One of our short-term volunteers - John - shares his experience of spending three-life-changing weeks working in North Africa.
"My wife and I just spent an amazing three weeks away - and achieved so much in such a short period of time.
"It wasn't too long ago, however, that I couldn't imagine actually going on a short-term outreach trip. I mean, I’ve always tithed faithfully and supported 'global workers' financially and through prayer. It never occurred to me that it might not be enough.
"When I first came to Jesus many years ago I longed to do outreach full-time, sharing my new-found faith with others who had never heard of Him. Soon enough, however, the realities of my life took over and such dreams slowly receded into the past.
"As the years passed, I came up with all kinds of excuses why I shouldn’t be the one to do outreach. I thought, 'Surely this type of thing should be left in the hands of professionals? Someone like me might mess it up! Also, isn't serving overseas for young people? They have all the energy and, besides, I doubt I’d find a bed as comfortable as mine over there.'
"As I approached my 50th birthday, the thought no longer even crossed my mind.
"Then I read a book written by David Platt which changed my way of thinking. It was a book on how we apply Biblical principles to our lives.
"The author talked about re-reading the New Testament and looking at all that was written as if it were written just for you.
- No skipping over passages that made you uncomfortable
- No ignoring parts that were too demanding
"One of these was the Great Commission: Jesus tells each and every one of us to go out to all nations to proclaim God’s name. If at all possible, we should attempt to fulfill this calling.
"The simplicity of this truth spoke to me and I knew that God had convicted me. I decided to do a short-term outreach trip. Now, I just had to figure out how to pay for it!
"It didn't take me long to realise what I had to do. My wife and I don't have much, but I did have something close to my heart tucked away for the future. My most-prized possession was an expensive watch I'd owned for over 30 years. It was given to me by my best friend, who also introduced me to the Lord. I had often imagined giving it to my son on his wedding day. God had other plans, however, and I decided to follow the advice in Matthew 6 and not store up for myself treasure on earth but instead transfer it to heaven.
"So I dedicated the watch to the Lord; sold it and decided to use the profits to serve Him overseas. In doing so, I literally gave my time to the Lord.
"When we were deciding where to serve, I starting praying and contemplating about where in world I might be needed most. I knew I wanted to go somewhere in the 10/40 window, which is an area across Africa & Asia which has the largest un-reached population concentration on earth.
"I kept coming back to the Middle East and North Africa, but that scared me because most people I knew agreed it was too dangerous an area for a Christian to visit, based on what the news kept reporting.
"I thought we'd probably end up in India or East Asia. But, my wife mentioned she'd like to work with refugees. I did more research and, once again, God lead kept leading back to North Africa, specifically to work with Sudanese refugees. We took the plunge.
"Now three weeks have passed and we're enjoying our last day. Never once in all our adventures here did we feel unsafe. Just the opposite: the North African people, are kind and generous in a way we rarely see in the West. We feel blessed to have experienced what we have and met such amazing people in the process. In giving up our time [pun intended!], we have gained an experience that will stay with us for the rest of our lives."
My advice to anyone reading this (whether you're contemplating an outreach trip or not):
Open yourself up to God's will on the matter even if outreach was never on your personal radar
It's never too late. No matter your age, God can use you
Don't believe everything you see on the news
If you can, go! God will bless you in ways you can't imagine