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Have you heard the expression “Boots on the Ground?” Well our Live Dead Missionaries are the boots on the Silk Road. Here we’d like to take a moment and allow one of them to share a snapshot of their life with you. Some names and details have been changed, but this is a true story from this colorful, vibrant, and sometimes surprising region.

My boots have been on the ground just over a month in the nation that is my new home. I have had so many thoughts and feelings over the past few weeks. There have already been ups and downs, but in the midst of it all, God is speaking to my heart.

Arrival is filled with joy and anticipation. A dream is finally fulfilled.  The hard work of the past several months has paid off. My feet have touched the ground to which God has called me. It’s a beautiful feeling.

You Can’t Train For This

Before I left my home and my family, I knew that the next two years were probably going to be the most challenging years of my life thus far. However, as much as I thought I had prepared myself for that, it is not quite the same as living it. It’s not only adjusting to cultural differences or not being able to understand anyone around me, but the loss of identity that is the challenge. Who am I here? Why don’t I have control of my life anymore? Is there any way to get back those things I feel I have lost?

The prevailing words that I continue to hear as I listen to God’s voice in the midst of these questions is this: “Walk humbly before Me.” Humility. If there is one thing I am learning more than anything, it is that. When I feel pride rising up on the inside of me, I know it’s time to refocus. I am reminded that Jesus humbled Himself to come to this earth as a baby. He learned a language. He was dependent. Right now I am a baby here, dependent on others and learning little by little. I have decided that I am OK with that, because I know that God is able to work through my weakness to bring Him glory.

God Holds the Map

Whenever we begin a new assignment from God, it is hard not to have expectations of what that is going to look like. I had an idea of what the next two years of my life would be like, and already those expectations are being deconstructed. Perhaps I was hoping for some sort of stability, a plan to stick to. But God is saying, “Be ready to move wherever My Spirit moves.” That may mean giving up my own comfort, or what I thought was the plan. I am finding that more than ever before in my life my security is in Him.

As I humble myself and say, “Lord, I am willing,” I begin to see His plan and purpose unfolding before me. Once again, that joy and anticipation begin to well up inside, because I know that His plan is better than any I could have made. There is peace in my heart because I know I am walking this path with Him, and through it I can share that peace with others.

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