On a Mission: Asking the Hard Questions {Part 3}

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them! Today we'll hear from Rebekah, who has shared her heart for children several times on this blog before. Here are some of her thoughts on Kisses from Katie, what we can be doing today, and how this issue has impacted her life:

Rebekah:

How has the Lord touched your heart on this issue?

Ever since I was a little girl I have always loved children. I have spent most of my childhood playing with, being around and babysitting children. So when it came time to start looking at careers, my choice was of course to do something that had to do with children. The love that God has given me for children is incredible. I sometimes wish I could hug every child in the world and show them just how much God loves them. And while I can't do that, I can show a great number of kids God's love by going to in missions work of some kind.

How has that passion impacted your life or how do you see it impacting

your life?

My love for children overflows into pretty much everything I do. Wherever I go, if I see a child, I am immediately drawn to him. If there is ever a child in need, I try to do whatever I can to help him. As I said above, I have spent a lot of my life around/with children, and so I think they have made a huge impact on my life. I think I see the world differently when I am with children. Children have such a sweet view of life, and I love it. I wish everyone could see the world as a child does. They also have an amazing amount of faith in things they cannot see. And that is truly priceless. We could all learn a lesson or two from them about trusting God :)

If you could tell people of one way they can make a difference, what would it be?

To love God, and love children. So many people in the world today see children as a burden, when really they are a blessing from the Lord. They are incredible gift that we don't deserve. They are eternal beings that have a heart and soul just like you and me. 

What kind of an impact did Kisses from Katie have on you?

I actually have followed Katie's blog for over year before the book came out. Naturally, when I heard she was releasing a book, I pre-ordered it and read it as soon as I could! It is an amazing book. I would recommend to anyone, even if they don't feel God calling them into missions work. It will change your life.

Katie makes it clear that she’s not saying all people need to become foreign missionaries. But that does not release us from our duty to care for orphans. What can we be doing, here and now?

I definitely agree that not all people are called into foreign missions. But I do think that God calls everyone to some type of ministry. Even if that is as simple as being a stay-at-home mom, it's still doing as the Lord has called. I also believe that God can use you to great things wherever He has called you. That may be spreading the word through out the office you work in, or teaching your children about God. I think as Westerners, we can have an impact. Even if we aren't the ones going over to foreign countries, we can be the ones who support those missionaries by raising funds, organizing events, getting the word out, or any other ways you can think of helping. Many times there is just one missionary who goes to different country, but they really have a team of hundreds of people back home supporting them and helping them.

Is giving money to good causes enough?

There is a book called Crazy Love (by Francis Chan) that greatly changed my thoughts on this issue. I think the best thing to do is have a mindset of where are treasure is, we will be there also. And for us, as Christians, ALL of our treasure should be in heaven. We shouldn't be too attached to anything on earth, so if God asks us to give it up, we can. Mr. Chan in his book talks about selling his big home and moving to one half the size so that he could donate the extra money to missions work. This is something that seems so radical to us, but if you think about it, he probably changed hundreds, if not thousands of people's lives, but just listening to what God wanted him to do, and being willing to do it. I think if you are willing, God will call you to make a difference bigger then you could ever imagine.

To the girls who have grown up reading missionaries biographies and have always dreamed of the missionary life, what would you say? What would you say to the girls who are pretty much happy with their American life and “don’t feel the call”? What has God said to you on this issue?

To those girls dreaming of being missionaries, I would say, If God calls you, Go. It might be scary, and it might be the hardest thing you have ever done, but I can guarantee you giving up everything you know and love to go serve the Lord is the best thing you will ever do. To the girls who love their American life, I would say, evaluate your loves. If you love your American "treasures" more then God, then there are some priority issues there. But if you are loving God and He calls you to stay and serve in America, then by all means, listen :)

Personally, I have felt God calling me for a while to do some type of missions work. As of right now I am planning on going to a missionary Midwifery school and then hopefully serving the Lord somewhere, in some country (I am leaving that up to God right now!) I am so very excited about going to different countries, and serving God in different parts of the world. I know it will probably be hard, but as I said before, I also know it will definitely be worth it.

Ok, so now it's your turn: what are your thoughts on some of the tough questions about missions work? How would you answer these questions?