As missionaries, one of the things we do a lot while home in the US is travel. Whether it’s visiting a church in the next state, meet a pastor for lunch or coffee during the week, or going on extended road trips, it seems we are always “on the road”. Just the other day another missionary posted on Facebook her excitement when she realized the church she was about to visit was only 4 hours away. All missionaries can relate to her situation! In fact, just this past week we’ve traveled more than 1500 miles and spoke in 4 different states. It’s easy to feel that all we do sometimes is rack up more and more miles and prepare for another oil change on our car.
No matter how many miles we put on our Honda, we’ve been amazed at the incredible people and churches we’ve met along our journeys who have certainly gone the extra mile in our eyes. Yes, it can be tiring to criss-cross the state or nation to share our heart for missions. But we’ve seen pensioners, single mothers, seasoned and new pastors help bear the burden of reaching the lost miles and miles away right from their local church. They may not race through airports, or make late-night fueling and coffee stops on the way home, but let there be no doubt, they have most certainly gone the extra mile in our book.
When churches plan and coordinate a monthly missions emphasis or banquet and honor us to be their speakers… they’ve gone the extra mile in our eyes.
When a handful of adults welcome you into their weekly home group meeting just to learn more about the country of your calling and how they can pray for you… the miles seem to fly by.
When pastors listen to your request for much needed missions support and decide to step out in faith for the extra finances with you… they’ve gone the extra mile.
When people of all ages take your prayer card and then further explain how they organize their collection and prayer routinely for missionaries… they’ve taken another step toward another mile.
Yes, we travel a lot as missionaries, but we are by no means the only ones on this journey. Thank you to everyone who has recently gone the extra mile in your support, love and prayer for us as we take the gospel to Finland.
And, one more thing, all of the stories I just mentioned, all happened just this past month during our travels… one mile at a time.
Here are few photos we’ve taken along the way.
Stephen
