I am frequently asked:“ Why does one need to travel across the world when there are people in our own communities who need Jesus?”
“ Wise man travels to discover himself,” said a poet over a hundred years ago. This thought spotlights the travel aspect of the Great Commission. By sending us to the“ uttermost” parts of the earth to preach the Good News, Christ was not just recruiting helpers to save the world but was releasing us to an adventure – the discovery of His fullness and the untapped potential within ourselves.
Traveling to a destination determined by you is exciting; going on an assignment from God is life-altering. Every aspect of the journey becomes filled with significance that may not always be tangible and visible, but connects you with the realm of eternity.
Not many Americans traveled to the Soviet Union in 1984. This was the year Soviet Union boycotted the Olympics in Los Angeles and the Cold War seemed to reach a new level. But a couple, whose identity will remain a mystery for a time, traveled to Moscow with Gospel tracts in their luggage. Miraculously they were able to get them through customs, and passed them out in the streets. One tract found its way to a 14-year old girl.
Though she had heard of Christ as a historic figure in school, she was astounded by the simple message of great love. For God so loved the world … God loved her. He sacrificed His son for her. Her heart responded to the invitation in the tract. She read out loud the prayer outline, grateful for it being there because she did not know how to pray. In the heart of a Communist country a teenage girl was saved because of someone’ s obedience.
An assignment from God will never fit the structured box of our natural abilities. This assignment is purposed to break us out of the comfort zone and therefore starts with the humbling awareness of our own inadequacy. Fear, indecisiveness, lack of experience, time, money or self-confidence create a gap between us and our destiny in Christ. Only blind faith and unconditional obedience can bridge this gap. Crossing this bridge is a part of the journey that equips us for the challenges ahead.
The teenage girl grew up. While in college she met an American pastor who was called to Russia as a missionary in the early 90s. Their romance developed as the Soviet Union was crumbling. One of their dates took place during the Russian Coup of 1993 when the Communist Parliament members occupied the Russian Parliament. The young man saved her life when she was accidentally caught in a crossfire. Soon after they were married.
She had a degree in electronics engineering and Jesus in her heart, her husband was fresh out of Bible College – not much to prepare them for ministry in a nation torn apart. God rarely calls the qualified, He qualifies those He calls.
They planned to stay in Russia forever, evangelizing the newly free post-Soviet Republics. But their ministry grew and expanded into 20 nations- Communist countries, Muslim countries, war zones, earthquake areas and even to the official“ end of the earth.”
Whether they were delivering medical supplies to the hospitals in Baghdad, helping victims of the earthquake in China and Nepal, breaking down intellectual barriers in France or distributing food to the refugees in Kurdistan, she always remembered the couple whose obedience gave her a chance to accept Jesus.
The couple also opened their outreaches to thousands of Christians in the US and Canada who joined their teams to fulfill their own calling in the Great Commission. They watched people, from young children to 90-plusyear-old seniors, answer that same stirring that God once placed in their hearts. They knew from their own lives that God will use anybody
SMG Solutions 61