Ask a Missionary - Catch The Fire

A:
If it’s God’s plan, he will work out each
concern.
When I married Chuck, I knew there was a strong likelihood that
we would go overseas, because he had been to Yugoslavia, had
loved it there, and wanted to go back. I knew I did not want to go
there, or anywhere else, but I knew I was opening the door to this
possibility by marrying him. My main obstacle then was thinking that
I would have to attend Bible school. I also really wanted children, and
we were in the process of beginning a domestic adoption, which is a
long, involved process. I also knew that neither of our families would
want us to go, as neither were believers and no one would want
their first grandchild to be out of the country. I basically got cold feet
about going overseas, and we stopped the process.
What was I afraid of? Many things: that I wouldn’t be able to
handle it, that I’d go nuts, and that I wouldn’t be able to adopt a
second child.
Seven years later, God opened a door for us to take a short-term
trip to Central Asia. Even then, I knew we would be returning there to
live, but I did not want to go. I began to cry. Finally, Chuck wrestled
with God and made the life-changing decision that we would go
overseas even if we had to raise support. I agreed. I couldn’t believe
myself! I had come full circle on the issue, and I knew this was one
more obstacle in which the Lord wanted me to trust him.
Then there was the issue of our parents. Neither of our parents
were believers, nor were the rest of our immediate families. We had
two boys and the only grandchildren on either side. We knew that
both sets of parents would be against our going, but God worked
even that out. Even though our parents did not really want us to go
overseas, they did not make a big fuss. They were as supportive as
they could be, even though they would miss the boys and us greatly
and worry a lot to boot. 3
Answer from Stacy, who serves in Central Asia with Operation Mobilization.
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