Zambia 2014

This is it! In 34 days as of posting, I will be embarking on my very first missions trip!

“How do you know you love missions if you’ve never been on a trip?”
The answer is simple: because I love the Lord, desire to serve him, and take His Word seriously.

I love this Q&A response on Overland’s website.
“How do I know God wants me to go on a mission trip? This question reveals itself in a number of forms when our team is out recruiting. Comments like, “I’m not sure if God wants me to go overseas.” “I’m not called to missions.” “If God wills me to go, then it’ll happen.” “I’m not sure that I feel led to go on a mission trip.”, can be heard through the length and width of the country, but are those words true?

The Bible reveals a different story to the one we commonly hear in churches and colleges.

Jesus says in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” This is the essence of the Great Commission. Barely twelve words in length, it leaves no room for listing additional conditions or exceptions. Jesus’ intent is clear; the Great Commission is applicable equally to all believers. Age, race, language, financial ability, education or any other factor do not enter the equation.

In considering whether God desires you to go on a missions trip, your real consideration is whether He desires you to fulfill His commandment and purpose for your life. Worldwide missions is not the call of a few with the full-time occupation title “missionary”, but the identity of the body of Christ at large. Hudson Taylor is famously quoted as saying, “The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”

And if your concern is that there are local needs that are just as valid as those overseas, then we are in complete agreement! But remember the use of the word “and” in Acts 1:8, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Again we see God’s call is not directed to be exclusive, but inclusive, in other words it’s not a case of either/or, but both/and. Each of us has the opportunity to be missional in our lives. This should begin with where we’re at in the present, but God’s plan is that we also be intentional by sharing our faith outside of our usual boundaries as well.”

I’ll admit that description used to fit me, too. I just assumed that missions was something I could never do, and therefore didn’t really even consider doing it. I see now that was Satan’s way of keeping me out of missions, by getting me to not even think about it. But when my roommates went on a mission trip to Panama, I started realizing what was happening and feeling a tug to GO. My heart began to smolder, so I started looking at my trip options. Of what my remaining options were, I picked Panama as well, do to its ease and low cost. But by the time I went back to sign up, that trip was full. The remaining options were all at least $4000. “Alright, God wants me to be more challenged than that.”

I paced through the remaining descriptions, and there was something about Zambia that tugged at my heart, particularly that it’s a nonstop evangelism trip. It felt crazy and weird and bizarre and so totally far out of my comfort zone, but I realized that’s what I needed. And that smolder in my heart turned into a spark. And in the past 5 months since then, that spark has grown into a full-fledged wildfire that continues to grow and  grow and grow. This trip will not only be [undoubtedly] an incredibly experience, but the beginning of my foray into missions, going on as many trips as I possibly can and encouraging others to follow suit. We’ve got some serious work to do, my fellow Christians.

People think I’m crazy, especially for picking such a challenging trip to be my first….for my first time ever out of the US to be subSaharan Africa. But I say go hard or go home. Jesus went hard for me. The hardest. So I’m doing as close to that as I can for Him. He said to make disciples. He said to feed His sheep. He said to go to the ends of the Earth. So that’s what I’m going to do. NO MATTER WHAT.