Until He Returns!

Until He Returns!

(An article I wrote for MFM's ACTION Magazine - Winter 2025)

I suppose God has been calling me my whole life. For as long as I can remember, I knew that God was real.

As a child, I knew it when I helped clean His house on Saturdays, as my parents were custodians of the country church we attended. Being in the quiet of the sanctuary, I could sense the Lord's presence as I polished candlesticks and dusted wooden pews.

Yet, by the time I went on a short-term mission trip in 2007, I was the least likely candidate to go. Over time, I could no longer sense His presence. I still knew God was real, but the shame of many mistakes caused me to wander away.

My heart was a mess. However, it was on this trip that my heart's healing began, and I knew, again, God was real.

God is real.

Sitting along the water's edge on Alaska's Inside Passage, I had that same sense of knowing that I had as a child. God was in the sanctuary of the country church, in the sanctuary of the Alaskan wilderness, and in the sanctuary of my mended heart.

I recommitted my life to Christ, and upon my return home, I read the Bible like I had never done before. In 2008, I returned to Alaska on another mission trip. There, I sensed God was calling me into ministry.

After my third trip to Alaska in 2010, I began searching for an opportunity to serve with One Mission Society (OMS). I applied and was initially accepted to serve with Men for Missions (MFM).

My time with OMS would take me through the Mobilization Department for two years and then to the Communications Department until July 2025, when I transferred to MFM to serve as a Ministry Team Specialist.

My call has come full circle.

Today...

Throughout my time of service with OMS, I have become part of the cloud of witnesses that can attest to God's goodness as countless people have come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior through various ministries and mission trips.

The trajectory of my life was changed on a short-term mission trip, and I can testify to God's patience and faithfulness.

I know that others have a story to tell, too. God has worked in all of our lives, and we must share this with others. We never know who God will put in our path who needs to hear our story.

We are all called to be a part of the Great Commission; some are called to pray, some to give, and some to go. We all have something to contribute to the ongoing mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

Promoting short-term trips and preparing people to serve is as much a part of the Great Commission as going. What I want (more than anything) is to be doing what the Master has asked me to do until He returns or He calls me home.