"Making Disciples Globally" A Missions Drama

This was such a labor of love.

One that challenged me beyond what I felt were the limitations of my abilities.
Has God ever asked you to do something that you felt you just

weren't good enough for?
As in take a step of blind faith to follow His leading?
This was one of those times.

When I was made aware over a year ago that our pastor

wanted another missions drama to follow the

Foreign Food Festival during our Missions Conference this year,

I began looking for a powerful script.

But I could not find anything that really spoke to me.

I prayed and asked the Lord to guide me.

To show me which direction we needed to go with this project.

The Lord kept whispering to me, "You write it."

I looked around and thought, "Come again?

  Are you talking to ME?

WRITE?"

So I kept looking.

And praying.

To no avail.

From January to the end of May, my mind was completely consumed with

preparation for our Easter Drama as well as the class I was teaching

at my children's homeschool co-op.

I couldn't get my brain wrapped around writing a script.

I kept having this conversation with God,

"Are you SURE this is what I need to do?

Are you SURE someone else hasn't already done all the work

and I just haven't been able to find it yet?

September isn't that far away!"

Two days after school was out at the end of May, I was driving 

the 18-hour road trip to Ohio with three of my kids.

The weather was perfect and traffic was non-existent!

I talked to the Lord nearly the entire trip asking Him to give me a vision

for what He wanted to do with this project.

On that trip, He gave me names and storylines
and a program outline.
But that meant we only had 8 or 9 weeks to pull this all together.
I had to find available cast members, 

and all the scripts for all 6 of our characters!
God provided!
Although it consumed my mind for weeks, God brought it all together.
6 different missionaries in 3 different centuries telling their experiences

that catapulted them onto their own personal mission fields.
Each lived with great struggles daily.
I wanted to bring to life these men and women and let them

each paint a picture of what they endured on a daily basis.

Missionary work is not glamorous or exotic in any way, shape, or form.
It's a grind of loneliness, self-doubt, obstacles, illness, spiritual battle,
moment-by-moment dependence on God, and difficult people.
But they each had a great passion for what God had called them to do,

and they willingly endured the heartaches to obey Him!!
God used each of these surrendered people to accomplish mighty things for Him!
As we've been swept into the 21st century, 

we still see a great need in missionary work!
The methods and strategies have changed, but the need is still overwhelming.
And no one is more qualified than another to go!
If God could use a fiery red-head from the slums of Scotland to reach

entire tribes in Nigeria for Christ,
so can you!!
If God will take an unlikely child from a jungle tribe in India
to eventually make his way to Great Britain and America to learn

how to translate the Bible into his native language,
God can use you!!
All believers are called to make disciples.
Not just a chosen few.
All.
And it doesn't have to be in a remote jungle tribe.
You can do better at making disciples in your own home and family.
You can take a short-term mission trip.
You can find someone in your neighborhood who needs the love of Jesus.

The Accuser relentlessly hounded me with anxiety over this and 

I had to constantly fight off thoughts that this was not going to come out well.

That it would be confusing to people and the message

would be lost in the simplicity of the program.
That one of my characters would get sick.
Most of them struggled with nailing down their script.
That weighed on my heart as well.
On the day of the Foreign Food Festival, everyone was so busy

getting their food, and costumes, and booths ready!
Our dress rehearsal was set to begin at 2 pm.
I had asked all those involved with the drama to be there by 1 pm

so we could begin the only dress rehearsal promptly.
One guy showed up on time.
Things started unraveling from there.
The lighting designer had a dead battery in his car which threw him late

to set up, so he was setting up lights even as we started late.
The sound technician had trouble figuring out which character

 got which microphone
as several of the microphones were not working

 and all the characters were on the stage at the same time so they couldn't share.

Finally, the guy running the screens couldn't get the video transitions

to load onto the computer and the computer kept freezing up.
He was also struggling to get the script of one of our character's

 up on the screens as he simply did not have time to master it

 and was going to have to just read it!!

In the meantime, our music minister's wife got a flat tire on her way

to the evening's events so he was with her while we were all trying

to get this thing started.
I realized then that this was going to have to be entirely up to the Lord.
We spent nearly the entire two hours of rehearsal time just troubleshooting

and never once got all the way through it!
My stress levels were through the roof!

