When you were “called” to the mission field (if you were), how did you know? I remember once in Bible college, our missions professor said, “The missionary call is as simple as this: If you see a need, and you believe you have the ability to meet that need — you are already called.” (I believe that might have been a quote from W.D. Cunningham, but I can’t actually locate it right now.) So nothing very dramatic there. But how ’bout you? What constituted YOUR calling? How did you know for SURE that you were meant for the field? And … were you correct? Has it seemingly worked? In other words, does it serve to remind you, like a stake in the ground, that you’re in the right place, even when the chips are down??
My calling came in steps–response as a teen to the option of following God’s will in life, choosing Spanish as a language in college, later getting eperience in education, seeing a need for teachers in Latin America, exploring an approriate mission board, etc. and feeling confident in God’s leading in each step. when Ii actually got to Latin America I could look back and see the pattern more clearly. Yes, it “worked!” Even in turbulent, doubting times. Each time I went back to the U.S. for family emergencies or service leave I examined the leading again. It wasn’t simple, but God definitely directed my life for 4 decades and proved it to me many times in spite of many fears and doubts on my part.
I knew when I was 15 that I was called to missions. Everything, everyone I heard about it, I knew that was for me. My life verse was Matt 28:19-20. I veered away in grad school, married an alcoholic, divorced. Then went to seminary part time just to study Greek. I mentioned my call to my prof & he said, “God never changed His mind, you changed yours.” That Sun in SS our teacher taught from Num on making vows to the Lord! As a So. Bapt. divorced single parent, the call looked pretty impossible. But God did it & sent me to the Philippines in 1980. 32 yrs later I’m still here & have never wavered from my call, even tho there were times I wanted to! Have a hundred stories to tell about it. I’m 71 & not retired yet.
Grew up in a mission minded church with mission minded parents who supported missions as forwarding agents, envelope stuffers, you name it. Also in a missions minded State. Finally all HS grads were encouraged to go to Bible College. Add mission minded Bible College, missions is in ones DNA from an early age.