Why I Turned Down My Dream Job To Be a Nanny

I got this note from a young college graduate about something that I've felt very strongly about for a long time. I wanted to post it here because I think the message is important. This is important enough to say twice - You don’t have to be in Africa to “count”. Remember, God doesn’t need us anywhere. He can use us anywhere. If God says, “Go,” reply, “Here I am, send me”. If God says, “Stay,” reply, “Here I am, use me”.

It all started about a year ago when someone was asking about my life.  They were sincerely interested and we got very deep into conversation and ended up talking about the church and other ministries that I am involved with.

She told me, “You remind me of that girl Kisses from Katie…you should do something like she did.” She then asked me if I had ever been on a mission trip.

 I replied, “I like to think that the ministries that I’m involved are my mission work.”

“Ok, but I mean have you been on a real mission trip - overseas……"

People often feel called to missions overseas. “God called me to Africa”. I hear it all the time. That’s good. People in Africa need to gospel badly. 

When God calls you to go, then go.  

But when God says stay, you stay.  

What is God’s calling? We know that He calls His children to be saved, spread His gospel and then train and disciple those whom have believed (Matthew 28:19-20).  John MacArthur wrote a book called, Found: God’s Will.  In this book he explains the six things we know for certain about God’s will. 

1) We must be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4).  

2) We must be Spirit-filled (Eph. 5:16-18). 

3) Be sanctified (1 Thes. 4:3-7).  

4) Submit to God (1 Peter 2:3-15). 

5) Be suffering (1 Peter 4:19).  

6) Do whatever you want (Psalm 37:4).  

If we are truly following hard after Christ—if we are saved, spirit-filled, growing in sanctification, submitted to God, and suffering for the sake of the gospel, then we will desire to do the right thing.  We will desire the same thing that God desires for our life.  

What does this have to do with me being a Nanny? 

Leaving the interview for my dream job, I was hooked. I wanted so badly to go and work there. I told my family, “Just a warning, if they offer me the job, I’m probably going to take it.” I was planning to move really far away to work and serve God there. 

When my dream job called and offered me the job, the lady could tell I was hesitant. I didn’t even know why I was hesitant. What was I thinking? She told me not to let fear hold me back. That’s when it hit me. I was fearful to not go. I just got my college degree…I have to use it right? My reasons for wanting that job were for the adventure and opportunity. It wasn’t to serve God. 

Will there be a day when I leave and work for them? Maybe. Part of me hopes so. But, today is not that day. It is not time for me to break relationships I have made with children here. 

There is nothing dishonorable about staying home.  I love home. I love my church. I love the kids I work with.  I love my ministries. I love my family.  I can serve and honor God AND fulfill His will for my life, AND fulfill the great commission right here in a small town, working as a Nanny. 

If you are preaching the gospel, making disciples and serving the church, then you are doing REAL mission work. You don’t have to be in Africa to “count”. Remember, God doesn’t need us anywhere. He can use us anywhere. If God says, “Go,” reply, “Here I am, send me”. If God says, “Stay,” reply, “Here I am, use me”.

End of the Spear

"My father lost his life at the end of a spear and it was at the end of a spear that I found mine." Steve Saint

I just finished reading a Jim Elliott biography to Mary and Lydia during our devotions and I cried like a baby through the last two chapters, even though this was the third time I've read it. Then I walked around in a state of mourning and weepy for the rest of the day. To make matters worse, we watched End of the Spear together the next day so they could weep with me. The story of the five men who lost their lives trying to reach a tribe in the jungles of Ecuador has been told many times and from many perspectives and it's compelling every time. It happened over fifty years ago and is so moving every time I hear it.

I've heard Elisabeth Elliott and others related to the five men in the story say how often people will approach them and tell how this single event was most influential to their being in missions. Just last week, I met one of those people. He grew up as a child of missionaries in Sweden and mentioned how he was influenced to evangelism by their story.

I would encourage you to dig into this story with your children. There are so many aspects of God's sovereignty displayed and examined over the course of events leading up to and following the massacre on an unknown stretch of beach in the Woudani territory. It was interesting the questions that were raised from the few details we learned from Elliott's biography that we read. Elisabeth Elliott also has some great books on her husband's life. A very interesting book on the events after the deaths is by Steve Saint, the pilot Nate Saint's son, who was the oldest of the children and remembers a lot of the story first hand. The book is the same title as the movie, End of the Spear. The theology of the book and movie is a little mystical, but who can say what the natives saw the day of the massacre?

