During PVT (parent vision trip which is a week where the parents get to come onto the field with us and experience the racer life and do ministry along side us) I was given the opportunity to give a teaching on the first night of ministry. It had been placed on my heart to share some aspects about living the missionary life based on my experiences and lessons along the way. Here is an outline/script of what I spoke about!

When I started thinking about what I was going to pack for the race, I immediately thought that I would have to pack for the WORST. As in getting insanely dirty everyday so packing clothes that I didn’t care about, or taking lots of extra wet wipes for no water scenarios, maybe throwing a collapsable fly swatter in my pack,  or not packing a lot of “luxury” items like a favorite hoodie or a full size hair brush.

Because we truly didn’t know what our conditions would be like overseas, I wanted to be prepared, so that basically set my expectations of what the race SHOULD and WAS GOING to look like. But for my team and most others, we were not really stripped of many physical necessities on the race. Contrary to expectation, I have been in a big city for the entire race. and training camp was actually the “worst” living conditions we had, believe it or not.

I had put missions into a “box”. I thought mission work is done in the most remote places where we sleep on a dirt floor in Africa in the middle of nowhere where the only thing we had access to was our friends and Jesus. Or that missions had to be for going overseas or to physically broken places. Or that missions is done in a specific time frame and nothing outside of it. Out of confusion and a discouraged spirit, I asked the Lord,  what does it look like to live life on mission?

So I took a step back and was reminded of the real reason we are here in the first place. THE GOSPEL. And what is the purpose of the gospel? Let’s open Gods word together. John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

God sent his one and only beloved son down to this broken and sinful to live life WITH us, to be happy WITH us, and to suffer WITH us. God gave us this MASSIVE gift, one that truly cannot be topped, the gift above them all, which is that we can life eternally with our creator. That we won’t die but live with him forever. I love John 3:16 because it demonstrates HIS immaculate love for us.

Another passage to note is...

Matthew 28:16-20  

"Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

And so after giving us this gift of eternal life with him, we are called by our Father spread this amazing news. We are working to a goal that every human being would come to know the name of Jesus and be saved for eternal life. So if the point is for all people to hear the gospel and to know the true love that our father has for us, why was I so caught up in where I shared it?

Where we are doesn’t change the importance behind sharing the good news.

Where we spread the gospel is not limited to a specific “type” of place.

Philippians 4:11-13 is a great reminder of these points.

“I don't say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.”

It truly doesn’t matter how developed or underdeveloped, safe or unsafe, impoverished or not, the gospel should be spread EVERYWHERE because there are people EVERYWHERE. Here in the Philippines, in the USA, the airport, work, in an uber, home, grocery store, EVERYWHERE. The opportunities are endless.

As I said before, I got really caught up in some disappointment of where we stayed. In Colombia, it wasn’t as hard for me because I could physically SEE the need of Jesus and love in the community because of the abundance of homelessness and drug addiction in that city. But in Vietnam, that “physical” aspect wasn’t there. I didn’t see a single homeless person in Da Nang. For some reason, thinking that I needed to do a physical thing like giving someone bread or water to spread God’s love. And that’s just not the case. But there was STILL a need for Jesus’ love to shine in that city. With only 1% of the Vietnamese population that are christian, they had never heard His name or the good news. Even though I couldn’t see a physical need within these people, there was a deep void and a spiritual and mental need. Again, I put missions into a box when it’s literally PEOPLE that we are trying to reach, no matter the circumstance.

Thinking back to my life in the states, I have become so much more grateful in so many ways, one of them being the freedom of religion. We have so much freedom daily to gather and read Gods word and talk to people about Jesus without having fear, specifically from the government. Being in a closed country, Vietnam, a lot of us realized how precious faith truly is. And even with the very low population of christians there, every believer I met there was on FIRE for the Lord. They could’t help but share the gospel, even when openly evangelizing was against the law. They hold so much hope for their people, which brought sacrificing safety, time, and sometimes even relationships with their own families, as most non-christian households did not accept christianity into their home.

Being in the United States gives us even more opportunities to share the good news to everyone. Why don’t we take full advantage of this freedom? Our nation is hurting in lots of ways. People are struggling. And we have a wonderful opportunity to show the abundance of love and life that comes from our Father. Whether it be through hospitality, being interruptible on your walk home, being patient and kind to a waiter, casually talking to someone on the street and asking to pray for them. Simply entering into a room changes things. He is the fire burning within our soul and the light of our lives, his light is meant to outpour and shine through us daily!

Philippians 2:13-15

“For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world”

Being followers of Jesus makes us SET APART from the world. Like a breath of fresh air in a a polluted environment . A glimpse of good and godly living. And Christ calls us to embody him in every way so that the GOSPEL can reach everyone. However, there are things that get in the way of our obedience to this call from the Lord that have an effect on how brightly we shine for him, ultimately impacting how his love is shown. when thinking about living on mission daily, the light you carry for Jesus is so important. The way that you speak and act have a huge impact on how people perceive christians, which leads to the gospel itself.

Is there anything in your life that is a veil, or a cover on that light?

Are you willing to lay that down to let your light shine brighter?

Thinking back to high school, I often think of my fellow classmates who have that bible verse in their bio and wear the cross necklace, but outside of those physical aspects, I personally didn’t know that they had a relationship with the Lord because their “light” for Jesus was so dimmed by worldly aspects like bad language, gossiping, drinking, you name it. We all fall short, but He calls us to walk with Him and follow his lead and example. Don’t be the person who people are surprised when they hear you are a christian. Have it written all over you, not literally, but in ways that people can SEE the outpour of love. Be the christian who not just believes, but actively follows Him and makes that choice to live for Him in EVERY action.

Philippians 2:5-11

"Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, & he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death - even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow - in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Living missionally and this life for christ is what God calls us to do. Even if you’re not on a mission trip designed to share the gospel, we are called to live a missional lifestyle, DAILY, no matter the place. A friend once told me, missions isn’t just the steps onto an airplane, but the steps you take out your front door. Whether you’re on a mission trip now or at home, we can make the choice and make the change to live for the gospel in our everyday lives.

Questions for reflection!

What are some things that are covering or dimming my light for Jesus?

What am I willing to lay down for the advancement of the Gospel?

What are some practical ways in my daily life that I could live missionally and share Gods love?

Thank you for reading and I hope this teaching sparked something inside of you!! Feel free to share this to whoever, for encouragement, reminders, or anything!

~Ellie