My Heart

I've always wanted to be a missionary! I was just reminded of that deep-seated passion I have, when I got an e-newsletter from one of my friends who serves as one in South East Asia... and it just made me happy! Above is a picture of a child God loves... and now I do to!

At a young age, inspired by my own family's summer mission trips and the GAs church mission group, I decided I wanted to be a missionary and I became pretty sure that God would send me to some jungle or desert to share the love of Jesus with people there. That was my plan.

Then I met and fell in love with Leon, and one day we had this exchange...
Leon: "So what does it really mean to be a missionary?"
Kim: "Well, I suppose ultimately it just means that I do just what God tells me to do."
Leon: "So what if God tells you to be a wife and a mom?"
Kim: "Well, then I'll be a wife and a mom!"

Leon is great at making a point... and God used that conversation to shift my thinking. God had given me a heart for missions - for loving people - for sharing the message of Jesus. And I can do that in a jungle, a desert, distant mountains, or right in my own city, neighborhood and home as I live out a calling to be a wife and a mom!

And, along those lines, I've found that my goals have shifted as I've matured, more toward God's purposes, I believe: I don't really want to "convert people" or "get them saved"... those tasks have such inherent negativity... I just want to share with people the love and the message of Jesus, and pray that they will experience life in the Kingdom! I am experiencing such an abundant life - full of peace and hope that comes from God - and I want to share that with others!

So, while I've been on overseas mission trips, state-side mission trips, and have a definite passion for that kind of thing, God has not called me (or I should now say, hasn't called our family) to do that permanently (yet :)!). I am learning to be patient when God sets my heart on fire about something. Sometimes my idea of what I need to do with a passion isn't what God has in mind. But what He has in mind is always better! I love my life as a wife and mom and "at-home-missionary."

My M Friends
Part of my passion for missions is reflected in many friends I have who are on the mission field. I love hearing about what they are doing, praying for them, helping them and their ministries financially, and just being friends with them. I think it's really hard sometimes for missionaries to find kindred-spirits when it comes to their life's purpose, their way of thinking, their struggles, and their needs. I really try to be that for these friends. I would love it if you would join me in praying for them... or pick one to pray for once a month... that's doable, right?! And if you want to know more about them (since I can't include too much info on the blog) feel free to ask me!

• A. in SE Asia, training college students to minister in the least reached areas... see http://www.cafe1040.com/.
• Michelle based in Richardson, TX currently... her team is serving among the Kurds in Iraq... see http://www.buyshoessavelives.com/.
• Jenny & Ryan Simmons based in Dallas... ministering around the US... not typical "missionaries," but I consider them to be... feel free to ask me why... see http://www.addisonroad.com/.
• The Parks family in Singapore... ministering in Indonesia and much of SE Asia, too.
• Mimi in Kazakhstan.
• E & S in Indonesia.
• C & S in Indonesia.
• Brian & Erica Villarreal with Campus Crusade at Oklahoma State University.

In my friend's e-newsletter she had a link to a cool website: http://www.freerice.com/. I've added it on my side bar now, too. You can spend as much time or as little time as you'd like on the site, and you can make a difference either way! Go ahead, try it! Pretty awesome way to kill some time, I'd say!

With a heart for the broken world... later everyone!