Missionary daughters

Being a mother of daughters who are both missionaries is awesome. Both of my daughters have been abroad and have seen Jesus is the catalyst who holds together the Church around the world. He is the reason we all serve others and share the message at home and to the “utter ends of the earth.” Even though the missionaries are from different church backgrounds, in a foreign country, Jesus is the tie that binds Christians together as they serve one another in love.

Both daughters met missionaries at our church through VBS, meetings at church and then in our home. During high school, and then college, they were encouraged to go to mission conferences and on short-term mission trips. Doing this enabled them to understand the need for funding, for planning the trip, and to experience a new culture that made them appreciate their blessings and see the needs of others.

Knowing that the hearts of Alys and Wendy were open to Jesus' call to missions, it was not a surprise that a mission trip caused Alys to seriously want to go back to Ukraine full-time, and for Wendy to live what she'd been teaching at college. Her experience from being in China drew her to helping others learn how to prepare for moving on to the new country of their calling, realized now in a critical training role at the Center for Global Outreach (CGO) in Fort Myers.

I'd have to say, I'm really not fearful of their living so far away. While Alys traveled in Europe during college, she said she felt the prayers of others protecting her when she'd lost her way. We compared times during our weekly phone call, and God had prompted me to pray at that specific time. He knows our needs and prompts us when our loved ones need our prayers of protection. Listening for the voice of God has been key in this, for I like to think of the home front as the “prayer warriors” as shown in the book of Daniel—the power of prayer empowers those who are sent by God.

One blessing that came from retiring in 2010 was going to Ukraine and seeing the work being done by the Ukrainian church and the work Alys has become involved in as she's met others in Kherson. It was a delight to meet the children at the orphanage, play games with them, and know that new advancements at the orphanage have come because Christians are praying and responding to the needs.

My prayers are for the missionaries who take that leap of faith and go where God calls them as Paul answered the call to Macedonia. I pray that there will be a common bond found quickly as we are all part of the human race that God formed with similar needs and habits. And I pray the link in each culture can be found that draws each person to the Lord Jesus Christ.

By Karin West
Mother of Alys West, missionary serving in an orphanage in Kherson, Ukraine, and Wendy West, NMSI Organizational Systems, Training and Development, serving at the Center for Global Outreach in Fort Myers, FL.