What sacrifices are you anxious about?

[Jaylen]

I can relate to their story quite a bit. The Lord actually spoke to me quite heavily through an assignment I did in a course for Summit Pacific College. I found myself declaring my heart for missions and also the idea of giving my life as a living sacrifice to God, even if it meant I were actually die.
What could be a more worthy cause, than to give everything to God and die for the sake of his name? To go to missions you must die in many ways: 1. You die to the comforts of your culture, 2. you die to the comforts of a first-world society, 3. You die to the ease of speaking the language, 4. you die to the opportunity to eat all the foods you like, 4. you die to being near family and friends, 5. you die to career and building up wealth for yourself, 6. you die to good healthcare and modern amenities, 7. You die to the general safety of the streets and such, etc. etc.

I believe choosing to be a missionary is one of the most sacrificial things you can do for God for the reasons above. Yet still, as much as this should turn me away because of how inconvenient and uncomfortable it is, I find myself drawn to doing that. The only conclusion to why that is is that God has stolen my heart and given me a purpose to serve the kingdom of God in such a way. I think God gets you excited about the things you are called to do, and for me, I am excited to give my life to God.

[Emma Hodges]

Emily’s story and testimony was so beautiful. It clearly speaks about how we need to be open and willing to what the Lord is doing. We cannot place restrictions on what the Lord can do, or shy away from what God is calling us to. I was inspired when Emily spoke about how Stephen wasted no time in sharing the gospel. Every opportunity that he had, he passionately shared and ministered to those around him. I was also encouraged by the fact that they still go back to North Africa often and see the fruit of what the Lord did in their time there. The enemy did not win even though Stephen was killed!

I think the sacrifice I am most nervous about is being away from family and friends for extended periods of time. I am very close with my family and I like to process big life changes with them so it will be a hard adjustment for me to get used to only Facetime and texting and not seeing them for a few years at a time. The thing I am most excited about is probably just learning about a new culture. I do enjoy new experiences and so the idea of learning a language, making cross cultural friendships, and trying new food is exciting to me. I am excited to see the Lord work in my life and in the lives of those around me.

[Taliya]

Emily and Stephens obedience was amazing and encouraging and her willingness to continue to lean into God is inspiring.

I am most nervous about sacrificing just the normal systems of life that I am used to, but more because my new way of living will be questioned by others more often. I’m nervous to not feel at home. The quote at the beginning of this module that says we don’t literally die but we go through many mini deaths of how we are used to living life really hit home for me. I’ve already begun grieving certain systems of living that I’m used to that will be changing. Funny enough, creating a life and routine there is what I’m most excited for! I’m excited to frequent local cafes and markets and to start making friends.