Being called to the mission field for me has been a journey, and it is hard to distinguish where it began. With that said, I will write what comes to my heart and hope that in the end it answers this question of how and why.
Looking back I had always been drawn to doing missions trips and have gone on a few including: Mexico, Haiti, New York, and Guatemala.
On my missions trip to Mexico I went to an orphanage where our goal was to become vessels for Jesus to show his love for his children. After my arrival I came to notice this one little girl, Judy, who was reluctant to come out and play with the rest. In my broken Spanish I was able to build enough of a relationship for the little girl to trust me. Come to find out Judy and I would become the best of friends. The idea of coming to this orphanage and being able to cross language barriers, cultural differences, and so much more and still being able to build that relationship was amazing. That day God was glorified and Judy melted my heart!
This idea was replicated time and time again throughout my mission trips that I took. The need that existed, the appreciation, the unimportance of ‘things’ became more and more evident to me. It astounded me that in these unpleasant circumstances people still sacrificed what little they had for me. And how they continued to want to get to know me because of who I am and who God created me to be. These people did not care about the car I drove, how much money I made, or the clothes that I wore, they cared about the person.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is James 1:27 and it states, “Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.” – MSG.
Going to international locations and having the opportunity to experience different cultures and literally transcend numerous obstacles to share my God is unexplainable. The opportunity to discover The World Race came about after talking to a few people that had gone on it. It awoke the sleeping desire in my heart for missions that I had always knew was there and that I was striving to satisfy with the wrong things. I know that God has amazing things planned and I am so excited for the changes He is going to make in the lives of those that I come in contact, but also in the changes that will happen in my wife, and myself too!
-J
– This is Judy and myself!!! 🙂
