Do you have what it takes to become a missionary? Don't take God's calling lightly, but consider what it means to say yes.
As a missionary, you'll travel to distant nations, to regions closed to the gospel, and maybe even to tribes that few people have reached before. You'll brave extreme weather, insects, difficult terrain, language barriers, and strange food, all for the sake of telling people about a God who loves them.
How adaptable are you? You'll sleep in hammocks, in airports, on cement floors, wedged between two people on a bus, and on soft hotel beds. As you travel from place to place, you may need to carry all of your possessions on your back. You'll eat everything from rice and beans to octopus sushi to goat brains—and you'll eat it with a smile and tell your host it's delicious.
Are you willing to help the poor, the needy, and the hurting, even on days when you don't feel motivated? You'll see suffering, poverty, disease, and injustice everywhere you look. There will be times when you'll have to kneel in the dirt to wipe a child's snotty nose. You'll have to breathe through your mouth to avoid the smell of garbage as you pass out food to families living in slums.
You'll sob over children confined to hospital beds, pray with teenagers that have been coerced into gang activities, and comfort women who have turned to prostitution as a last resort. You'll wrap your arms around the outcasts of society and tell them they are loved.
There will be times when you aren't sure where the money you need will come from—sometimes for a plane ticket, sometimes for a simple meal. You could be challenged by God to clear out your pockets, sell some belongings, and empty your bank account to help someone else in need. You'll have to write letters, make phone calls, and be humble enough to ask other people to support you as you go into the nations.
This kind of journey is different—it's full of meaning and purpose. Are you willing to let God lead you on that journey? You'll be humbled like never before, challenged beyond your breaking point, and stretched in ways you never thought possible. You'll weep and laugh, mourn and rejoice.
Beware—it's not a life of comfort, and it certainly isn't a perfect life. It's messy and it's chaotic, and sometimes it leaves you with more questions than answers.
But the life of a missionary is rewarding, fulfilling, and satisfying. It is a privilege to be a part of the incredible things God is doing in the world; missionaries live life on the front lines, in the midst of all the action and in the midst of His plan. Even if you're not sure if you have what it takes, don't be discouraged.
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Remember that we do nothing by our own strength, but by God's divine wisdom and power. The only thing you need to do is answer the call.
Do you have what it takes to become a missionary? More importantly, do you have what it takes to try?