LORD SEND ME!
SEND ME TO EVERY TRIBE AND EVERY NATION
That is the heart of the seventeen new missionary candidates that came to Go To Nations for mission training and preparation. It is not an easy task to abandon life as you know it to follow the Lord into the mission field. We are beginning our third year as full time missionaries and the journey has been difficult, yet rewarding. We have only reached 1/3 of our financial partnership goal and have sacrificed our house, our vehicle, our savings and all financial security to follow Him. We have laid it all into the hands of God and rely on His daily provision. You could say we are "all in" and not turning back!
I praise God that our children have not become bitter in adjusting to mission life and dealing with lack. Lack is not the heart of the Father! Our family has many needs, but we can see how blessed we are in comparison to the families we minister to abroad. Our daughter Michal was especially moved by one experience in Honduras. Dozens of children gathered in one of the neighborhoods to receive a small plate of beans, rice and tortillas from our mission team. This would be their only meal for the day and for many, the next few days. We only had 80 meals and 100 children came. We were unable to feed about 20 children and had to send them away hungry. She was heartbroken seeing the little children lining up for food. She realized how blessed she was that in our family's struggles, she had never had to line up and beg for a meal or go to bed hungry. I am so thankful that our children see the value in serving and have seen true poverty first hand and how it breaks the heart of God.
Does this understanding make our journey easier? Not at all, because our lack hinders us from going into the nations and bringing hope and relief. That is our cry as missionaries. Not to gain financial security so we can have material things but rather to go and do more. We have many ministry opportunities that we have to turn down because we just can't get there. This is where you come in. Scripture says that the preacher cannot go unless they are sent. In the next year, we have plans to go into at least seven nations. We cannot get there without financial partners that will join with us, undergird us and help us go. If everyone who is a follower of Jesus gave as little as $20 a month to a missionary, the harvest would be reached with resources to spare! Can you sacrifice for the kingdom as we have, and help bring in the harvest? All we need are senders. Scripture teaches that those that send, share in the same blessings as those that go! We have seen time and time again, that those that sow into the Kingdom, reap blessings. Let's partner together to accomplish the mission until every tribe, every tongue and every nation has been reached.
How much can you give to change the world?
- Sheila Conley