What are the advantages of long-term missions?
How can I know if God is leading me to become a missionary?
Are there missionaries who have gone even though initially they had no desire to go?
» more related questionsQ: Can I become a missionary if I have fear about going overseas?
A: Look to Jesus and read my story.
As a young adult I talked with different team leaders to see which country I would go to. I met Norm who led the team going to Sudan. That trip seemed like more an adventure than all the others. But in my last interview with Norm, he looked me in the eye and asked, "Are you ready to die in Sudan?" I remember thinking, "Look buddy, I'm here for one year, got it? I am engaged to a beautiful girl back home. I've got a life and a future waiting for me. No one has asked me to die for anything before!"
I went away and thought and even prayed about this. I kept thinking that no one had ever asked me that before -- but then it hit me hard. Someone had asked me. It was Jesus.
I went to Sudan. It was the most difficult, purging time of my life. I came back broken. I was a different man for Rachael when I returned. In my heart was placed a flame -- a burning desire for Muslim people that cannot be quenched. That was 22 years ago. Now the flame burns hotter and deeper. Rachael and I never accomplished my original career plan to run a beautiful Christian camp in the Rockies. Instead, God has taken us to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula. Here by His grace, we will stay until He releases us, or takes us home.
Excerpted from the book Scaling the Wall: overcoming obstacles to missions involvement by Kathy Hicks.
I went away and thought and even prayed about this. I kept thinking that no one had ever asked me that before -- but then it hit me hard. Someone had asked me. It was Jesus.
I went to Sudan. It was the most difficult, purging time of my life. I came back broken. I was a different man for Rachael when I returned. In my heart was placed a flame -- a burning desire for Muslim people that cannot be quenched. That was 22 years ago. Now the flame burns hotter and deeper. Rachael and I never accomplished my original career plan to run a beautiful Christian camp in the Rockies. Instead, God has taken us to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Arabian Peninsula. Here by His grace, we will stay until He releases us, or takes us home.
Excerpted from the book Scaling the Wall: overcoming obstacles to missions involvement by Kathy Hicks.
A: Even the best of us get afraid sometimes
I love talking to missionaries who "keep it real." There are times when I don't feel courageous enough or smart enough or prepared enough or experienced enough. Talking with missionaries who have felt the same way is encouraging to me. A few months ago a friend of mine said that he feels fear sometimes when he has to travel to certain parts of the world. I didn't think any less of him. Instead, I listened to how he responded to the fear. Similarly, I've learned that several people I respect get stage fright prior to speaking. Listening to how they respond to this fear is encouraging to me.
We are human. We will feel fear at various times in our life. That is a given. However, our response to that fear is what makes all the difference. Do we take captive those fearful thoughts and put our trust in Jesus, or do we rehearse all of the terrible things that could happen to us?
We are human. We will feel fear at various times in our life. That is a given. However, our response to that fear is what makes all the difference. Do we take captive those fearful thoughts and put our trust in Jesus, or do we rehearse all of the terrible things that could happen to us?
