Missionary At Heart

I'm just having one of those weeks when America is the last place I want to be. Don't get me wrong, this is a great county. I'm so grateful to live here. I just don't want to be here anymore.

I'm called to missions. The only thing I have ever wanted to be is a missionary. I've been on lots of short-term mission trips, and on these trips, I have had so many life-changing experiences. I have fallen in love with so many different cultures and countries. Coming back from that is hard. America is not my favorite place in the world. In fact, I could name 10 places off the top of my head that I'd rather be than America.

But I have to realize that God has me here for a reason. He has me here, not just at North Central, but in Minneapolis, for a reason. He didn't just put me here to go to school and learn about Him so that I could become a missionary. Yes, that is one of the reasons I am here. But there are so many other reasons I am here and I need to remember that. God called me to be a missionary - why should I wait until I go to another country? I need to be more engaged in the culture around me here in Minneapolis. I need to love and to reach out more because these people are God's people just as much as the kids in Haiti are. They are just as desperate for Christ and if they die and go to Hell because I didn't reach them - that is on my head. I just can't keep living with that and feeling okay. I need to be more in love with the people in the place that I am now.

This is just something God has been speaking to me lately and I thought I'd share it with you, because it applies to everyone - wether you're called to be a missionary or not. You need to reach out to the people around you. Yes, Christ said to go into all the world and preach the gospel, but sometimes we just need to go next door and do the same thing.

I just want to encourage you guys to do that. Pray for the people in your community. Love them the way Christ loves them. Go out of your way to serve them. Tell them about Jesus. God put you where you are now for a reason - don't take it for granted.

So as I look up mission trips I want to go on and dream of other countries, I know that God will call me there soon enough. I know I am not meant to live in America for the rest of my life. I know God has this incredible plan for my life. I know there is a reason I have such a heart for people that are not American, why it breaks my heart to see people from other countries struggling. I know that God created me to be a missionary somewhere else, and my time will come soon enough - but for now, I just need to focus on being Christ to the people that are around me every single day.