The Calling

You're at a worship gathering. A special guest missionary stands up and shares their testimony, and all of a sudden there's a new burden on your heart. Tears begin streaming down your face, and you feel the Holy Spirit touching your heart, calling you to lay down your life for his mission to all the nations.

The Wrestling

Later that week, you can't forget what you experienced at the worship gathering. But you're not sure what you actually experienced. You doubt your senses. How could God call me to missions? Maybe that was just an emotional high, maybe those were my own thoughts... You begin to pray, asking God to reveal himself. You wrestle with him in your mind, waiting for confirmation of his revelation, his will for your life.

The Confirmation

As you pray, you hear the Holy Spirit confirming the Father's calling on your life to be a missionary. You've shared what you're thinking and feeling with a couple close, trusted friends, and they prayed too. One friend said they knew you'd make a great missionary. The other friend said they just aren't sure, but they support you now matter what. It's time to decide, and you choose to follow Jesus no matter what happens. You'll go wherever he leads.

The Research

You know you're called to go, but the world is huge and the need is endless. You start researching sending organizations, international mission fields, and unreached tribes in need of a missionary. How do I feed my family while I try to reach the lost on the other side of the planet?

You try to anticipate everything that you could possibly need to do something you've never done. Should I go with an organization or on my own? Is there a team that's already doing what I feel called to, and I can just join them? Do I need to learn a new language? What can I bring with me, and what do I leave behind? What if we go and end up hating it there?

The Testing

Congratulations! You begin experiencing your first spiritual attacks by the Adversary who hates you and wants to prevent you from getting to your mission field before you even begin.

Family members become hostile to your plans and rebuke you for leaving them. You told your boss about your calling and got fired. Temptations you haven't faced in years resurface, and every fear, doubt, worry, and frustration plagues your thoughts. Is this really what missions is like? If the attacks are this bad in the beginning, how much worse are they in the field?

The Training

Congratulations! The Holy Spirit confirmed where he wants to plant you and what tribe you're going to adopt. You begin official training to prepare to leave.

You learn about crossing over to other cultures, learning the new language, basic theological and strategy training for sharing the Gospel and starting Bible studies with people of peace. You prepare for spiritual warfare and persecution: learning safe ways to work in dangerous places and how to contend with spiritual enemies. You realize how little you know, and how much you need Jesus to help you with everything you've said "yes" to.

The Fundraising

While you're preparing to leave for your mission field, you've got to raise all the financial support you need for your Great Commission adventures. You need a salary, ministry and travel expenses, and emergency budget, and you've never asked anyone to donate before.

You pray for help and wisdom. You schedule a photographer to take your prayer card photo and try to get your family to have genuine smiles. You create fundraising cards to give potential donors a basic, clear understanding of what you're doing. You schedule coffee and lunch meetings, presentations at local churches. You've got six months to mobilize committed supporters to your cause, and your struggling to believe this is even possible.

The Farewell

It's time to say goodbye to your family and friends. You didn't realize how hard this would be. You've been so focused on preparing to go that you weren't prepared for how you feel standing there with someone you love not knowing if you will ever seen them again.

Once again, you count the cost of following Jesus to the ends of the earth. You don't know what the future holds. You don't know how things are going to go. You don't know if you've made the right decision. You pray, and the Holy Spirit says for the thousandth time that you've heard him clearly. So you hug the neck, kiss the face, shed the tears, turn away, and get on a plane.

The Shock

Congratulations! You're finally planted in your new harvest fields. But all the training and preparation and hearing the stories of other missionaries couldn't prepare you for the actual life experience of jet lag, language barriers, and everything always being harder than back home.

Everything is new and you don't feel like a trained professional; you feel like a helpless child. Where do I get food? How do I get hot water for a shower? Where's the nearest hospital? Why aren't people lining up at my door to hear the Gospel and get saved? It’s exciting, and you're learning a lot every day. But you're also on edge and doing your best to hang in there while feeling constantly overwhelmed.

The Isolation

You begin to question if all your hard work to get to your new fields was worth it. You know that the Holy Spirit has confirmed over and over again that he's called you to his place and to these people, you but you don't feel like you belong here. Everything feels unnatural, wrong. You can't escape this resistance to your presence, a subtle oppression, as if you're not wanted, and you need to leave.

No one back home truly understands what you’re experiencing. Your family and friends move on without you because you're absent, and it's day on your side of the planet while they're asleep at night. Your supporters seem distant, and less than half of them appear to be reading your newsletter updates. You are surrounded by people in your new city, yet you have never felt more alone.

Spiritual oppression increases. You experience unexplained sickness, financial struggles, marital strain, intrusive doubts, or terrifying nightmares. Locals may be suspicious of you. The moment you step into enemy territory, you become a target.

