Have you ever been on a mission trip before? If you have, you know there is a great deal of preparation that takes place before the trip. You have to get vaccinations, purchase specialized clothing, buy supplies for the field, prepare your teaching materials, purchase items to take to bless those you’ll be ministering to, make arrangements for life to go on for your children and/or husband while you’re gone, and most importantly, you must prepare your heart. The preparation part of the trip is as much work, and in some cases more, than the work you’ll do in the field. Failing to properly plan for your trip is planning to fail.
God knows about making preparations for Jesus. He called upon John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord [Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1, and Mark 1:3].
One of the ways we prepare our hearts is to prepare to share our testimony. We were called in 1 Peter 3:5 to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have. Our hope is Jesus and we’ve got to be ready to share Him at all times, whether in the United States or halfway around the world. Romans 10:14-15 asks us: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
Whether we’re goin into the mission field or going across the street, we must make certain we are ready to fulfill the call. It is more than simply going. The call is to go and to share the hope we have in Jesus.
As our team prepares for our departure on September 28th, please pray for us in our preparations. We have just a few short days ahead of us before we go. The team is feeling excitement and some anxiety. For most of the team members, they are truly taking a leap of faith into the unknown. God always rewards those who are surrendered to Him agreeing to go where He sends them and do what He calls them to do. He reminds us in 2 Chronicles 16:9a “For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” Do you feel you need to be strengthened today? What are you committed to completely? If it is the Lord, you can rest assured; He will lift you up and give you His full support.