My missionary travels have taken me to six different countries and most of the fifty states! There's a misconception that says if someone commits their life to Christ, they'll have to give up having fun in exchange for a boring monotony of endless church services. After twenty-two years of walking with God daily, I can say with all of my heart that nothing could be further from the truth! I've seen things on my missionary journeys with God that were often awe-inspiring, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes terribly heartbreaking, but not a one of them was boring! Here are some examples of things I've seen.....
Truly WILD-life
In Australia, I got to hold a koala, feed a red kangaroo, and (my personal favorite) pet a wombat!
In Thailand, I pet a tiger, met a chimpanzee that wouldn't stop kissing my hands, and got to live the dream of riding a giant elephant!
In India, I saw a teenager strolling down the street with a bear on a leash as if it were a dog, had snake charmers bring their (hopefully) defanged cobras over to me to meet, and slept on a bench in a hotel hall only to awaken to two large monkeys digging through a trash can right beside my head!
Exotic Food
In Thailand, I watched my friends eat the snack of fried ants, worms, and grasshoppers that the street vender happily offered them, free of charge!
In India, one man was so thankful that we had come to his village, that he quickly milked his water buffalo, poured the milk into cups and proudly gave it to us to drink, still warm!
I've found that Mcdonald's fries taste the same everywhere, but in India their menu choices include "Vegetable Pizza Mcpuff" and "McCurry Pan"!
Amazing God Encounters
I saw a family in India, after learning about Jesus for the first time, tear down the idols off their wall and ask to be given new names, which honored the Living God since they were named after Hindu gods!
After doing a gospel drama in a Thai village, a woman came up to us and told us when she was 5 years old, she had met a missionary who told her that Jesus was the Light of the World. She explained to us she had been waiting her whole life for someone to tell her what that meant!
My team and I prayed over people with various afflictions and illnesses for hours on a street in Peru. My friend saw cataracts fall out of someone's eye, and another friend felt a tumor shrink under her hand as she prayed. I saw people cry as we prayed for them and explain to us that all the pain in their body had left. Two years later, when my cousin went on a mission trip to the same city in Peru, she met a man who told her excitedly that the year we had visited his city, some people from our group had prayed for his daughter and she had been healed of cancer!
Ready for your own adventure with God? Do a Discipleship Training School with YWAM Tyler!
