Author: trotters41

Romance, Science Fiction, and Missions (or, I Dreamed a Dream)

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I’m writing over at A Life Overseas today. Here’s a preview…

~Elizabeth

dream God's dreamsI

What motivated you to go into missions? What keeps you going?

Romance. I don’t know about you, but romance is what drove me into missions. The romance of being a great missionary, of changing an entire people group, of seeing a whole country turn to Christ. This romantic idea was first kindled during my children’s homeschool studies of St. Patrick — the man in the 5th century AD who took the Gospel to Ireland, where practically everyone turned from paganism to Christ.

This dream of mine was further fueled when I learned about one of our organization’s church planting teams in South America. Churches have been planted that have grown to membership in the thousands. Those churches have planted other churches. Those churches have even sent out missionaries themselves. When I first heard of this field, I thought Cambodia was going to be just like that. Woo hoo!

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In Which I Ask God to Take Back His City

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by Elizabeth

Over New Year’s, I received my “Word” for this year — a word I am very excited about, a word that brings together everything I have learned about missions so far. But to explain this year’s word, I need to go back to the first time I chose a word for the year, back to January 2011.

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Ten Reasons You Should Be a Missionary

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by Jonathan

 

10. You’ll get to try new things, like typhoid fever and amoebas.

No worries. Even if you’re the most vaccinated person you know, you just might get sick.  On the bright side, most of the time your illnesses will sound cool. And cool illnesses make people pray more.

But note: ulcers are not cool. If you get an ulcer, don’t tell anyone. Ulcers are too American.

Oh, and make sure your kids know how great all these new things are too. I was hanging out at an international high school once and overheard a kid say something about a student who was absent. He nonchalantly said, “Oh, he’s not here; he has an amoeba.” I wanted to grab the kid by the collar and say, “You know that’s not a normal sentence, right?”

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On Your High School Graduation: A Letter to My Third Culture Kids

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by Elizabeth

I’ve been watching parents in the international community say goodbye to their graduating seniors for a while now. I’ve been watching the seniors themselves say goodbye to their friends – fellow third culture kids like themselves.

Watching these parental goodbyes feels like a knife in my chest. I have to stop myself from thinking about it just so I can breathe again. Because I know that will be me, someday, saying goodbye to you.

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Darkness and Doubt

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by Elizabeth

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But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.

Psalm 73:2

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About a year ago, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping. My faith was almost gone. Most likely triggered by Jonathan’s prolonged illnesses, and some circumstances within our families of origin, I had begun to question everything. . .

Does God really exist? Did He really create this world I live in?

Are Heaven and Hell real?

Did Jesus really come to earth?  

Is sin really sin?

Is the Bible even true?

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