The Reason Why

And now for the question on everyone's mind- Why are Hillary and I going on this trip?  What purpose will it serve in our lives? In the lives of others?

Hillary and I have, at different times in each of our lives, given "Missions" some thought.  Sometimes it was a general desire to learn more about the world, but at other times we thought more seriously about whether or not God was asking us personally to serve abroad.

In college, I took a class on the music of different cultures around the world.  Our professor told many stories of the impact that music could have in the missionary field.  Being a music major, this opened up some ideas as to what my future might hold.

Now, several years out of college, I am still struggling to understand where my own desires lie as far as my future career is concerned.  Hillary has been such a blessing in this area, prodding me to research and explore the different options available to me.

This led us to the Wycliffe Discovery trips.  These trips are specifically designed to give a person a taste of what Missions is really like, out there in the field.  Between 6-8 weeks long, they seemed to be just right for us, especially since I have never even been on a short-term missions trip before.  This trip, then, will aid us in discerning if God possibly wants us to pursue long-term missions.

However, it is not just about us. Like Hillary said previously, we will be doing, not just observing.  Hillary will be putting her children's ministry skills to good use, helping an international school plan and implement a Bible school for kids in local churches.  I will be helping local churches to develop their own worship music according to their culture's tradition, instead of teaching them to use our Western worship music, which in some cases hinders their ability to worship and develop spiritually.

We believe that God has led us to this trip, and we know that He can use it for purposes other than what I've mentioned here.  Whatever those purposes are, we are praying (and hope you will join us) that we will do all we can to let His Spirit work in and around us, unhindered.

~Mark