During the past 16 years serving overseas, many people have asked if it’s worth it to live so far away from home. There have been days when we have asked ourselves the same question.
“Is it worth it?”
Is it worth it to live 10,000 miles away from your college-age daughter?
Is it worth it for your son to miss out on seeing grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on a regular basis?
Is it worth it to miss important family gatherings, such as weddings and holidays?
Is it worth it to miss out on the fellowship of your church family every Sunday?
Is it worth it to leave behind almost all of your earthly belongings and have to start from scratch to turn a house into a home?
Is it worth it to give up your house near the beach to live in an apartment building in a congested city of 8 million people?
Is it worth it to give up your dog who is too old to move overseas?
Is it worth it to live in a foreign country where your light hair, fair skin, and blue eyes make you stand out like a sore thumb?
Is it worth it to spend months studying a foreign language and still only be able to speak on the level of a 3-year-old?
Is it worth it to be illiterate– unable to read signs, letters, books, menus, and even your remote controls?
Is it worth it to deal with the transportation hassles of having no car?
Is it worth it to have to run errands, go to class, and everywhere else on a bike in the hot sun, pouring rain, and bitter cold?
Is it worth it to give up all the conveniences ofAmerica?
Is it worth it to live in a country that denies the existence of God?
The answer is YES! If even one person hears of Jesus Christ from our lips, sees Him through our actions, and learns of the miracle of Immanuel, God With Us, then every minute we spend so far from home is most definitely worth it! Thank you for generously giving to fund our work. We couldn’t be here without your support. Thank you also for your prayers which sustain us on a daily basis. May God bless each of you in 2011.
Editor’s note: Whisper a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s call on our missionaries’ lives and their faithfulness in ministry.
(names, locations and original blog links omitted due to security issues)
IMB Prayer, Missionary Blog Digest, 2011