The movie was a little too graphic for Mary and Lydia, but you can't make a movie about natives in the jungles in the 1950s without a lot of nearly naked men and women. And the spearing of entire families, yes- even babies, is the terrible truth of what happened before the gospel reached these people. So we spent a lot of time covering our eyes.

Sarah Goes to Portland

Sarah's first short term mission trip seemed to be a great experience for her. Here is a note from her:

"Throughout the week we helped a church plant in Clackamas, Oregon. On Sunday morning, we helped them set up church and that night we went to worship at a Hispanic church's first ever service in Vancouver, Washington. Monday through Thursday we had basketball camp every morning. We taught them different skills in each station and at the end of the day they learned the gospel. Two thirds of the kids there were not in a church and I'm very thankful to have been a part of those kids hearing the gospel. In the afternoons we canvassed different areas of Portland and took notes on the culture and lifestyle of those who lived there. This is part of the ground work being done to prepare for more permanent missionaries or church planters that will come to live there. In the afternoons we did a lot of praying for the lost in the city. It is a little overwhelming when you actually see how blind the people living there are. When I asked one lady at a bakery what she thought of the "spiritual climate" in her area she said she hadn't grown up in a religious household and that she didn't really know what she thought- she'd never really thought about it. The way she talked was completely foreign to me... she didn't care at all. Everyone I've ever talked to about spiritual things either were clearly against it or were professing Christians. She could care less either way. I saw how dead in her sin she was and it struck me that I was once that way. It made me so thankful for the Lord softening my heart. Otherwise, I would still be just like her- blind and dead in sin. I am still praying for Portland and Trinity Church there. It's a lost place in serious need of the gospel."

Some highlighted pictures from a wonderful trip.

Sarah's first ever plane trip.

She fell in love with some sweet little girls.

White water rafting was so much fun.

The whole group out to eat.

Multnomah Falls and the mountains in the western US were quite impressive to Sarah.

Sarah lead a ball handling station.

Friendship are forged when you spend hours together for the gospel.

Evangelism

Often when I see a street preacher or sign holder I think, "Fanatic." But, honestly, I don't know those people or their hearts.

Whether a person shouts out and says, "Woe you hypocrites" or quietly meets in the garden to instruct. Our hearts must be about witnessing to the lost. We have to care for souls. So if you see a person holding a sign that says "Jesus is the only way" or someone carrying a cross, don't automatically think, "Nut case." Pray for them. It isn't easy to stand out and be bold for Christ. If you see someone whispering in the corner with a lost person, don't automatically think that they're up to no good. Pray for them. They could be sharing the Gospel for the first time.

There are many examples of witnessing in Scripture: Paul standing in the coliseum proclaiming Christ, Timothy being instructed by his mother and grandmother, Jesus preaching to the crowds, the believing wife who might win her husband over without a word. Read the story of Ananias, he was afraid to do what God asked him to do but he went anyway.(Acts 9:10-19) We don't have to engage in all of these methods for sharing the Gospel but we do have to be sharing.

If my theology doesn't lead me to witness for Christ then my theology is weak. I wish I knew where this quote came from but it is powerfully convicting. 

As I pray, I must be praying for a heart for the lost and for my theology to drive the method I use to evangelize.

Backyard Bible Club

This week was so fun and exciting at our house. We have lived in our neighborhood for 12 years and have not been successful at reaching out to our neighbors. We decided to hold a Backyard Bible Club to try to draw them in. What ended up happening was our church family grew a lot closer. But what else can happen when you have everyone, from the elders to the smallest children, singing and shouting in the backyard for three nights in a row. We've heard amazing stories about everything from God's Sovereignty to the Sumburu people of Africa; how God is the main character in the story of Jonah to without a solid foundation on the Word of God we are hollow shells. It was such a joy to see so many children running all over the yard playing capture the flag and sharks and minnows. Even though none of the children in our neighborhood came, we had a lot of others come - children who don't always get to hear the Word or get to interact with godly adults. It was so special to see those same children answering questions on the last night from things they heard on the first night. I know seeds have been sown in their hearts. I just hope our neighbors aren't ready to kick us out of the neighborhood.

Changing the Mantra of Graduation

Now that the weekend is over and I've had some time to rest, I counted how many graduation speeches our family heard - 12! Can you imagine sitting through twelve! graduation speeches? Some were short (thankfully) but others were very painfully loooong. We heard a lot of admonitions to dream big, do something that matters, reach for the stars and blah, blah, blah... I did hear a couple of speakers that I would actually like to hear again, so don't think it was all bad. Those two speakers were creative, intelligent and truly knew how to captivate the audience.

