Sharing the LCMS mission work in the Czech Republic with the ALOA (Adult Lutherans Organized for Action) gathering in Stewartville, MN.

Exhausting, Exhilarating and Exciting

It’s hard to believe that my first month of home service is over.  In addition to visiting Janesville and Onalaska in Wisconsin, I also traveled to Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota for mission updates.

So far, I have flown more than 5,500 miles and driven more than 3,500 miles. I am using all the tips and tricks that other missionaries shared with me about life on the road and living out of suitcases. But it’s still exhausting.

Though the travel has been exhausting, the visits at every stop have been exhilarating. Congregations and hosts have gone out of their way to make me feel at home. I am overwhelmed by the kindness, the hugs, the smiles, the interest, the prayers and the love expressed along the way. And I am gradually readjusting to American food and culture.

What I am most excited about is the enthusiasm and encouragement from so many people who have heard my presentations.  When I share the critical need to reach the most atheistic country in the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the response is unbelievably supportive.  Many people have told me that they didn’t realize how important this work is, that they had no idea how few Czechs know Jesus as their Savior.  At every visit, I have received commitments from so many people who have pledged their prayers and support for the mission work that God has called me to do.

As I look ahead to the month of October, I am excited to reconnect with so many people and congregations that I haven’t seen for two years, as well as meet new people interested in mission work. I look forward to the change of seasons and God’s artistry in the fall colors in Wisconsin as I travel across the state.  Most importantly, I hope to continue building a support system that will sustain me through prayer and financial pledges to continue the mission work with the Czechs.

There is nothing more exciting to me than to know that hundreds and thousands of Americans will be praying every day that the Czechs come to know Jesus as their Savior, are baptized and join the Body of Christ.  This vast army of prayer warriors, that is being assembled through every stop and every visit here, stands against the darkness of the country that I will soon return to do battle, not with sword and weapons of this world, but with God’s Word and His divine power.

Today, I am reminded of God’s presence and guidance in our journeys, wherever life takes us:

“Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” 

1 Chronicles 28:20 (ESV)