The Relief

God sends you an angel to comfort you in your new lands. A family member calls you in the middle of the night to say they love you and have been praying every day for you since you left. You didn't realize how much you needed that reassurance. You begin weeping uncontrollably, your body shaking as you let your stress go after it's been building for months.

One of your new neighbors invited you for dinner at their house. You share a beautiful meal together and you feel wanted by a stranger for the first time since arriving. A missionary in your region heard just heard about you. They ask if they can come spend a weekend with you and show you the ropes of living in this part of the world. You feel hope rising in your chest again; you feel God doing something new in your life, sending you help and direction for what's coming next.

The Roots

You're beginning to feel like this new place is a new home. It's not the same as where you come from, but you're beginning to get comfortable here. You've got the rhythms of basic day-to-day living figured out, and you've got some new friends that you genuinely feel want you to stay.

There's this restaurant down the street that has the most delicious noodles. You found a local park that your kids love. They made good friends and want to go there every day after school. A stray dog has been coming around your house for free meals. You adopt her, give her a bath, and call her Scruffy. Something has shifted inside of you. You're finally ready to be your true self, and fully commit to the people here that you're called to reach.

The Searching

One day you wake up and experience fresh vision and renewed purpose. You left everything you love to come here so those who've never heard can meet Jesus. You learned enough of the language to hold your own in basic spiritual conversations. You're ready to rock n roll.

You begin sharing the Gospel but struggle to find anyone genuinely interested in learning more about Jesus. One friend seems curious, but they won't commit to a next step. You try to be patient, because you don't want to ruin relationships, but you came here to share Jesus and invite others to become his disciples. You're not just here to be a good neighbor. You pray fervently for a person of peace: someone in this unreached tribe willing to meet with you weekly for Bible study and prayer.

The Breakthrough

You've prayed and talked to many people. You've made many personal sacrifices and worked hard to daily practice trust in God's timing, and to keep believing and praying and sowing and watering. You refused to give up. You were unwilling to make something happen in your own strength.

Breakthrough Day! Clang the bells! Beat the drums! Dance in the streets! You're sharing your testimony, or discussing a Bible story, and you see that your lost friend is under conviction. You can see it in their face; you can feel it in the atmosphere. They are ready. What must I do to be saved? You show them the Way, and they are reborn by the Holy Spirit in your presence. Glory, Hallelujah, Hosanna in the Highest!

The Firstfruits

You've been meeting with your born again friend. You guide them through the Gospels and Acts so they can understand Jesus' heart for all nations, tribes, and languages: how he sends ordinary people filled with his Holy Spirit to the unreached to help them find their way home.

You baptized your friend in the local river. They invited some of their friends who are curious about their new faith and changed life. Now you're leading your first church in your disciples' home. It's not just Bible stories, but also singing worship songs, sharing struggles, prayer for one another, and learning about spiritual gifts. The Kingdom of Heaven has come to your unreached tribe, and you're growing a handful of new believers into faith and maturity. Everything you dreamed of back home before you left, it's happening now right beofre your eyes. You don't have words to describe your joy, relief, and vindication.

The Warfare

The last week has been intense, and it's hard to describe the state of mind you're in. One of your disciples messaged you saying they've decided to renounce their faith in Jesus, return to their family's religion, and never contact them again.

Also, one of your local missionary teammates blew up at your monthly prayer & strategy meeting. They accused you of only caring about yourself, and tried to turn the whole team, especially the team leader, against you. You know there is no evidence to back these accusations, but you're totally devastated that this person would attack you like this. There was no warning, and you feel betrayed and defeated.

The Persecution

You received a message today from the local religious leader. He's been receiving complaints about you trying to convert the members of his congregation to your religion, and he's furious. He demanded that you come to a Friday night meeting with the elders to respond to these accusations, or he will contact the local police chief to have you arrested.

You contacted your team leader for advice, and she advised you to leave as soon as possible if you don't want to go to prison. She said this happened last year to another family in a sister city, and it was trap. They killed the husband, and the mother and children had to escape the country that night. You don't know what to do.

The Suffering

You decided to stay in the same region but move to another city. You're experiencing all the same problems as when you first arrived in the field, but this time they seem aggravated and amplified. 

Your children don't like their new school; they're being bullied and come home every day crying and begging you not to send them back. Your wife became ill the day after you arrived, and she's been bed-ridden for two months. You just received news from back home that your brother was in a car wreck and died. You don't have enough funding to go to his funeral. You feel like everything around you is falling apart, and you begin to consider taking your own life.

The Comfort

In this Death Shadow Valley, you experience the Holy Spirit. As you grieve the death of your brother and plead with God for help in prayer, you feel this overwhelming sense of love and peace wash over you like a warm blanket.

The Father speaks to you through his Spirit. "You are not alone my son. I love you, and my Spirit is with you. You are sharing in the sufferings of my Beloved Son Jesus, that you may also share in our glory in the Kingdom To Come. Have faith and rest in my presence. I will help you. I will not leave you as an orphan. I'm working everything together for your good, and relief from these fiery trials is on the way. Remain steadfast, and trust me."

