I once read a quote from an online article about overseas missions that stated “Only 1 in every 20,000 followers of Jesus will take the Gospel to unreached peoples of the world.” That’s a hard sentence to take in and fully grasp, and I can still remember the exact feeling I felt when I read that statement and how it transformed my life.
That consuming feeling was heartache. Heartache not only for the believers in Christ, but for the unreached people groups. Who is going to share The Good News with them? Who is going to show them the love of Jesus? Could I show them the love of Jesus? Am I capable of doing that? Surely Jesus wouldn’t want to use me, there’s so many others He could use. But, with a mentality like that we fall into a trap of “Oh no, not me! Someone else will do it!” When in reality, all along Jesus is inviting us to join Him on a beautiful journey to proclaim The Good News. If we all say that someone else will do it, then no one will do it. And what a tragedy it would be to miss out on something so special.
For years I knew in my heart that I had a passion for missions and for people who are overlooked in society, specifically people with special needs. I was blessed enough to use the gifts God gave me and worked with the most special souls in my life, and to this day I am beyond grateful for their friendships. Although every day was amazing, there was still a tug on my heart for missions in the world. That quote stuck with me over the years and made itself a home in my heart. I would continue to go back to it almost daily, but always contemplated if I could really do something like that. The more that I would question myself, the louder I would hear God saying,“ Why do you think you can’t do that?” and “I have prepared you to do this.” I watched in amazement others who had moved overseas and told people about Jesus, and the impact that they had made because they took that step of faith. But taking that first step of faith is the hardest.
Eventually the doubt that filled my mind faded and I knew that I could move overseas, and that God could use me to build His kingdom; but when? I absolutely loved my job, my people and my life, but I never loved those things more than God. Hear me when I say I LOVE my family, friends, dog, job and life, but I love God more. I don’t want my words to get twisted, but I do know that I wouldn’t have any of those amazing and wonderful people and things without God. I mean, if i hadn’t of taken a step of faith in 2010, followed God, and moved to Oklahoma from California, I would have never met any of my best friends from wings. I would have never met my roommate who is my best friend, my coworkers who turned into best friends, my precious Nellie and my Church family. I have all these blessings because of Him. I owe Him everything and more. And if that means moving overseas to tell people who He is then count me in.
As the years flew by I was still in this period of waiting and it killed me. I cried, prayed, argued, wept some more and eventually dove into a deeper relationship with Jesus. As hard as those waiting years were, I’m so thankful for them. There were so many lessons that He taught me during that time, like how to walk alongside people who struggle and just need someone to listen and how to talk to people who are dealing with truly difficult situations. Without those pruning years, i wouldn’t be the person I am today, and I guarantee my heart wouldn’t be in the right place to move overseas.
On a Friday in early January of this year, I stumbled upon The World Race and I spent the entire weekend looking into it and crying because it looked amazing. I also spent the weekend wanting to throw up looking at the amount I would have to fundraise. “There’s no way I could do that!” But my eyes and my heart kept going back to the website. I told a select few people about it, and that Sunday in my Sunday school class, my teacher made a statement that changed everything. He wasn’t even talking about missionaries at all the entire hour, he was actually talking about how you know that you have confidence in Jesus. But he ended his class by saying “Back in the day, missionaries used to leave their homes with their belongings in caskets…because they knew they wouldn’t come back. Do you have that much confidence in Jesus?” The whole class, including the teacher had tears in their eyes. And in that moment I knew. Whatever He has planned for me, I knew I had to at least apply. And within two weeks of applying I was accepted and it’s been an incredible journey so far.
All it comes down to is taking the next step. Maybe for you it’s praying more. Or maybe it’s going back to church again. Maybe your next step is working with inner city kids, or fostering a child who needs love and a home. Maybe your next step is to move overseas, I don’t know. It doesn’t have to be far away, it can be right in your own home. But I do know that all He wants is for you to take the next step and have that confidence in Him that He will catch you. Remember, “Only 1 in every 20,000 followers of Jesus will take the Gospel to unreached peoples of the world.” Are you going to be that one?
Thank you for loving me well 🙂
-Krista
