I’ve always had a heart for missions.
I’m a jet setter, a free spirit.
I’m willing to go anywhere, plans or no plans, knowing that God will use the time for His glory.
I have always said, “Send me!!”
Or more like, “Please!  Pick me!  Pick me!  I’ll go!!”

We had the Wilsons over for lunch on Sunday.
Patrick said something I’ve never thought about before.
He said, “There is no Biblical model for families in missions.”
Peter, Paul, Barnabas – it appears that they were all single men.
There is no mention any where in the New Testament that they had wives or families.
The Bible is silent when it comes to “going” with a family.

That’s not to say that families shouldn’t go into missions.
It’s just that Scripture does not address it.

I love what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7.
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33 But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34 and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35 I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

The married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband … and might I add, take care of her kids, manage her home, and on and on.

My heart is in missions.
My heart is in Africa.
But I must choose to stay devoted to the Lord and my family
I must worship God as I love my family and stay devoted to my husband.

However, the longing to be on the field will never fade.
Quite the contrary.
I expect it to grow.  It’s a fire God has put within me that cannot be quenched.