Friday, April 5, 2013

"But, what is a missionary?"


In my new children's book, Really Rare Rabbits, Fi Fi asks, "But, what is a missionary?" What do they do in their house at the bottom of the mountain where she and her brother, Chi Chi live? When she and her brother venture down the mountain, their dangerous adventure begins.

Many years ago, our family and friends thought we were headed on a dangerous adventure when we followed God's call to Bolivia. In some ways, it has been a dangerous adventure at times. But, even in the dangerous times, God has always been faithful to take care of us and provide for us––at times in miraculous ways.

So, what is a missionary? Being a missionary, I can tell you that a missionary is a child of God doing His will in a far away land, or in our own country. We are all missionaries, just some of us have been called to a foreign land. Our job is taking the gospel to the whole world. Where is your world? Mine is in Bolivia, S. A., where God has called me to share His Word with the lost.

My publisher, Tracy Ruckman came up with a wonderful idea to highlight what a missionary is and does. This summer some of her authors, including me, will highlight missionaries on our blogs. I am excited to read about other missionaries who are called to other parts of the world to share the gospel. He uses each of us in unique ways, whether home or abroad. I will be sharing about national missionaries here in Bolivia. After many years of ministering in a foreign country, I'd like to share how God has used our ministry to raise up Bolivians who are taking the gospel to their own people. You'll meet Daniel who accepted Jesus as a little boy and now, with his wife, is a missionary to his own people.

Really Rare Rabbits allows me to be a missionary to kids through my writing, in the U.S.A and around the world. I can't be in all the world, but my books can. When God told me to go into all the world, never did I imagine that one day I would write books that would go into all the world. Chi Chi and Fi Fi discover who Jesus is when they venture down the mountain.

We all have different ministries, I am blessed to be used of God through my missionary and writing ministries. In my next few blogs, I'll be sharing about life as a missionary and a writer––the joys and the challenges of both.

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice. Ephesians 5:1 (NIV)

As a dearly loved child of God, it's a joy to show God's love to others. Each day brings new challenges and new joys, and each day I strive to spread that love to a dying world to give hope of eternal life to those who trust in Jesus. How about you? Will you join me and show the world what Fi Fi wants to know? "But, what is a missionary?"

If you want to check out Chi Chi and Fi Fi's book, Really Rare Rabbits is available at: