Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards…God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:26–27 (NIV)
A mission trip to the Czech Republic started as a simple idea. I had friends who were Czech and I’d been there a few times. I’d fallen in love with Prague, and it saddened me to know that most of the Czech people didn’t believe in God. Not long after I started looking for opportunities to serve, one presented itself. I was asked to lead a team of 18 people there on a mission trip.
I was sure the mission board was mistaken. I’d never been on a mission trip before. I didn’t know how to teach English as a second language—or to train others to do so. It was during this time I ran across a quote by Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China: “God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him.” Because I didn’t know what I was doing, I depended on God even more.
I shouldn’t have been surprised that in all the areas I was weak, God’s strength shined through. He provided the people, the training materials and the funds. He was with our team every step of the way as we interacted with people from a different culture.
The greatest joy came on the last night when the mission director gathered our team together. “I’ve never been so impressed with a team of people. You are loving and energetic. You didn’t let fear stop you, but you reached out to the Czech people with Christ’s love.”
I smiled as he said those words. I knew our success wasn’t from our training or wisdom. All we achieved was a result of our dependence on God.
Faith step: Consider where you would go on a mission trip if God opened the door. Why would you go there? Do you think God put it on our heart for a reason? Pray and ask Him to show you when the time is right.
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