And he said to them, “Go into all the world and

proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”  Mark 16:15

Last week on Wednesday evening, Mary Emma, Lydia, and I were able to attend the Wednesday night service at our sending church in Brighton. It was somewhat of a last minute plan, but we had an appointment in Brighton that afternoon so we had already planned on doing a quick trip downstate and back in the same day. A few days before, we realized it was on a Wednesday, so why not stay for church and just drive home late. Even better it was a missions focus week, and while they weren’t able to do as much for that week as they would normally do, we were glad to be able to attend when they were giving extra focus to their missionaries.

There was a missionary presentation that night by a family who is raising support to go live and serve in Myanmar. This is a family we know and and they go to join another of their family members in the ministry in Myanmar. This simple thing of hearing a missionary presentation was such a blessing to me that night. Partly, it was fun for both me and my girls to sit and listen to someone else’s ministry presentation after having been through that ourselves. We all had a bit more understanding of how it feels to be up there presenting something as personal as your calling to ministry. 

But it wasn’t only an empathetic connection that blessed us. It was hearing about the great need in that country and the way God is working and providing there. It was being reminded of the large numbers of people in bondage to Buddhism and the futility of devoting their lives to that idol worship. It was being convicted that our mission isn’t about our circumstances or our comforts, but about our desire to share the good news of the gospel with a lost world. It is so easy in our country to get caught up in our comforts, conveniences, and even our rights. And while all of these things are good and helpful and even perhaps allow us to continue on with what we’ve been called to do, they are not in and of themselves the end goal. So if we are frustrated or inconvenienced by restrictions, elections, and cancellations; if we are weary of the argument “to mask or not to mask”; if we feel surrounded by an endless drama of debate and disagreement; it does us good to remember that our calling is still possible even in what feels limiting and sometimes unfair. It was so good for me to remember all of this as I listened to a presentation about God’s work on the other side of the world, in a culture that is filled with all different challenges than the culture in which I live. 

God’s work goes on. The ministry at Camp Barakel goes on. And we are so thankful to be a part of it. 

Rachel, for the Bennetts