Why do you STILL want to be a missionary?

I asked myself  countless of  times in my years of doing mission as Fulltime Pastoral Worker of   Couples for Christ.  Last month brought me back to the WHY…

Why I still do what I am called to  do.

August was a month of packing and unpacking – jumping from one event to another, travelling from one place to another, adapting to one time zone to another.

If I’m being honest (why would I lie? Lol!), I am physically exhausted.

Every little cell of my body is screaming, “I AM SO TIRED! GIVE ME TIME TO RECUPERATE”.

Reality hit me that I am no longer the Shayne who can get through the day with just 2 hours of sleep, I am no longer the Shayne who can sleep everywhere even on cement floors or makeshift  beds. The Shayne that I am now  can’t sleep when the lights are on or  when I can hear people talking (unless I’m very, very tired).  The Shayne that I am today yearns for  more quiet time to regain energy. To make this long narration short “I AM  NO LONGER YOUNG AS I THOUGHT I AM”. The concept of wear and tear is real!

I feel like  I’ve been running for so long that my body is telling me to pause, breathe and rest.

The physical exhaustion made me reflect on St. Paul’s letter to Corinthians, “Run the race to win”.

In the brief moments before I close my eyes  whether lying on  a comfortable bed or sitting in  the car, I could feel my heartbeat,  beating for the mission. I could feel how  much I (still) desire  to  do mission and  in those brief moments, I could  still hear God calling me in this mission.

 Last month was like running in sprint  – the more I strive to  keep moving, the stronger and louder my heartbeat.  I feel like I’m an athlete (how  I wish  I am  as physically fit  as  the athletes)  meant to  endure and persevere despite the physical exhaustion cause I run not for the sake of running but I run the race to win.

The past  month made me so grateful that God called me to be a missionary. I  am much more grateful that He granted me   the courage to pursue my calling and grace to   persevere on what   I am  called to do.

Western Canada Couples for Christ Conference
True North Youth Conference 2018
Area Core Summer House Training 5 days of laughter, tears and muscles pains! lol!
Mission Volunteers Summer House Training (had a random facemask night)
CFC Canada Fulltime Pastoral Workers Retreat I am grateful to be one of them
Prince George Mission Trip (8hour drive with these people… I died!)

Few weeks ago, someone asked, “what is the most amazing thing about being a missionary”

I have endless list  in my head:

    1. You get to witness lives being transformed by God’s grace. If youare favoured, you will be part of the story of these transformations
    1. Youcan be sent anywhere in the world  and you  will be welcomed by a family  who will consider you as part of them
    1. You get to know the person who God created youto be not the person who you thought you are. Because the more you get to know God and the more you do things for God, the more you get to know yourself.
    1. You get to experience a lot of “Water-Into-Wine” Stories and / or  “Multiplication of Bread” stories  with a front-seat view  as it unfolds
  1. You  will always be amazed on how God is so faithful in His promises, relentlessly proving that He is the God who provides. No wonder Christ  commanded   His disciples to carry nothing in their journey when He sent out the seventy-two ( Luke 10:1-12)

I can go on and on in this list.  But the month of August made me realized that it is a privilege to be called  by God to be a missionary – cause in between opening my eyes in the morning and closing my eyes at the end of every day, I get to do things for the One I love. I get to dedicate my day loving, honoring and serving God. Even if  there were days where I failed to love, honor and serve Him as He deserved to be, He still continues to call and relentlessly pours His grace and mercy.

Last month, in the series of packing and unpacking while battling my attachment to  my bed (cause nothing beats your own bed)… I could not help but be grateful for His grace that enabled me to do what I am meant to do. My heart is filled with joy knowing that  I am where I am meant to be, not by my own might but by God’s grace.

RUN THE RACE TO WIN! This sums up my action-packed and grace-filled month. No saints became saints  by  being couch potatoes as much as you and I cannot be saints by watching Netflix all day! We are athletes, meant to run the race to win by allowing God’s grace to fill our limited human nature. We are athletes, where our daily life is our racetrack, God is our coach and the prize is  union with Him  forever.

Today is a continuation of your race, run the race to win!

Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”

-St. Catherine of Siena

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