A good friend from Red Bridge wrote an article for the Christian Standard magazine. It’s about the missionary convention we went to back in November. Click here to view…
Ministry
Confirming the Call – by Elizabeth
Here’s an excerpt from our November newsletter. To view the whole thing, check under the Newsletters tab…
Cambodia seemed like the logical place to go after I heard God’s call for missions. Team Expansion only sends missionaries to unreached people groups (less than 5% evangelical Christian), and Cambodia hit the mark with less than 2%. Plus, Christians aren’t violently persecuted there. Logical, right?
But I have become increasingly convinced that though it may be a difficult field, I must go where the beautiful, scandalous Cross of Christ has not been preached. The spirit of Buddhism and animism (ancestor worship) inhabit Cambodia; they are thickly oppressive. Nationals are resistant to Christianity both for reasons of culture (to be Cambodian is to be Buddhist) and religion (karma ensures that one’s sins are punished personally).
I had become so convinced of this calling that when Monte Cox, Harding University’s Dean of Bible and Religion, asked me “Why Cambodia?” in front of his freshman honors’ class, I didn’t hesitate to answer.
They have not heard, that is why.
Cambodia? For Real?
I know, that’s what I thought too! So, in this little bitty box, I’ll try to explain how I went from mid-western ER nurse & youth minister to a Southeast-Asia missionary wannabe. Buckle up.
Life has always seemed short to me, but working in the ER has made it seem much more vaporish. I’ve watched many people die. They come in as a trauma or a medical resuscitation, everything’s chaotic and crazy for a little bit, and then they either go to the ICU or they’re dead. The ER then returns to normal, and we all go about our business.
I’m stopped cold when I remember that that person went somewhere, and it wasn’t just the morgue. If I’m really going to remember the reality of eternity, not only am I going to celebrate heaven, I’m going to be a fanatic about keeping people out of hell. Jesus died for them and he loves them!
I suppose that’s where God more fully comes onto the scene. While really wrestling with these things and praying about the possibility of spreading the good news to folks who’ve never heard, I came across Psalm 63:8. David writes, “I follow close behind you; your strong right hand holds me securely.” It’s not your typical missionary verse, but I knew then and there that God was calling me and my family to follow him to Cambodia. God is on the move, and I want to follow him.
I look out of my window and I see three churches. They all preach Christ. I drive around the capital city of Cambodia and I see Buddhist temples. Everywhere. I see Buddhist priests in bright orange robes. I smell incense from household shrines all around me, including the one in the foyer of my hotel. I see lost people bound for Hell. I see people without even a faint knowledge of Jesus Christ. I love Jesus Christ, and he loves me. Thing is, he loves them too, and he wants them to know of his amazing kindness and wonderful love.
Jonathan & Elizabeth Trotter 