Are You Ready?
"Are you ready to go back?" seems to be the question of the day. The answer is, well, yes and no.
Not a day goes by that I do not think about the family and the life that God has given me in Burkina Faso, and I miss it. I miss them. I also feel like the mission that I had in coming to the United States - to be with my friends and family, to rest and be refreshed, to visit supporters and churches, and to testify to what God has done so as to give him the glory and thanks he deserves - has been accomplished. For those reasons, I am absolutely ready to go back. Counting down the days even.
Yet coming back to the United States always presents the temptation to stay. I could be close to my friends and family. I could get a great job being a bedside nurse. I could advance my career, work three twelve-hour shifts a week and then spend all my extra money adventuring on my off days. I could make friends, have lots of fun, who knows - get married? The truth is, life would be easier here. Probably more fun. Definitely more "normal", whatever that means.
To be honest, I do desire all those things. But there is something else I desire more.
I'm not sure I can explain it, but it is the feel of the hot, dusty wind on a windows-down day as I'm bouncing down a red-dirt road towards my little African home after a long day in a remote village. It's those sweet, dirty hands that want to hold mine, that pull me to come jump rope or toss a ball before kids' club starts. It's the children yelling "tanti Ashli!", which makes me smile when I struggle to ride my bike through town in a traditional skirt. It's the feel of holding a newborn baby, maybe only four or five pounds. Its singing worship songs in French and praying on my knees with our team every week. It's learning how to make tô and then having people over for dinner to share it with. It's every moment that I get to pray with or witness to someone, to see tears fill their eyes or a smile take over their face when they hear that love is real and has a name. Jesus.
I confess - it doesn't make sense. Why do these simple things trump the temptation for the comfort, convenience, fun and adventure that America has to offer?
Perhaps it is because comfort, convenience, fun and adventure have been redefined for me. Comfort is no longer a warm shower and a soft bed; it is obeying God alongside people who want to advance the kingdom together. We are most comfortable when we are sharing comfort with those who are searching or hurt. And convenience is no longer a 10-minute trip to the grocery store where I can get everything on my list; convenience is the accessibility of Christ to call upon at any moment when I need him. Adventure is no longer an exhilarating hike, camp out, or kayaking trip; it is finding creative and cultural ways to support the local body of believers as they share the gospel and help people in Jesus' name.
Most of all, I would choose the life in Africa over the one in America because of the way the "hardness" pushes me towards deeper intimacy and trust in Christ. I love how desperately I need him when I'm out of my comfort zone or pushed past my limits in Africa. I love how close I feel to walking his paths when we go from "village to village, teaching and healing."
I don't write this to make you feel bad if you live in America, if you enjoy the comforts and conveniences. That's not the point. The point is not to put missionaries on a pedestal for what they sacrifice to live in hard places. The point is to offer you the same challenge that I have embraced and found to be infinitely rewarding.
The challenge is to go where God is inviting you, do what he is asking you, and impact your world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The reward is more of Christ himself.
I write this so that you might see how to redefine comfort and convenience so that you can live out in obedience what God is leading you to do to impact your world for his kingdom. I write this to challenge you to contemplate how you can get out of your comfort zone and stretch your limits so as to experience the deep fulfillment of needing and being satisfied in Christ, and so that you can share love and hope with those who are searching and hurting near you. And so I end with the same question that so many are asking me, "Are you ready?"
Let's go! Me to Africa. You to wherever God is inviting you. Both of us on mission, together, for the glory of God and his worship in the nations.
Not a day goes by that I do not think about the family and the life that God has given me in Burkina Faso, and I miss it. I miss them. I also feel like the mission that I had in coming to the United States - to be with my friends and family, to rest and be refreshed, to visit supporters and churches, and to testify to what God has done so as to give him the glory and thanks he deserves - has been accomplished. For those reasons, I am absolutely ready to go back. Counting down the days even.
Yet coming back to the United States always presents the temptation to stay. I could be close to my friends and family. I could get a great job being a bedside nurse. I could advance my career, work three twelve-hour shifts a week and then spend all my extra money adventuring on my off days. I could make friends, have lots of fun, who knows - get married? The truth is, life would be easier here. Probably more fun. Definitely more "normal", whatever that means.
To be honest, I do desire all those things. But there is something else I desire more.
I'm not sure I can explain it, but it is the feel of the hot, dusty wind on a windows-down day as I'm bouncing down a red-dirt road towards my little African home after a long day in a remote village. It's those sweet, dirty hands that want to hold mine, that pull me to come jump rope or toss a ball before kids' club starts. It's the children yelling "tanti Ashli!", which makes me smile when I struggle to ride my bike through town in a traditional skirt. It's the feel of holding a newborn baby, maybe only four or five pounds. Its singing worship songs in French and praying on my knees with our team every week. It's learning how to make tô and then having people over for dinner to share it with. It's every moment that I get to pray with or witness to someone, to see tears fill their eyes or a smile take over their face when they hear that love is real and has a name. Jesus.
I confess - it doesn't make sense. Why do these simple things trump the temptation for the comfort, convenience, fun and adventure that America has to offer?
Perhaps it is because comfort, convenience, fun and adventure have been redefined for me. Comfort is no longer a warm shower and a soft bed; it is obeying God alongside people who want to advance the kingdom together. We are most comfortable when we are sharing comfort with those who are searching or hurt. And convenience is no longer a 10-minute trip to the grocery store where I can get everything on my list; convenience is the accessibility of Christ to call upon at any moment when I need him. Adventure is no longer an exhilarating hike, camp out, or kayaking trip; it is finding creative and cultural ways to support the local body of believers as they share the gospel and help people in Jesus' name.
Most of all, I would choose the life in Africa over the one in America because of the way the "hardness" pushes me towards deeper intimacy and trust in Christ. I love how desperately I need him when I'm out of my comfort zone or pushed past my limits in Africa. I love how close I feel to walking his paths when we go from "village to village, teaching and healing."
I don't write this to make you feel bad if you live in America, if you enjoy the comforts and conveniences. That's not the point. The point is not to put missionaries on a pedestal for what they sacrifice to live in hard places. The point is to offer you the same challenge that I have embraced and found to be infinitely rewarding.
The challenge is to go where God is inviting you, do what he is asking you, and impact your world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The reward is more of Christ himself.
I write this so that you might see how to redefine comfort and convenience so that you can live out in obedience what God is leading you to do to impact your world for his kingdom. I write this to challenge you to contemplate how you can get out of your comfort zone and stretch your limits so as to experience the deep fulfillment of needing and being satisfied in Christ, and so that you can share love and hope with those who are searching and hurting near you. And so I end with the same question that so many are asking me, "Are you ready?"
Let's go! Me to Africa. You to wherever God is inviting you. Both of us on mission, together, for the glory of God and his worship in the nations.
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