A Call to a Challenge

You know, I have found the joy in praying for over-seas missions. What a wonderful job that we States-bound Christians can do! And yet I have discovered something unexpected along this journey of doing what God tells me to do... I miss Theresa Reed. It's funny how close Jos, Nigeria feels some days, and yet there is a truth that we cannot get past... it's not next door.

There are times when I just want to walk next door with a plate of cookies. Or I just want to poke my head in and see how things are going and what more I can pray for. Or I just wish the delay of information and the silence were not so thick at times. Sure I am living in the "get information now" generation. I can't even imagine what Rowland's Bingham's family did as they waited for weeks on end just to find out if Rowland had made it to Africa - let alone survived the next day. So i know I am spoiled by Will and Theresa's blog and emails. But there are days that it's not enough. There are days that I just want to run over there... and maybe never come back (don't worry, I'd bring my family. hehehe).

Maybe that's my missionary heart speaking.

I have found along the road of sponsoring Tofic and Lidia that I just want to give them a hug some days. I'm still a stranger in many aspects, but they are a huge part of my life and my thoughts and my prayers.

We got a letter from Tofic yesterday - the smile was unerasable (that may not be a real word, but you get the point). I am so blessed by that little boy and the prospect of loving him from afar. I may never meet him, but I pray for his salvation daily. We talk about him frequently - not because I'm some weirdo stalker (ahem) but because he matters to me. He is a life worthy of investment for the Kingdom's sake. And God called me to love him and I don't know how to do that half-heartedly.

But some days it just feels too far away. I want to be there. I want to feel the dirt in the air. I want to hug Theresa. I want to see with my own eyes and breathe it all in with my own lungs...

And yet I have the utter blessing and privilege of praying for them all, which in turn makes me feel so much closer.


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Anyway... I just wanted to comment on the irony and challenge of distance amongst believers and their mission field.


- love to my little Lidia, football-loving Tofic, and giving-it-all Will and Theresa.