If God called you to go to some faraway land, would you? What if you knew it meant losing your life?

People often ask us about our personal safety in Thailand. What about political instability, persecution, crime and tropical illnesses? As I reassure people that it’s really quite safe, I wonder to myself, what if this were not the case?

Early Protestant missionaries to Africa could not reassure friends and family of such safety. Most missionaries died of sickness within the first two years of their service. But these facts did not deter other missionaries. They kept stepping forward to witness to unreached people. When they launched to the field, some missionaries packed their belongings in coffins, anticipating their own deaths. Was this insanity, or was it a sign of their love and determination to fulfill the great commission? Today, few if any mission fields call for this level of sacrifice. However, this same steely commitment is still needed to finish the work. We don’t face the same level of risk our forebears did, but we pray we will exhibit the same determination to reach the Northern Khmer.

May the Lord fill your hearts with the same selfless determination and desire to see lost souls come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

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