One of my biggest passions - International Missions

Today I want to write a about a topic near and dear to my heart - missions. I'm kind of kicking myself for not sharing about this sooner because it's one of my biggest passions in life.  I also know when Amanda designed my new blog I had to include a section for missions to help me get going in this direction. If you look on the left of my sidebar you'll see a little yellow section called 'missions'. I'm hoping to expand on this subject more. I hope you'll check back here often to hear about what God is doing globally.

Missions is sharing the good news of Jesus: that He loves us, died for our sins and came back to life. Missions isn't just telling people about Jesus or being a 'holier than thou' but quiete the opposite. It's living it out. It's loving people, even if they don't believe the same way I do. It's forgiving people who have hurt me because Christ forgave me. It's helping people through hard times. It's walking in love day in and day out. 

Let me also say that missions is everywhere. It isn't limited to those who pack their bags and move internationally. I'll admit though, I have a special place in my heart for international missions. 

I think I'm passionate about missions for several reasons. First off, I think God gave me this desire. I was born in Brazil to parents who were missionaries. We were the perfect family with everything in order ... ha ha ha! Did you really believe that? Growing up on the mission field was great but I also lived with the reality of it too. I saw the good times my parents had as well as the difficult times. I saw my parents serve day in and day out with out lots of breaks. I traveled with them on deputation (aka visiting all the churches who support you). Seeing all the good and all the bad developed in me a love for missionaries and I've wanted to be able to help them in a practical that encourages them while they serve. 

My dream to help missionaries is a big one. My ultimate dream is for Dave and I to own some land with a nice home where missionaries can come and hide away and rest. I'd love to offer them a place (free of charge) where they can unplug, unwind and rejuvenate. Not only do I want to give them a place to relax when they come back to the States but I'd love to go to the mission field and take them needed supplies, home school their kids for a while and just give them some encouragement and friendship. 

I do know that almost no one immediately gets their ultimate dream. A few years ago I decided that I needed to start doing small mission oriented projects with what I have. That has included sending care packages, e-mail, praying, giving when the opportunity arrises and now blogging. I can say that doing these things has been a huge blessing to me. It's made my heart beyond happy to know that a simple e-mail or care package can cheer someone up over seas. 

Sunshine to the Square Inch isn't meant to be just Beka's blog where I blab on and on =). I'm hoping to use that God will use this little space on the web to raise awareness about missions, to provide encouragement to missions and to just see what God can do. With that being said, I'm going to start sharing some missionary profiles with you and I'm BEYOND EXCITED! I created some questions and have sent them to some missionaries. They share lots of exciting things like why they went to the country they did, their favorite food, how people encouraged them and lots of other neat things. The first missionary profile I have will be coming on Monday and I'm thrilled because my parents are my first ones to do this for me. I can't wait to share with you their story. 

Yep! I'm bringing you into this too. I wouldn't leave you out. Each time I have a missionary share about where they are at I'd love for you to participate. You can keep it simple by just writing a note of encouragement in the blog comment section and I will collect them and forward them on. You can also e-mail them personally or better yet send them some snail mail. If you really want you can buy them something =) You can send it directly to me and I'll pay for the international shipping or you can ship it yourself if you'd like. Also, I'd love if you added them to your prayer list for a week, a day or for an extended amount of time. Prayer does wonders and I know they would appreciate it. Of course, I can't force anyone to do any of this (nor do I want to) so if you want to just read about what the lives of missionaries are like that would make me and them just as happy.  

There you have it - my passion about missions all written out. What do you think? Is it something you will enjoy reading? What are your thoughts on missions?