I’ve always been very missions-minded, being raised in a Christian home where we were taught the importance of missionaries and of going out and doing the Lord’s work… yes, even if it meant on foreign soil. In fact, my own cousin, Dr. J.B. Godfrey, and his wife, Linda, were missionaries in Senegal, Africa for 20-something years. So there again, we learned very early on that sometimes serving the Lord involved great sacrifice. We loved our cousins, and were so very excited to see them when they’d come home on furlough every 4 years. But we knew they were about the Lord’s business, so as best as I can remember, no one in the family ever begrudged them for the calling upon their lives.
Perhaps having a missionary-cousin sparked my interest in missions, and in supporting those who were called to carry the Gospel across continents. Perhaps hearing Mama’s prayers for J.B. and Linda, all those years, as I was growing up is what got me, personally, in the mind-set of praying for missionaries and their families, as they go about reaching and teaching others about Christ. In any case, I’m very thankful for the interest (and the burden) God has placed in my heart for missionaries. I enjoy reading books and articles about missions, especially those written by missionaries, themselves.
In fact, those closest to me know that my all-time favorite book ever (after the Bible, of course) is a book written by Missionary Gracia Burnham entitled, “In The Presence of My Enemies”, which gives a firsthand account of the horror she and her husband (Martin) endured, after being kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf (a terrorist group with ties to Osama Bin Laden), back in 2001. Their story was somewhat personal for me, in that I remember reading of their kidnapping in the newspaper, a day or so after it happened. I prayed for them, and kept checking the papers daily, anxiously anticipating reading of their release.
Unfortunately, I never read such an article, at least not in the way I had hoped. It was a full year later before a rescue team found them in the Philippine jungle, and embarked on a rescue mission to bring them back home. Sadly, Martin Burnham was shot during the exchange of gunfire between the terrorists and the AFP, and he died. (Sad for his wife and family, but a true “home-going” for him!)
I remember how I raced to get this book as soon as it came out (in 2003). My eyes were glued to it, from start to finish. And again, it only increased my love and admiration for missionaries. I make it a point to go back and re-read it once a year, just to keep my mind focused on the importance of furthering the Gospel, and of fervent prayer for those on the mission fields. I’ve just completed what I’m guessing is my 8th or possibly my 9th reading of this book, and I felt led to share it with you here today, so you can be blessed by it, as well. And hopefully, through it, you’ll also gain enormous respect for all those brothers and sisters in the faith, who are diligently serving in other parts of our world… with the sole purpose of sharing Jesus with the lost. I pray it ignites a fire within all who reads it, that each will be led to join in the cause… even if all you can do is pray. Prayer is essential, and we know that prayer indeed changes things.
If you have family members or friends who are serving in missions, please encourage them in the faith. Don’t try to “pull them back”; the enemy is already working hard at that, believe me. Just love them, be proud of them, pray for them, and let them know you support their life’s calling. It’ll make their being away from home so much easier, knowing they have your support.
If you don’t have a missionary on the field, perhaps you can “adopt” one… by sending correspondence, notes of encouragement, etc. to them, and if you’re financially able to help them, that would be a great blessing to them, as well. In most cases, they don’t have the amenities that you and I are able to enjoy here. And I assure you, they don’t use the money they receive frivolously. They use it as they see fit, given the immediate needs of the work they’re doing. Pray about what God would have you do. Whatever you are able to do, you will be rewarded above and beyond what you could ever imagine. God truly takes care of those who take care of His.
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