The Power

You have fresh hope. Your hope isn't because anything has changed around you, but you've experienced fresh revelation from the Father, and you believe him. His words to you in prayer were a breath of fresh air, new winds in your sails, a delicious feast during a famine, a bright light in the dark.

You don't know how it happened, and you don't fully understand God's timing, but you're okay. Your wife's sickness ended overnight, and she's back on her feet and close to her normal self. Your kids came home from school perplexed but happy, because the bullying mysteriously stopped, and for the first time since relocating to this new city, they feel safe. While you miss your brother and will remember him the rest of your life, the grief isn't so sharp and painful. The healing power of Jesus Christ has touched your family, and you can't express in words your gratitude.

The Perseverance

Your family spontaneously gathered for worship and prayer tonight. You made two lists about your missionary journey so far: one list was everything each of you could remember that was bad, the other list was for everything good.

You put the two lists next to each other, and began singing praises to Jesus. As a family, you realize that all the pain, suffering, and persecution has been worth it all for Jesus' sake. All the lost people in your city that you love so much, it's worth all the trials and tribulations for them to have a chance at being in heaven forever with you. Everyone in your family gets on their knees and with tears streaming down your faces and holding hands in a circle, you rededicate what time you have left on earth to go wherever the Father wants, and to endure whatever suffering is needed, to see the lost come home.

The Harvest

Years pass, and you take a step back to evaluate how far your family and missionary team has come since the beginning. Though so much of your journey has been trials, snares, traps, suffering, and struggle, you're now in harvest season.

You witness disciples that you personally led to Jesus and baptized out making their own disciples. Churches you planted are out prayer walking unengaged neighborhoods and sending reports back of people of peace opening up their homes to new Bible studies. Your network of house churches has even commissioned and sent out three teams to other nations where there are other unreached tribes. You don't know how all this happened, and you begin spontaneously praising God for the mystery of how he fulfills his mission through unworthy nobodys like you.

The Return

You've been back to your home nation a few times since moving overseas for visits and fundraising trips, but the Holy Spirit told you it's time to leave the field for good. The missionary network you started is in the trustworthy hands of leaders you personally mentored. You feel like you've given everything you could. Your assignment is complete.

You're back in your home country now, but it feels as foreign to you as your first week on the field. Everything has changed, and you feel like stranger. You heard about reverse culture shock, but nothing could have prepared you for it. You're a citizen of this nation, but you feel homeless in your heart. 

The Legacy

You've decided that you're not going to spend the last seasons of your life journey out to pasture. You prayed, and the Holy Spirit revealed the obvious: the Father has prepared you your whole life to disciple the next generation of missionaries.

You still feel homeless in your home town, but you have renewed purpose. You offer to share your testimony at local churches. Doors begin to open, and every time you share your life story, one or two young people approach you afterwards asking if you have time to meet them for coffee. You meet with them, helping them to understand the Father's calling on their lives, guiding them in discovering their own spiritual gifts and next steps. You experience a special joy of seeing young people you've met with selling all they have and moving overseas to start fresh work among unreached tribes. It's truly been a wonderful life.

The Inheritance

You're in heaven now. Your joy is truly unbelievable. You just saw Jesus' face for the first time, got your first hug from your Beautiful Savior, Good Shepherd, and Best Friend. He said, "Well done my son, and welcome home. Many here have been waiting for you. Come with me and meet them."

One by one, a line of saints come up to you and share their stories of why they are there. You are in awe, totally speechless as you meet all these wonderful people who wouldn't be there if you hadn't moved to their nation, shared the Gospel, and endured great suffering so they could have enough time to believe. You're laughing and crying at the same time, and not sure if it will ever stop. You find yourself singing the praises of the Lamb of Yahweh, and you begin praying for the Church back on earth to finally finish the Great Commission. Maranatha!

Disclaimer

Your mileage may vary. This walkthrough of a missionary's life is not meant to cover the full scope of every missionary's lifetime experiences. Everyone's journey is special and unique. There's 10,000 things that happen to missionaries that are not included on this page. Read Hebrews 11 for more examples of what missionaries endure before they get to go home.

If this story has touched your heart, consider sharing it with your family, friends, and Bible study group. If you're ready to begin investing in the support-missionary community, please visit wildfrontierfund.com and help us provide desperately-needed, long-term financial resources for missionaries all over the world who are making untold sacrifices to finally finish Jesus Christ's Great Commission. Shalom, Maranatha!

Thank You

Thank you Christopher Powers & Full of Eyes art & animation studio for allowing missionaries like us to use your amazing creative resources for free. Please check out the Full of Eyes website & YouTube channel. fullofeyes.com

Thank you David in East Asia for collaborating with James on this Missionary's Path story. So much of what you shared helped shape each step of this journey.