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Key Bible Verse: And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves (2 Corinthians 5:15a).
Bonus Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:13-6:2

Want to get out of a rut, change your perspective? Try "getting your feet wet" on the mission field. The concept of the "missionary call" as a lifelong obligation has largely been replaced by the idea that God offers us several options that we negotiate as we go along. A short-term missionary assignment is a way to explore God's will and decide whether longer-time service is for you.

I went on my first short-term mission when I was 20. I spent a year in Colombia. I picked up the language by living with Colombians. Young, single and adventuresome, I immersed myself in the culture. I came back to the States eager for more cross-cultural experiences and helped start a Chinese church while in graduate school. Later in seminary, I continued my pattern of short-term commitments. I helped in Alaskan Indian villages one summer, spent a year as an inner city church pastor, worked with interracial youth on an army base and spent time as a prison chaplain. Later I became a career missionary to CÔte d'Ivoire, West Africa, where I now serve.

Be forewarned. A short-term mission can change your life. But that's partly why you want to go, isn't it?

—Gene Smillie in Send Me!

—Eric Liddell (runner and missionary to China)

Adapted from Steve Hoke and Bill Taylor, Send Me! (WEF/Carey, 1999).

Prayer for the Week

Jesus, show me how to be a witness to your Son—wherever I am.

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