A few weeks ago, Blaise and I loaded up our slideshow of pictures, our Aid Sudan brochures, and our video presentation and headed to church for their annual missions conference…and this time we were on the lineup to share!
I first want to say, this was really our very first presentation to a church, so we were…um…petrified! The seasoned missionaries did such a great job, and ours was, well, loose! We had a video, which I am very thankful for, and then we spoke to the crowd a little about how we got here and where we’re going. We had rehearsed what we would say, but something about bright lights and a lot of eyes staring at me makes my mind go blank. My only prayer is that we glorified God.
The highlight of the night, for me, was listening to a retiring missionary thank our church for its faithful support of his mission for over thirty years…thirty years as a missionary!! Several times during the presentation he got choked up, and I was all tears the entire time. To listen to him share the work that God allowed him to be a part of was not just encouraging, but it was a HUGE testimony to how God can use each of us if only we let Him. It was a message I needed to hear.
After all of the presentations were finished, we had an opportunity to answer people’s questions and talk to the other missionaries. What I LOVE about being around other missionaries is that they really understand it…the whole thing. They know what it means to live in two worlds, to love an entire tribe of people enough to sacrifice your whole life serving them, to want to honor and glorify God with each breath and each step, to give up family, friends, and careers to follow God. They understand that passion and drive in a way that few others do. I spent Sunday night soaking it all in…basking in the glow of God’s peace that radiates from each of those missionaries. The peace that comes with knowing that you’re living within God’s will, your heart is beating in rhythm with His.
The other truly amazing thing about Sunday was our opportunity to speak with the retiring missionary. He approached us and encouraged us deeply. Years of wisdom, experience, and faithfulness standing in front of us…and the words that spilled forth were like water to a parched soul. He told us to never, for even one second, worry about where we would live or how the support would come in…God would take care of it. I wish I could have put into words how perfect that message was for us at that exact moment. I’ve often heard that God’s wisdom frequently comes in the form of other people, and how true that was for us!
We are so incredibly thankful for a supportive church family and the wisdom of much wiser, more experienced people that God has surrounded us with!