I finished reading the YWAM biography of Nate Saint to the kids on Sunday. I really love reading these as much as the kids love to listen to them...maybe more! This series presents the missionaries as real people who love(d) God, not 'spiritual giants' who we can never attain to. I hope and pray that God will move in the hearts of my children to give them a passion to serve God wherever He calls them; be it in the home or in a 'normal' vocation, or in the mission field of a suburban neighborhood...or overseas. In high school I remember singing a song in a summer singing/touring group called, 'Please Don't Send me to Africa'. It was a funny song, and I am positive that the message ended up being about being willing to serve Christ wherever He calls. But all I remember is 'Please don't send me to Africa. I don't like lions, or tigers, or bears....' This is not the picture I want the kids to have--a negative and resistant attitude to anything that threatens our personal comfort. God tells us that loving Him equals obedience to His Word. We can say we love Him, but our disobedience shows Him that really, we don't. Convicting.Once again I wasn't able to get through the ending of the Nate Saint book without tears. The kids always look at me kind of funny when I cry over a book (be it about a martyr or Laura Ingalls!), so I tried to help them understand that this man was somebody's real Daddy, somebody's real son and brother.
I think next we'll read The Hiding Place, one of my all-time favorite books.
2 comments:
Amen! I read Elisabeth Elliot's account of the missionaries to the Aucas, and it is a favorite bio of mine. I would like to share that with my kids,too. I cry during books, too, even fiction. "Mommy, why does your voice sound like that?...."
-Dana
I just finished reading about Townsend and I cried. It is so amazing all they accomplished in their lives. I know the end already to Nate Saint, so I know I'll be balling through this story. Also I saw the End of the Spear which made me cry as well. Everytime I read one of these books, I ask myself "am I allowing God to use me or am I hindering God from using me?" Its such a real thing. I used to think that way about missionary work too. This week I was at Piper's church (Bethlehem Baptist) and the way he spoke about mission work was so thrilling. Even if I never am called to mission work, it reminded me how we need to support the work of missionaries because they are called to this field. And reading these books reminds me of the hardships they endure.
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