"I love to live on the brink of eternity," remarked David Brainerd. And so is the passion of every missionary who serves our Lord Jesus Christ. To proclaim, serve, live, and model the gospel before those without Christ is the greatest challenge and yet the most enriching task given to men and women. Those who faithfully serve our Lord both domestically and internationally do so with the highest calling. As Spurgeon once stated, “If God has fit you to be a missionary, I would not have you shrivel down to be a king.” What an honor to know individuals who stand in the gap between time and eternity proclaiming along with Isaiah “Here am I.” One such individual is a special family member (let’s call her “Dickeytsomo”).
Her quest began at Falls Creek Youth Camp located in the heart of the Arbuckle Mountains in Davis, OK (click here to learn more about Falls Creek). Falls Creek, the world’s largest youth camp, hosts over 40,000 youth every summer. In addition to recreation, Bible study, singing, and fellowship, Falls Creek centers on glorifying God through worship and praise. During the summer between her senior year of high school and college, Dickeytsomo attended the youth camp which altered her life forever. That summer the Lord validated the call to international missions.
"It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home." Hudson Taylor
Still fresh on her agenda, she attended Oklahoma Baptist University where the Lord laid down the foundation for her life particularly through two books. First, John Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad! emphasized the importance of making worship the main focus of missions. I’m often spurred by the fact that He has called me to worship Him in a place where few others worship Him and I know a lot of that came from the foundation of that book/class. As important as missions and evangelism is for Dickeytsomo, her passion is harnessed by her desire and fervency to her Savior. Without such a yearning, no ministry will ever be successful. When asked what impacted her from Piper’s book, she said,
“God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”
Another book, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (eds. Ralph D. Winter, et. al.), challenged her thinking about the 10/40 window and those who were considered unreached peoples. Her first research paper was on Uzbekistan, formerly of the Soviet Union, where the Lord spoke to her about closed countries. The time spent researching and developing her paper opened her heart for the great need for missionaries in these closed countries. It wasn’t just the paper but the whole class. The focus of my paper had me thinking that’s where I wanted to go for a little while. Therefore, she decided to earn a degree in international business in order to enter these countries.
Living out her calling in the 10/40 window, you will never hear about her on FOX or CNN, but Dickeytsomo faithfully serves our God witnessing about His glory through His Son among Buddhists. Fortified by the gospel, she has dedicated her life to full time missions.
Ever wonder what drives missionaries? While I was speaking with Dickeytsomo about her ministry, I thought about the sacrifice one takes when stepping out on faith. She is rarely recognized, she can spend days and months without a single conversion, and I can only imagine the loneliness and discouragement that she faces so far away from home. However, I am reminded of a quote by Thomas à Kempis, “God evaluates by this criterion: How much love you invest in what you do is more important than how you do. The one who loves much is actually the one who does much.” What drives Dickeytsomo is a love for God’s renown and a purpose that is greater than any purpose in life: to serve God. This is what truly matters to Dickeytsomo!
What can we do?
Pray for those who serve in these areas of the world.
Share their experience and passions (listen to their heart, take a missions trip, etc.)
A couple of verses that have deeply impacted Dickeytsomo:
Romans 15:20-21 “And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man's foundation; but as it is written, “they who had no news of him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.”
2 Timothy 1:11-12 “for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
Her quest began at Falls Creek Youth Camp located in the heart of the Arbuckle Mountains in Davis, OK (click here to learn more about Falls Creek). Falls Creek, the world’s largest youth camp, hosts over 40,000 youth every summer. In addition to recreation, Bible study, singing, and fellowship, Falls Creek centers on glorifying God through worship and praise. During the summer between her senior year of high school and college, Dickeytsomo attended the youth camp which altered her life forever. That summer the Lord validated the call to international missions.
"It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home." Hudson Taylor
Still fresh on her agenda, she attended Oklahoma Baptist University where the Lord laid down the foundation for her life particularly through two books. First, John Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad! emphasized the importance of making worship the main focus of missions. I’m often spurred by the fact that He has called me to worship Him in a place where few others worship Him and I know a lot of that came from the foundation of that book/class. As important as missions and evangelism is for Dickeytsomo, her passion is harnessed by her desire and fervency to her Savior. Without such a yearning, no ministry will ever be successful. When asked what impacted her from Piper’s book, she said,
“God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”
Another book, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (eds. Ralph D. Winter, et. al.), challenged her thinking about the 10/40 window and those who were considered unreached peoples. Her first research paper was on Uzbekistan, formerly of the Soviet Union, where the Lord spoke to her about closed countries. The time spent researching and developing her paper opened her heart for the great need for missionaries in these closed countries. It wasn’t just the paper but the whole class. The focus of my paper had me thinking that’s where I wanted to go for a little while. Therefore, she decided to earn a degree in international business in order to enter these countries.
Living out her calling in the 10/40 window, you will never hear about her on FOX or CNN, but Dickeytsomo faithfully serves our God witnessing about His glory through His Son among Buddhists. Fortified by the gospel, she has dedicated her life to full time missions.
Ever wonder what drives missionaries? While I was speaking with Dickeytsomo about her ministry, I thought about the sacrifice one takes when stepping out on faith. She is rarely recognized, she can spend days and months without a single conversion, and I can only imagine the loneliness and discouragement that she faces so far away from home. However, I am reminded of a quote by Thomas à Kempis, “God evaluates by this criterion: How much love you invest in what you do is more important than how you do. The one who loves much is actually the one who does much.” What drives Dickeytsomo is a love for God’s renown and a purpose that is greater than any purpose in life: to serve God. This is what truly matters to Dickeytsomo!
What can we do?
Pray for those who serve in these areas of the world.
Share their experience and passions (listen to their heart, take a missions trip, etc.)
A couple of verses that have deeply impacted Dickeytsomo:
Romans 15:20-21 “And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man's foundation; but as it is written, “they who had no news of him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.”
2 Timothy 1:11-12 “for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
No comments:
Post a Comment