"Why did you ask me to do this, Lord, if I'm clearly not cut out

 to pull off something like this?"

I had to just let go of it and allow the Lord to bring it all together!!
It was His project, so HE was going to have to pick up all the pieces 

and make it beautiful because we all had managed to make a mess of it!

At the time appointed, I went up to make the introduction,
and I was shaking.

I went back to my perch and began praying down God's help!!

I'm really not sure that anyone who was present could tell the struggle

this had been to get ready for presentation.

All I know is that we made it through without any problems.

It was a real life miracle.

The devil fought us so hard to get this thing on stage, 

but God won the victory!!

As He always does!!

It was a terrifying ride, but if I learned anything, it was this:

"God is faithful."

He stayed with us through every difficult step.

Foreign Food Festival 2017

What is it that keeps us from getting involved with missions?
Whether short term or long term?
I understand the folks who are elderly and can't travel.
I understand the folks who are care-givers for very sick children or 

other family members.

I understand folks who have found their mission field right in their

own neighborhood or their own family.
But I really believe that two reasons people never even consider

going somewhere outside of their own community are:
1.)  Fear
2.)  Unfamiliarity

 with  (or an unwillingness to learn about) cultures

other than their own

One of the single most powerful events that our church puts on

 during our annual Missions Conference is the Foreign Food Festival.

What better way to showcase the beautiful diversity of cultures in our world

complete with costumes and food tasting and decorated booths
in a fun, non-threatening, educational environment.
You can't help but catch a love for the people

 of these different cultures and realize

that they need Jesus just like the rest of us!!

An event like this familiarizes people with the food found in different countries

and gives you an opportunity to try the new flavors and textures

and erase the excuse that "you wouldn't like the food there."
An event like this teaches people the fun traditions and whimsical sides

of places we might otherwise know very little about.
An event like this helps people learn about the traditions

 and dress of other cultures.
It transports you to another country.

It breaks down walls of fear.

The theme, or focus, at our church this year has been to "Make Disciples."

What a transformative theme it has been for our faith community!!
We have seen families surrender to adoption.
More people than ever before giving to our scholarship program

 enabling more teens and families

to participate in the short-term mission trips offered during the summer!

We have witnessed more people pouring through the doors and our Sunday

School classes maxing out this year because people are sharing the love of Jesus

and discipling friends, family, and neighbors!!

We spent our entire day here setting up our class booth, participating

in the Food Festival, and directing the missions drama to follow.

All of us participated in some way (except for my husband and a daughter

who had to work), and had an absolute blast all day!
In fact, I had no idea where my children were unless they

came running back to report to me the fun they were having.

Which explains why I'm missing some pictures of my boys!

 

I am so grateful that the Lord led us to this body of believers who are passionate 

about sharing the gospel with ALL!
I am so grateful for our pastor who has a vision for missions

and creating ways for more of our people to go to these countries

where there are people who have never heard the good news of Jesus!!
Where we have been challenged with the truth that every believer

has been commissioned to go and tell and make disciples.

Not just a few with a special call.

We all must go.
We all must be about sharing Jesus!!!

Mission Conference 2017

We begin preparing for this weeks in advance.

It is one of our most favorite events of the entire year.

Missions Conference 2017

There are rehearsals to attend.

New missionaries to meet, and weekend events to plan!!

On the final night, we shower each of our visiting missionaries with gifts

from money collected during the 3 days,

to meet very specific needs they share with us each evening during the conference!!

One family desperately needed new tires for their van {for traveling around

the country on deputation} and when they received that specific gift, they turned

around on Monday and went to have them replaced.
They shared a picture of the splits in their tires and how the mechanic told

them he had never seen such a defect in tires like that before!

Praise God for His perfect timing!!

Just one of the amazing moments during this conference where we saw

and heard of the power of God in protecting and meeting the needs of His servants!

 The conference is concluded with a beautiful candlelight service where we are reminded to shine

as lights in this dark world and to take the Light of Jesus to every corner of the world.

Each missionary family is given a new Bible and our faith community signs the inside

committing to pray for them as they go minister to the field to which they have been called!!