Spiritual Preparation

        It is about 2 am. We are in a small hotel room in Catamayo, Ecuador. Sophie has been up playing all night and I can hear the threats from Lacey telling her to please go to sleep before we spend the next 20 hours in an airport!  

There is a sewage leak near us that constantly fills our room with a powerful odor. There are also air fresheners throughout the room that compliments the sewage to make a nice aroma. If you sleep on your back, the two smells will meet in the middle and make a nice dog poop and perfume mixture. The nights are filled with dogs barking, car alarms, and roosters who start to crow at around 1am. We have been introduced to the local flies that bite and are enjoying the whelps they leave behind. 

We could have moved to a nicer room, but I thought that might make our experience too comfortable and less missional. Lacey may disagree. 

We are at our future home!

It has been an eye opening trip in many ways for us. We got to see what life will be like for Sophie in another country while enjoying the beautiful views and great food. We went to three of the towns that we could live in and had an opportunity to interact with the people and visualize our future with them. We have learned a lot from the missionaries of OMS that we will be working with and are excited to get down here in July to start our ministry with them. They have done a great job at answering all of our questions and confirming to us our passion and purpose for this particular area.

This trip has helped us to prepare for the challenges and adventures that we will face while living here. During the trip, we were also reminded about the importance of spiritual preparation during every step of this process in becoming full time missionaries. 

Getting spiritually prepared means to spend a lot of time before and during a mission trip praying and seeking guidance from God. I spend a month or so before each trip seeking God for vision and clarity over our team and the people we encounter. I pray for God to use us in every situation for His glory and that our personal preferences are surrendered to His will. I am at peace with sickness and death in order to serve God and help fulfill His plan to reach the lost. 

When I was in India, there were a lot of obstacles that could have caused me to break down or give up. There were days where I was so exhausted and could barely carry my backpack to my room. Our team faced challenges each day that would cause most people to take a “sick day”. We also overcame these obstacles while praying over demoniacs and witnessing to people who were oppressed by idols and millions of gods.

Our spiritual preparation through prayer before and during the trip made all of these challenges quite enjoyable. We were in God’s hands and at peace with our situations. We did not let our circumstances dictate our desire to praise God. We understand where our real home is and it is not of this current earth. We came together as a team and lifted each other up through constant prayer and worship. Our trip was a success because our hearts and intentions were focused on God and His plan.   

Lacey and I are humbled by our experience in Ecuador. During our weak moments, God showed up and gave us peace. We realize that the only way we will be able to fulfill Gods plan for reaching others in a different culture is by consistently relying on God and not our abilities. We can get the best use out of our gifts by fully relying on Him. We have to constantly be in prayer and spiritually prepared through reading God’s Word every day. We also need prayer from our friends to encourage us and hold us accountable. 

One of the biggest challenges for a missionary is to always be spiritually prepared and constantly in God’s Word. When we go on a short term mission trip, we have time to physically and spiritually prepare for the trip. However, missionaries have to be prepared every day for new adventures and obstacles.

Lacey, Sophie, and I are excited to see what kind of obstacles and adventures we will face and how God will reveal Himself through all of them!