3G : Missions in Washington State

...So, there I was. I had entered a season of unknown territory. I was now living for Christ, yet all I had known in daily routine my entire life was school. In May 2004, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology/Psychology. I sought the Lord for direction and the only thing that continued to pop up was missions. In some ways I scoffed like Sarah did when she heard that she would bear a child at her age. Me...missions?!?! The truth was that I began to doubt the Lord's provision for me to quit my job and leave for a whole summer. I am sure if I truly listened I could hear my Lord say, "Oh ye of little faith." With hesitation, I completed my application and was sure that I was supposed to go to Canada. Instead, I received my assignment to Sedro-Woolley, Washington. Sedro-Woolley is a lumber-jack town 40 miles south of Canada and 40 miles east of the coast at the base of the North Cascade mountains. The one stipulation was that I would be going alone. There would be no team there to greet me upon my arrival. I accepted the mission to work with a very small church.

I was honored to stay with a family in Mt. Washington (about 20 minutes from S-W). The wife of this family was in charge of placing foreign exchange students in homes. Because of this, I was able to meet various people who stayed with us in our home from Belgium, Italy, France and Russia. I was so blessed that although I was not leaving the US of A, the nations were coming to me and I was able to share the gospel with each person from their vaious locations. Two doors down from us lived two of the "Lost Boys of Sudan." Their names were Gatgoy and Dak and I was touched by their zeal for the gospel. They had heard a missionary was in town and almost daily came by to learn more about their God. In Sudan they had been introduced to the gospel alone, so they were intrigued to hear about the Old Testament and encouraged by the letters in the New Testament. All they knew was the gospel of Jesus Christ and that alone impelled them to want to go back to Sudan and preach the good news regardless of the persecution that they would face.

These two were such an encouragement to me in a land that seemed so desolate of Christians. The stats given to us at orientation was that the Northwest was 10% "churched." The word "churched" included Hindu, Buddhist, Mormon, etc...so, only about 1% were involved in Christian churches. Not all who are involved in Christian churches are saved. So, needless to say, I was truly alone and yet thankful for the few that I came in contact with that summer who loved the Lord. I will say that one thing that I appreciate about the Northwest is that you will find few "luke warm" Christians. People generally will tell you that they love God or find it all foolish. This was refreshing coming from the bible belt where everyone claims to be Christian and yet show the fruit of this world rather than the Spirit.

The trials I would persevere through were many. In the middle of my trip the church ended up splitting and asking the one faithful person proclaiming the Word, Pastor Steve, to step down and put in his resignation. Toward the end of my trip I wrote this:

"I can tell you that I have learned a lot from this experience. God has used me to give biblical counsel to 50 year old women to youth age. I have taught at Vacation Bible Schools, a Disciple Now, a Lock-in, a Youth Camping Trip and numerous bible studies (including the adorable 65+ young ladies class). The Lord used me as a vessel to plant seeds and share the gospel to exchange students and others. I have been so blessed in working for the Lord here in Washington. The lord has taught me compassion and love. He has taught me to be content in the midst of trials and to lay down my burdens at His throne that I may even take another's load. The lessons learned here are many, but I can tell you that I have gained an appreciation for the body of Christ. It has been hard doing ministry alone up here, but it has made me depend on Him more and more."

Though this was a very trying season it proved to be a season of great growth and dependence. We were created for community being fashioned after a God who is the Trinity (a loving community within Himself). Believers are not meant to walk alone. Isolation brews sin and goes against what the Scriptures have laid out as a model of "One Anothering." I pray this finds you all in a biblical church body and for those of you on the mission field feeling alone, I pray that you are encouraged and cared for by those at home who support you. Leaving Washington was hard knowing the mission field behind me and the lack of direction ahead...To Be Continued...