When I was five my family helped start a church in the county next to where we lived. This experience was a great learning tool for how to meet people where they are in life. As a young child, I saw amazing examples of how one should love as Jesus did. Jesus loved everyone where they were no matter what their life had looked like in the past.

This example was further strengthened at the age of nine when I was taken on a mission trip to Brazil. Spending two weeks on a boat floating down the Rio Negro River further emphasized what the love of Jesus looks like for me outside of my own home. That trip was followed up with other mission opportunities to Costa Rica and Ecuador. These trips to countries that feel so different from home helped me to gain perspective of what life is like for people in other countries, from their everyday lifestyles to what their belief systems are!

People all over the world have religious worldviews that are hard to break through. But Jesus called us in Matthew to go out into all the world spreading the gospel. While that may seem like a daunting task and even one meant for someone else who we might perceive as being more qualified, it is a command for each of us. So for me, international missions are a command by God to be followed. In the process, he uses our obedience to help not only those getting ministered to but also those doing the ministry! I am so thankful that God gives us these opportunities to love others and tell the children in the world about Him!