How I was called to the mission field.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you where born I set you apart;

I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

 

“Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child’ YOu must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. DO not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you,” Declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your Mouth”   -Jer 1:5-9

 

There is not a specific day, time, or event that I can point to and say, “this, this is when the Lord called me to Go to other nations and speak his name.” For me the call to lay down my life was different, and life-long.

 

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to go be a missionary. Truly, even before salvation, that point of really understanding what it means to be a Christ-lover, I wanted to go. Having been raised in a christian home and attending a church that supported several missionaries to various countries, I heard so many exciting God stories. Even when I didn’t know God I knew I had to be a part of that.

 

 Upon hearing about this trip a family friend and former teacher wrote to me saying. “I first started hearing about you going to Africa when you were in third grade, so I was thrilled to hear that God has opened that door for you” Missions and the continent of Africa caught my heart and attention while I was young and hasn’t let go since.

 

After I came to faith in Christ the desire to leave my home and go somewhere foreign for the sake of the gospel became greater. I jumped into world ministries when we changed churches, and started asking how and when I might be allowed to be a goer rather then a sender. When I was 16 I was blessed to be a part of an inner city mision. The summer I was 17 I left the country for the first time for a missions trip to mexico. It was a time full of joy and seeing God work, and left me absolutely certain, this is what I was made to do.

 

Passages such as Jeremiah 1 and the calling of Isaiah (6:3-8) remind me what God is calling me to, but more importantly that God is the one who sends. 

 

   ‘Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? and who will go for us?”

and I said “Here am I, Send me!”