Welcome back to Words of Life. This is our final episode in our recent series on missions. If you've missed any of these episodes from this six-week conversation, this series began on October 20th, so subscribe on your favorite podcast store, scroll back to October 20th, and get caught up. Whether you're new to the show or if you've been listening for years, we would love it if you would take a moment and leave us a review wherever you're listening.
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I've really enjoyed this conversation. I know our listeners have been blessed by this and your guys testimonies as well for sure. So we kind of want to close by just really emphasizing missions, missions trips, whether they're in our own backyard or overseas. You know we may go on a trip ready to change the world, but what's being changed the most is usually our hearts and ourselves and I don't think anybody ever returns from something like this the same. And so I just kind of want to hear again from you guys just some of your own experiences on what it's meant to you and how you feel different having experienced missions like this.
My husband and I served overseas for seven and a half years and like in Australia and UK, like I said, it's very Western, but our churches were very multicultural and I came back completely different person. It's taken me a long time to get over my experiences over there because it changed my heart so much and opened my eyes to just a big beautiful world that we live in. And the people that I met have just impacted me a lot and impacted my family and just hearing stories of people who have experienced so much pain but have so much joy in their hearts. I came back very broken, but I actually really am grateful for that because I think that that is how I should be after having served overseas because that's God changing my heart and humbling me and it just gave me an even bigger heart to serve overseas. My whole family has forever been changed and can't wait to get back out on the field because we know now that we are not going because we're going to change anyone, but it's going to change us even more. Yeah, we're just completely different people than we were when we left.
Well, I think that was even highlighted. You said off mic when you debrief after doing missions work in Colorado, I think, and you had a group of missionaries that were coming home broken and then you had a new group that was about to leave and you saw very different personalities in these two groups. Yeah, the people in Colorado, they were just saying that the people that coming in to kind of get trained to go out, um, how prideful they are and how they think they, you know, they're going out to save the world.
You know, they're complaining about the beds that they're sleeping in and the food that they're getting in Colorado. And then, you know, when they come back, they realize just how good they have it. We're not broken because we hated it overseas. We're humbled because God just impacted us so much and the people that we met loved us so much and we love them so much.
Yeah. It's like when you allow God to break your heart in a very beautiful way so that you hurt for what he hurts for. I think that the biggest thing for me in missions has been that I have been able to see the fullness of God through seeing God in different contexts, seeing the way that God works in different contexts. I think it has given me a greater appreciation for the fullness of his love and the fullness of his, his love for his people. So I think that that's a big takeaway for me from my years in missions is really being able to appreciate the way that God works and see that firsthand.
Yeah. It really opened my eyes as well to who God is really like just the, I mean, it's, he's so much more than like the stereotypical kind of boxes that we tend to place him in, especially in America. Like this is what our experience is. And so this is what we think God can do. But then you go to these other cultures and like instantly God is doing all these incredible things and it's like mind blowing to think like, this is the same God. If we only just gave him the chance, like within our own lives to do these things and didn't rely on other means, but instead turn to him as these, these people do. Cause they don't necessarily always have other things to turn to. So they're going straight to God.
He's able, like, that's it. I kind of realized when I was in Greece and I was working with some of the refugees and, you know, we're always trying to keep them out, right? We're always trying to keep them out of our countries. And we think that we're the ones that are going to bring revival to countries, right? We're bringing Jesus to these countries.
And I'd been talking to these refugees from, from Pakistan and, and they had been in prison and they'd been in jail, you know, for coming into the country illegally. And they had found Jesus in jail and they were bringing Jesus into Greece. They were building churches and they were bringing all these people into church. And I was like, you are bringing revival into this country and yet we're trying to keep you out, you know? And I was just thinking, we're so arrogant, right?
Cause we think we're the ones in the Western world. We're the ones that are going to bring revival to, to the world and we're going to make Jesus known. And we're trying to keep everyone else out yet maybe the ones we're trying to keep out are the ones that are going to bring revival to us, you know? And so I think that that was a big awakening to me that maybe the people that we're trying to keep out are the ones that are actually the ones that are going to bring Jesus to us.
Yeah. And I think it goes back to, as you were saying, the humility of it all. That really hit me in the last month of my mission trip, month 11, I was in Romania. And up until that point, you know, I was on like a mountain top. I was literally, as I said, in one of the previous episodes, going through mountains of Nepal, hiking, telling Jesus to people who had never heard of him, teaching these classes with people who were like lined up to enter my classes.
I was live music in Vietnam. Like I was just like on top of the world at this point. And then I get to Romania and our team was designated to just tell the church out with kind of random tasks around whatever they kind of needed.
While there are other teams, like one team was doing video related stuff. I was like, that's me. Like I could do video. Like I've got a camera. But no, like I was the one, one day I remember, like, I just felt like so disheartened because I was literally on the floor of this church, scrubbing it with a brush. Like that's what they had us doing. And I was like, this is, this is what you want me to do, God?
Like, this is it. And I like this, it took like this huge moment of humility when this congregation member came into the building and saw me on the floor. It was just like, so thankful, like the most thankful I've ever seen like anyone in their lives.
