We thought it might be a good idea to explain why it is that we’re heading overseas next year.
Both Mary & I have had a heart for African missions long before we even got to know each other. Growing up I had 2 great loves in my life – science (which became medicine) and distance running (which is always done best by Africans). In my early teens, as God worked in my life, these “loves” turned into a genuine passion and goal to work as a missionary doctor amongst the people of Africa.
Mary’s love for Africa began from a young age when she wrote to some women from the church who were nursing in Zambia at the time. We’ve both had the opportunity to meet and hear stories from many overseas missos over the years and this only been a huge encouragement and challenge to us.
In hindsight, these desires for overseas missionary service can sometimes seem simplistic. Life for us today has many added responsibilities, challenges and joys - things that make the decision to pack up and move overseas (even if only for a year at this stage) very difficult. However as we prepare to take this step we are continually reminded of what our true priorities in life need to be.
Recently we’ve been reading John Piper’s “don’t waste your life”, which has really challenged us. Below is an excerpt from the book, which starts with a story from the Battle of Iwo Jima during WW2 (apologies to those with weak stomachs!!).
“As rainy morning wore into afternoon and the fighting bogged down, the Marines continued to take casualties. Often it was the corpsmen (medics) themselves who died as they tried to preserve life. William Hoopes of Chattanooga was crouching beside a medic named Kelly, who put his head above a protective ridge and placed binoculars to his eyes – just for an instant – to spot a sniper who was peppering his area. In that instant the sniper shot him through the Adam’s apple. Hoopes, a pharmacist’s mate himself, struggled frantically to save his friend. “I took my forceps and reached into his neck to grasp the artery and pinch it off,” Hoopes recalled. “His blood was spurting. He had no speech but his eyes were on me. He knew I was trying to save his life. I tried everything in the world. I couldn’t do it. I tried. The blood was so slippery. I couldn’t get the artery. I was trying so hard. And all the while he just looked at me. He looked directly into my face. The last thing he did as the blood spurts became less and less was to pat me on the arm as if to say, “That’s all right.” Then he died.”
Piper goes on to say – “In this heart-breaking moment I want to be Hoopes and I want to be Kelly. I want to be able to say to suffering and perishing people, “I tried everything in the world….I was trying so hard.” And I want to be able to say with those around me when I die, “It’s all right. To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Whilst we don’t have God’s “10 year plan” for our lives, we do know that whether we are working in Zambia, Australia, or anywhere in between, we want our lives to count for Jesus.
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