My question is - where are the speakers who are pumping up the crowds to do the hard work of day to day living? There are tv shows, articles, and such all over the place about someone who has gone above and beyond to do something incredible. What about the millions of people who live every day faithfully doing what they are called to do? There are days upon days of working, sleeping, raising families and doing normal things without one time of something news worthy happening. Can you imagine our society if everyone were always out making a name for themselves and doing the "big " things of life? I would be willing to bet there would be no one at home to read a bed time story, no toilets would get cleaned, no hand holding and pay checks would all be spent trying to make that "big" break.

We need to teach our young adults to do the hard work of being faithful where they are right now. Luke 12:48 is a verse our young adults should have memorized and be practicing. "But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."

I know there are many who are called by God to do great things. I love the stories of Moses, Noah, and David, yet I am also thankful for the stories of Lydia, Epaphroditus, Timothy and Miriam who were where God called them to be faithful. Some of my favorite readings are from a missionary family in Papua New Guinea, the Housley's. Thanks to the internet, I can rejoice with them over their day to day faithfulness when they teach people to read, share the amazing story of Christ and baptize new believers. I also feel their pain as they confront sin and help grieving parents through the loss of a small child. These missionaries are doing "GREAT" things for God while they do "daily life" and I'm sure few graduation speakers would rush to have their story publicized in the tabloids.

Honduras Pictures

I have tried to no avail to get Rachel's slideshow up here. These are a few of the pictures with highlights.

Ministering in Honduras

At top, Rachel with some of the children who live at the dump. The children bring empty plates and missionaries fill them up. Next picture - she's the tall one with Erika who taught her how to make tortillas. The city picture is of downtown La Ceiba. Bottom two pictures are Odessa, the girl Rachel is helping at the bilingual school and Estefany the five year old she is helping learn English.

Still in Honduras

It has been a pleasure getting to know the missionary community here. They have all welcomed me into their close knit group. I love sitting by and listening to them talk--I'm learning a lot just from their godly examples and conversations. The fellowship has been a blessing.

More from Rachel

Well, I have finished my second full week here in Honduras. I have really settled in and feel almost "at home" now. This past week was just as full as the first. Natalie went home on Monday. I miss having her here; I enjoyed spending time with her so much, but, I have branched out more since she left. I went over to the bi-lingual school to help a fourteen year old girl with reading in English. She read aloud and I helped with pronunciation and comprehension. Every Wednesday the hospital has an eye clinic. Patients come in to get eye exams and see whether or not they need glasses. That was a fun experience, I learned a lot working in that setting. I returned to the schools and the dump this week, just as last week. That went well, I really enjoy doing that and getting to know some of the kids there.

Keep praying! Pray that I'll be a good example for Christ as I seek to get involved in the lives of these people.

From Rachel

The weather took a cold turn! It has been rainy and windy all week. It is really about 70 degrees, but feels colder with the rain. I went from melting last week, to feeling great, and now a little cold! :-)

Launching Arrows

Ray often uses the illustration of children being arrows in our quiver while teaching on the family. The archer (parent) takes those arrows (children) and polishes, shapes and shines them until they are straight and ready to be launched. Sometimes they are launched permanently. Often times the archer shoots the arrows out on a practice run. Yesterday we launched our first arrow. Rachel went to Honduras for a mission trip where she hopes to get to work in many different areas of ministry. The family she will be staying with are doctors at a mission hospital and will be watching over her while she is there. In fact the family's oldest daughter is Rachel's violin teacher, part of our church and flew with her to Honduras. Though Rachel will be gone for a month it seems like such a huge thing. She will be with someone all the time and under the care of a family who has five daughters of their own. Yet I know this is a huge step in independence for her. Our prayer is that she will grow more dependant on God and not herself. She looks forward to the day in which she will be a wife and mother, but in the meantime, there are many opportunities for her to serve the Lord and her parents.


Here is the first of many (I hope) updates from her:


"Everyone slept in today, so we are just getting started. It is so hot here. You would like to sleep here because lizards crawl all over the walls all the time. Animals run free-I woke up at four to the sound of very loud cows and a rooster. There are ponies all in the road, and on the interstate they are just tied to the ground inches from the road. Later this morning, Natalie is going to take me on a tour of the hospital and other places, I'll go meet people and see what I will be doing. After that, there is a Spanish class that meets 3 days a week, so I'll go to that if I can. On Friday's a lady has a ministry to children who live at the dump in the city, I'm planning on going with her."