On A Mission

So, the mission trip. I haven’t talked about it for a while because I really don’t know what to say. It’s been postponed several times and, while I trust that the money I’ve raised is safely tucked away in an account for me to use when the trip finally comes about, I have to admit, I’ve been pretty disheartened by the whole deal. I originally thought I would be going last October. Then I heard a change of plans would be pushing me up to last August, which prompted me to go into a fund-raising frenzy. Then I found out that trip was for leadership, and I was told I’d probably get to go in February of this year. Well. That didn’t happen either. I’m sure I’ll still go, because I know I clearly heard God call me to do so, but, with three failed departure dates, I just don’t have a clue when the trip will really take place.

Now, please understand, this story is not being told in order to cast stones at anyone or to vent anger or anything like that. I’m just telling you a few highlights so you can imagine what an up and down process this has been for me, emotionally-speaking. And, then, I’m going to tell you what God has done with the disappointment for me.

God knows my heart. He knows how badly I want to go all over the world and share His love with others. I want to share the Gospel and touch people in a real, personal way. I want to be His hands and feet. I want to speak His words of encouragement to the lost and broken. I want to see lives changed and God’s Glory move in a great and mighty way. Every fiber of my being tells me that this is what I’ve been put on this Earth for.

The last date I was given for the trip was this February. February is almost over. So disappointment has stirred up in me again as I realize, I’m not going – again. So, in my prayer time with the Lord the other day, I was kind of cry-babying about it. Then, later that night, God showed me something very cool.

I teach this women’s class called After His Heart. I’ve been involved in the teaching for about, gosh, I don’t know…has it really been 6 years now? Anyway, however long it’s been, I love to teach this class. It was a life-changing class for me and I share it with everyone whom I can get to listen because it made such a difference in my walk with God. It also helped to save my marriage and my family from certain failure.

Anyway, I have a friend from out-of-state that is interested in the class, and I KNOW what a huge blessing it would be for her, but she can’t drive 5-hours here and 5-hours back home each week to attend the class. So, we talked about maybe doing the class over the phone or maybe via Web conference over the Internet. Then I thought of another out-of-state friend who had mentioned an interest in the class. Yep. She wants to do it too. Then a lady from church mentioned that she knew 3 others who were too far to drive in each week, but who had also expressed interest in the class. I don’t know yet if they’ll be joining us, but I’m seeing the potential for this online teaching thing to really take off.

So, I bought a Web cam and signed up for a video conference provider. Then I posted to my Facebook page that I had done so and that I would be teaching online starting in a couple of weeks. The first two people to respond to that post were a couple from church. I really love and admire this couple AND they just so happen to be missionaries – which makes their comments that much more meaningful to me. Check out what they said:

Wife:
Oh my goodness, Lisa. I am just so excited about it. This is the church moving forward with the times. Way to go girl. I feel like you just won a gold for that one!!!!

Husband:
Lisa, this is totally stinkin awesome!!!! What a great way to speak into the lives of women around the world!

Then it hit me. The minute I read what the husband wrote, “around the world,” I felt God saying, “Looks like you’ve already got your mission.”

Wow. I DO have my mission. And I can go all around the world without ever leaving my laptop. 🙂 Thank you, God. I really needed that.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I still believe I’m meant to go to Ethiopia one day. But, until I get there, I’m just going to continue to serve God right here, right now, in this precious place that He has positioned me in for this season. I AM touching lives. I AM seeing miracles take place. I AM watching God move in circumstances that people thought were impossible. I AM being God’s hands and feet. And I AM giving Him ALL the glory for ALL He has done in my life and in the lives of the people whom He is placing in my path.

So here’s what I discovered about missions:
A mission is not always something that is done overseas; it can be found right in your back yard. It is, however, often about feeding people. I may not be doling out bags of wheat to undernourished children, but I am feeding starving people with spiritual manna. It’s also about building. I’m not building an orphanage or a hospital, but I’m helping women build and fortify their relationship with God, their husbands, and the others in their lives. Missions are also about restoring. I may not be saving a young girl from sex trafficking and rehabilitating her in a half-way house, but I am helping people who may have sexual disfunction in their past to learn how to allow God to restore the beauty that can be found in a physical relationship within the proper boundaries of marriage. Hi. My name is Lisa Ross and I am a missionary for Jesus Christ. 🙂

So, mission work is nothing, yet it’s everything, like I thought it was. If that makes any sense! The ideas we get…the mental pictures we develop and hold onto…they’re not necessarily what God has in mind. But the desires in our hearts, they’re put there by Him. He wants us to be all He created us to be. He wants us to use the natural gifts, talents, abilities, and strengths we have inside. It’s just not always going to manifest in the way we picture in our heads.

I must remember to keep my mind open and my planner written in pencil. I have to allow God to have full control. If now is not His time, then I will wait. But while I’m waiting, I will not be angry or put off or impatient. I’ll just do what He has me doing until He calls me to something else. I’ll serve Him with humility, acknowledging that He knows better than I do what I need to do and where I need to do it. I’ll trust Him, knowing that He has the bigger picture in mind. And I’ll serve Him with joy, doing what He has annointed me to do, because I can do nothing that will bear fruit outside of His annointing.