And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations – Mark 13:10
About a year ago my roommate, Jennie, casually said something to me that planted a seed in me. A seed that the Lord intended to plant in that very moment. A seed that has completely bloomed and morphed into so much more than I could have ever planned for myself.
“You should look into doing a mission trip this summer.”
I honestly can’t even recall what I initially thought about that statement. Probably something like: Sure, I could look into it. I know I can’t remember because it seemed so off-hand and insignificant. God has given Jennie such a heart for missions, so it wasn’t a shock for me to hear that suggestion from her. She worked in the missions department for a large church, and they had multiple trips planned for the summer. I briefly looked at the list she gave me, but didn’t give it much more thought.
A few weeks later one of the pastors at my church, Chris Nikkel, was on stage telling us about this place called Albania. I had heard them talk about it the previous year when an Albanian came and spoke at our church. It didn’t really resonate when I initially heard about it. The seed was planted this time around, though. I reached out to Chris to learn more about the trip, although I still felt apprehensive about it. I asked him if I could just come to the first planning meeting without having to commit, which is what I ended up doing. After learning more about the culture and the previous trips they had done to Albania, I just had this feeling that I should go. By the end of the meeting I was already writing my deposit check to lock in my spot. Looking back, it is cool to see how God perfectly orchestrates our lives. It is so obvious now that He was creating the timeline, but I just didn’t realize it in the midst.
Fast forward to the trip. The first half of the week was actually somewhat difficult for me. Something that you would quickly learn about me is that I am very much an introvert, and it takes me a while to slither out of my comfort zone. I like my little bubble of comfort, and I didn’t want to leave it for that first part of the week. Once I was able to shake that (I’m thankful we’ll be in each country about a month; it’ll give me time to adjust hopefully) the rest of the week was incredible. I was blown away by the people there. They were so friendly, so sacrificial with their time and little resources, and so bold in their faith. They pushed me out of my comfort zone in a beautiful way. My Albanian co-leader, Erinda, was so bold, fearless, and intentional in her conversations with the students. It was absolutely the opposite of how I would have wanted to approach a conversation, but I saw God moving. I saw the Holy Spirit speaking through her and through me. If you know me at all, you know that I don’t do well if I’m ill-prepared. There were a couple of instances where I remember Erinda putting me on the spot with a question, and the Holy Spirit answering through me. If I could describe that week in one word, it would be “boldness”.
I love and miss them, and can’t wait to see them again (Lord willing)!
Arriving home from Albania was so much more difficult than I ever thought it could be. The effect God allowed that to have on me was honestly quite distracting. I was in a major lull during those first few weeks after the trip. I was annoyed with America and all of the luxuries we indulge in all the time, when Albanians on average make $12 a day. I couldn’t focus at work (apologies to coworkers who may be reading this now 🙂 ) and genuinely wanted to go back to Albania. I naively believed the feeling would just fizzle and fade away, but here we are.
I was at work late one evening and the two words World Race actually popped into my head. Nothing initiated it. I wasn’t on any platform or portal that would have triggered the thought. I had heard of the World Race before because a couple of my friends have done it, so it wasn’t something I was unfamiliar with. I’m sure my facial expression read pure confusion, even though no one was there to witness it. I promptly navigated to their website and skimmed.
No way. This is just a selfish thought. I couldn’t do that.
Full-time, good paying job.
Worried parents.
Friends, community.
Comfortable.
But every day since then, I haven’t NOT thought about the World Race. I wrestled with God on this. I hate to admit it, but I cried multiple times over this. I couldn’t believe He had put this on my heart. I ironically kept thinking it was just my own thought and I was just being selfish for wanting to go. As if I was only doing it to escape the monotony of my comfortable American life. I do think that played a part, but I think God incorporated that to play a part. He used the trip to Albania as a wake-up call. There is so much more than my 8 to 5 corporate job, I realized. God absolutely uses us in our 8 to 5, but He was just calling me out of it for now. Some people around the world have literally never heard the name of Jesus, and I think 99% of Americans have heard His name, yet squander it.
I know this will be the hardest 11 months of my life to date, but I am still praising God for continuing to push me past my comfort.
And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations – Mark 13:10
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