Why mission? Isn't there plenty to be done here?

Once when I was in Indonesia, our local partners were going to take me to meet a Christian from the Sundanese ethnic group. This was in a big city. So we started out, driving a really long way. We passed hundreds of people in the streets, maybe thousands living in the store-front buildings along the way. I kept thinking, “What about all of these?” So many who haven’t heard yet.

Then we arrived, outside in the city in a nice rural setting, and I met Halimah. She somehow had visited a church attended by Javanese Christians. It seemed strange to her since she had never been to a church and none of them were Sundanese, but she felt the people there loved each other. They seemed so different from the women she knew, whom she thought were always gossiping and criticizing.

She decided to follow Christ. Then the trouble began. She lived on the family property, her mother and brothers all had houses within a stone’s throw of each other. Her brother came over to kill her with a knife. Everyone knew the police would look the other way because Sundanese aren’t supposed to be Christians. She bared her throat and said, “You might as well kill me, I’m not going to deny Christ.” Faced with her courage, he couldn’t do it.

When we were there, she was excited about a breakthrough. Her mother had come to visit her. Her mother hadn’t spoken to her since her conversion, and by now it had been two years.  

Yes, there is work to do here. In our normal lives, seeing just what is in front of us, I suppose it’s natural to have our focus drawn to that. And yes, we should be involved. Martha and I have no problem volunteering in all kinds of ministries here in Spokane.

But Christ calls us to all the nations. And no matter how needy we think our own cities are, you don’t have to drive clear across them to find one Christian. There are lots more Halimahs out there, waiting to hear the Good News.

            A Sundanese Wedding