What does a missionary look like to you?
Maybe they live in a foreign country. Maybe they dedicated years upon years to serving. Maybe they bring their families with them. Maybe they speak the language in the country that they’re serving. Maybe they don’t. Maybe a missionary is just someone who wants to dedicate their life to spreading God’s words no matter how close to home.
My whole life, I have assumed that a missionary is a family that moves overseas and lives in a foreign country for a couple years while they try to plant churches. Well, I wasn’t entirely wrong, but I wasn’t entirely right either. It’s true that that’s what most missionaries look like but they don’t have to. I have been at training camp for the past 11 days and during one of the sessions a speaker said “ministry isn’t something you do, its a way you live.” this shook me to my core when I actually stopped and thought about these words.
Ministry is a way you live
Even after being at training camp this quote still stirs something inside me. It excites me and it makes me happy to know that even me, an 18 year old girl from Virginia, can impact lives by just living for God.
Alright now back to my original question again
What does a missionary look like?
Maybe its a guy from Kentucky who absolutely loves to fish and blare country music in the morning. Maybe its a girl from Washington whose last name we thought was meatloaf at first. Maybe its a girl from Idaho who always personifies everything (for instance, her hair). Maybe its a guy from Minnesota who is crazy about cats. Maybe its a guy from Pennsylvania who can do a lot of weird but interesting impressions. Maybe its a girl from Indiana who is soft spoken but a blessing in so many ways And maybe its a girl from Virginia who, before training camp, was terrified of traveling the world with complete strangers.
This is my team. We are wild and all over the place, but there is no other group that I would rather travel with. Being a missionary, or even a christian, doesn’t mean you have to look or act the same. We all do things differently and I think that is what makes us so great. We all have something to bring to the table and most importantly we all love each other. Even though its only been 2 days since we all went home, I already miss them like crazy!
Please pray for me and my team; Donte, Becca, Sarah, Spencer, Ryan, and Sammie
I will be praying that you as you live, ministering to those around you