For me, being on my hands and knees with a bucket scrubbing the floor and he ran to the store and got me like this candy bar is like a thank you. And it's like, no task is bigger than any of us. Like if God is calling you to something, like that's what you need to be doing. It doesn't matter if it's on your hands and knees scrubbing a dirty church floor. Like that's, if that's where God wants you, like that's his ministry. And you can move mountains through that. Mm-hmm.
Wow. Something too, like just at what sounds basic level that missions do is just get you out of your comfort zone. And you don't even necessarily have to do a mission. When it comes to just how you're experiencing God and worshiping with other people, do something different now and then. And the moment that came to my mind when I was just kind of thinking about this was I was, I don't know, maybe 14. I went to this youth conference and it was like the biggest conference I had ever been to. And sure they may have their own problems or whatever, but we were in this stadium of believers and the opening night the speaker came up and did like the opening prayer. And the first time I heard thousands of kids my age say amen at the same time. Like to this day, I remember what that sounded like and being so used to just my small little church and, you know, I did my thing and that's great and it's beautiful, but like get out and experience God with like other believers, other strangers, and see how he's moving in people's lives in different ways than you're used to.
Like that just spoke so much. So you don't even necessarily have to like sign up for a missions thing. Like just go to a concert with a friend who invites you or something or like, you know, go to some small study group that you don't know these people to like just get out there. I heard someone on a podcast talk about look at your bookshelf and like look at all the authors that you have and, you know, are they all male or were they all, you know, white American authors and see if you can read somebody who's from a different culture. Like at least even read the gospels through a different culture because if you read the gospels through the lens of a different culture, you see Jesus in a different way. And it's not a wrong way actually to even be able to read the gospels through the lens of a different culture is actually really important. And so I think that sometimes you don't have to go out of the country to be able to experience God in a different way.
Look at your bookshelf. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you think the Bible wasn't written in our culture today at all. Like it was in a lot of ways much closer to some of the other countries we consider less off than us, but they have a deeper understanding of who Jesus was and what his ministry was. Streaming now on Fox Nation, God Family Football. As a head football coach, my job is to teach these boys to worship is what it means to win.
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Sign up at foxnation.com. Hey friends, Sadie Rob Huff here, and I am so excited to tell you about my new book, the next step 50 devotions to find your way forward. If you're like me, you've probably had times in your life when you felt stuck, like you were unable to change direction from your current path or unsure where you would even go if you could change course. Well, even in these moments, it's so important for us to know that we're never not moving.
We're always moving towards something. I wrote the next step for anyone who is searching for God's purpose in their life or guidance in the season that they're in inside. We'll walk together through 10 weeks of devotion centered on the wisdom books of the Bible, and I'm going to share practical ideas for steps that you can take in your walk with God each day. This book is filled with scripture, reflection prompts, and even some of my favorite worship songs for you to listen to as you go about your days. I'm so excited for you to start your journey.
You can get your copy of the next step imprint audiobook or ebook now at Amazon or anywhere books are sold. Guys, again, I just want to thank you for joining me and chatting about missions these past few weeks. And so anyone who's getting ready to go on a missions trip, anyone who's feeling a tug on their heart to be more involved, and those who are currently serving and doing incredible things away from home, we just want to lift all of this up in prayer together. So Jesse, would you pray for us and our listeners?
Absolutely. Let's pray. God, we thank you for this opportunity to talk about missions, to discuss the different ins and outs of what you are ultimately calling us to do, which is to spread your gospel, whether that's here at home or that's far away. God, we know that you always will equip us for the mission that you have for us. So God, today we want to pray for all of those listeners out there who are contemplating joining a mission or being a part of a mission team of some kind. God, we ask that you will clarify their vision for the future, help them to just listen to your voice, give them direction so that they might be able to complete the task that you have for them. And God, we want to pray for those out in the mission field who are serving on a long-term mission. God, we know that there are challenges that they are facing, and so we want to just pray for them. Will you give them peace in their hearts? Will you provide for them?
Will you let them know that they are not alone, and will you find ways to support them where they really need it? And God, finally, we want to pray for our churches. We want our churches to be places where your mission is seen, where the people in the congregation will understand the calling that you have placed on them. So God, today, would you just revitalize our churches? May they be mission-minded, and may we be agents of change in our congregations this day. In your name, we pray.
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Join us next time for The Salvation Army's Words of Life. Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life. We want to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the show. Visit lifeaudio.com where you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network. They have shows about prayer, Bible studying, parenting, and more. Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next time. I'm John Stangi, and each week I host the Dwell on These Things podcast, where we take a deep look at the Word of God and learn what it means to apply it to our lives. We don't skip difficult passages, and we don't gloss over the truth. If you're looking for a show that will put your mind in a better place and help you understand God's Word with more clarity, you can listen to the Dwell on These Things podcast at lifeaudio.com or on your favorite podcasting app. The Historical Jesus Podcast is the sweeping saga of the life and times of Galilean Jesus of Nazareth, as well as the faith, religion, and church founded to honor and disseminate his acts and teachings. Join me, Mark Vinette, on this fascinating journey through time exploring the many great works of Christian theology, literature, architecture, music, and art inspired by the words and deeds of Jesus Christ.
