Eleven years ago while preparing to experience our first mission trip our friend, mentor and Associate Pastor, Alan, shared with me that in missions there are typically three roles PRAY, PARTICIPATE & PAY. For some, they may fit all of those check boxes, while others may only be able to pray. I know in my own life there have certainly been times when all I was able to do for someone was to pray. Today, God reminded me of that conversation as I was also thinking about three influential women in my life. Each of them check one of those ministry role boxes.
The last telephone conversation that I ever had with my Grandma Fazenbaker was about a trip Wayne and I were heading up with our youth group. She asked lots of different questions and sounded so excited that our church kids were going to experience something like that. She was a huge supporter of mission-work, spending time praying and supporting local missionaries in and out of their home church. It’s hard for me to believe that while she encouraged others to go out she also had never experienced a long road trip, or seeing the vastness of the ocean. She would tell you that she didn’t miss out on anything; she had a role to play, and she did it with so much joy and excitement. After she passed my grandfather made sure to support even more missionaries in the name of my grandmother. While I am sad that she won’t be here to see what’s happening, a part of her enthusiasm and love for missions lives on in us. She is my PRAY.
One of the stories I had swirling around in my head was only learned of today in a conversation with my mom! She shared that as a little girl her dream was to be a missionary. This sweet neighbor-lady had entertained groups of neighborhood kids with what Mom remembered as a Bible study of sorts. Those interactions planted a seed within my mom’s heart that she wasn’t sure would ever come to fruition…until her daughter travels across the world to add to her family and stir up longings from childhood to play a role in missions. This is the same woman who stood up when I sank two foul shots in a state basketball game and screamed at the top of her lungs “That’s my baby girl!! Mommy loves you Jennie!” My teenaged self was equal parts mortified and bursting with joy. I share that story to illustrate the support that she has been in encouraging me, making plans to hold down the fort here for us on subsequent trips to Uganda and is all in when I say, “Mom, I need you…” For those and a million other reasons, my mom is my PARTICIPATE.
My Gooky (my mom’s mom) has been a second mother to me in my adulthood. We’re also kinda neighbors, which is an added bonus! She has held my hand through lots of different stages in my life. Cheering me on, giving and doing for us in so many ways. When I shared with her our amazing testimony of providing enough funds to send 9 children to school this current term she celebrated with me and then said, “Next time you call me, too.” Later that week we were all having dinner and I shared that two more families had come to see Gerald about helping with school fees and how he had taken money set aside for his own family and given it away to ensure that two more children would get to school. I shared with my family that his selflessness amazed me. Hours later after dinner she readied herself to head home and quietly whispered to me, “Come see me tomorrow, I want to help.” She didn’t ask for an amount, but when I picked up the check a few days later it was exactly the amount Gerald had left on his own school bill. She prayerfully considered what she wanted to give and unknowingly provided just the amount needed. She is my PAY.
God seriously writes the best stories and the examples that these three women, these world changers, have provided me continue to impact my life profoundly. Their support, enthusiasm and encouragement will also be working to impact lives of children on the other side of the world.
Would you join me in praying for this ministry and what role you could play in changing the world of a family in Uganda?