It’s been a killer first year here at Go. Serve. Love. We are passionately committed to equipping you to go there, serve him, and love them in Jesus’ name.
Where could God take you in 2019?
We’re geared up to bring you a new, ongoing series as a little meet-and-greet with organizations that can help you go there, serve Him, and love them even better. (For more thoughts about why you might join an agency–and a handful of reasons you might not–make sure to check out He Said/She Said/You Say? “Should I go overseas with an organization?”, both the pros and the cons.)
Today, say you’ve pulled up a chair for a cup of coffee with a representative from WorldVenture.
At WorldVenture, our vision is to see multitudes of disciples compelled by the love of God and willing to risk all so that people are transformed by God, impacting their families, communities, and world.
What effect does language have when we’re considering “calling”–something that’s definitely become a buzzword beckoning forth a generation that longs for purpose and certainty. As a global worker in Tanzania, Amy Medina relays wise sentiments you might not have thought of as you consider the nebulous concept–and possibly damaging language–of the phrase “God called me.”
Eleven years ago was a long period of searching for truth about God to feed my own soul. I’d lost my grandpa. My (now former) fiancé had called off our wedding four months before we were to be married. In short, I was in a state of life- altering confusion.
One night alone in my room kneeling by my bed, when I was at a point of final desperation, I cried out to God, tears waterfalling down my cheeks.
Someone asked my husband and I recently if they should both be enrolled in language school. Our answer? Unquestionably. Both spouses will be interacting with the culture–and both need to be mobile within that culture. Conversely, whoever doesn’t have language or cultural training will be handicapped at whatever level caps their interaction–not just for everyday life, but for ministry capacity. Imagine a person coming to your passport country without speaking your language. They’re reduced to functioning even less than the hearing impaired (who have sign language); they’re on the outside looking in, utterly isolated from anyone by their inability to communicate.
One of the biggest stresses on my engagement wasn’t really the normal stuff–the wedding planning or whatnot. It was a phrase I’d rerun over in my head a hundred times: I don’t feel called overseas. Evangelism is not my gift. My husband-to-be surpassed the one I’d been looking for so many times over. And it really did seem God was leading us to marriage.
But was he?
Was I…selling out? I’d been headed in an overseas direction for years. What was I missing?
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Years ago my husband had a friend who was contemplating starting his own non-profit (oh. And he had a family with six kids. So there was that.)
Our friend decided to take forty days to fast and pray, in search of what he should do.
At the end of all this fasting and praying, my husband wanted to know: Did God show you what to do?
Reading Time: 5 minutes
I’ve written before that my husband’s and my decision to shuffle our family of six overseas wasn’t perhaps as clear as we would have liked. But when I finally arrived overseas, y’know the funny thing? Everyone’s story and path on how they got overseas was completely different.
None of us had heard an audible voice, to my knowledge. That would have been nice, considering all the times you wonder what in the world you’ve gotten yourself into; all the times you’re second-guessing because the work and the results didn’t look how you thought. Did I hear you right?
Reading Time: 4 minutes
You: Sweet. What’s the verdict?
Me: Concert pianist, baby. Booked the concert hall for Friday.
You: Um. So. How have the lessons been going?
Me: No need, my friend. This is God’s calling for my life. All I need to do is sell some tickets!