the missions field, please make a note to talk to the Lord. Learn something new about yourself. Strive towards the greatness in yourself each day before you encourage others to do the same.
With these words I would like to tell you what I am doing next.
In September I will be going to a discipleship program called the Center for Global Action (CGA) in Gainesville, Georgia. This program encompasses community, discipleship, and apprenticeship. I will be doing a year long course with three different focuses throughout the year (summarized and not set in stone):
Worship Track– Throughout this last year I realized that I have a huge passion for
worship and a longing to know more. The Worship Track dives into what worship,
leading worship, prayer, and arts can look like.
Story Track– I love telling stories! Whether it’s videos, pictures, blogs, books, anything!
The Story Track is an opportunity to gain real-world experience in the field of storytelling
with my passions. It’s a fast-paced team with lots of ownership over how much you
want to learn and develop.
Leadership Track– Even with the difficulties of my own experience being a leader, I still
know what I am called to do. I will dive into my own spiritual journey, be trained in
leadership and management skills, and develop a leadership style that I can use for
wherever the Lord leads me.
With this I am in need of finances once again. To do a year of CGA it will cost $10,950. I’ve raised over $13,000 all because of the Lord so to God so this is nothing! The costs include my classes, living space, food, and administrative fees. Please consider helping fund me for this trip. CGA is the bridge that the Lord has asked me to cross between the World Race and whatever place God calls me to after. Your money is preparing me for future missions and I ask that you consider donating.
I know this is big, but I’m going to start by asking each of you for $100. I only need 100 of those double zero bills. Just ask the Lord if you can spare that. If not, what can you spare that is less? I still need another $3,000 for my World Race trip. If you feel called to help please donate to the World Race first. I know that the Lord is big, He has taught me more than I thought I would learn, and even more so, He has given me direction as to what’s next.
Thank you for your support these last 2 years. It’s meant more than what I could possibly explain. I love you and I’ll see you soon.
A F R I C A || 1:11 from Hunter Young on Vimeo.
