Not Wasting Their Life

This past Wednesday Amy and I had the privilege of seeing my cousin, Travis, and his wife, Danielle, commissioned as missionaries to Mexico through the International Mission Board. They will be serving for two years in Mexico City helping to coordinate groups coming to the area for short-term mission trips as well as building relationships for future house church plants.

It was awesome to see them, along with about 200 other people, commissioned to go out and spread the gospel to a large lost world. It was truly an honor to support them on this special day.

There were two things that really caught my attention and brought tears to my eyes. First, there were so many people going to the North Africa/Middle East region. This is unbelievable considering the hostility toward to the gospel in this area. The second striking thing was seeing so many older couples going out.

The oldest person was a 72 year old woman. There were a lot of couples in their 50s and 60s. These people are in "retirement-zone" and instead of buying a home in Florida and playing golf and spoiling their grandchildren, they are starting the second half of their life as missionaries. Unreal. Amazing. Challenging.

Amy and I saw 200 people that are definitely not wasting their life on the fleeting pleasures of the so-called American dream. There was no health and wealth theology in this group of seeking comfort and excess in Jesus' name. This group truly exemplified a willingness to heed God's call and trust him.

I hope that when I am in my "retirement years" that I will remember these men and women and not waste my life. Maybe you could consider the same.

If you want to follow my cousins on their journey you can check out their blog.