Mission Ethiopia - Why I am going
Below is Loretta Sassmannhausen's original reason for going on this mission trip to Ethiopia:
Why I’m Going…
By Loretta Sassmannshausen
Why am I going? I don’t have the slightest idea! The best answer that I have is that God is leading me to this mission. I have tried and tried to talk myself out of it; I keep asking God to lead me elsewhere. But to no avail. For His reasons, he wants me there.
Why shouldn’t I go? There seem to be SO many reasons:
- I have 3 very busy children, and it’s generally my responsibility to be their chauffeur and tutor.
- I have a husband who is a physician and is very busy taking care of his many patients.
- I manage his medical practice which is a full-time (and then some) job in itself.
- We are in the process of designing a new 22,000 square foot building that will house our new office and 2nd/3rd businesses which we are also in the process of starting.
- I am on the School Board, Personnel Committee, Board of Directors, and the Outreach Project Team at Concordia.
- Small issue to some; HUGE to me: I have this completely and totally, irrational fear of spiders. Oh, how wonderful the internet is—it brought me up close and personal with the lovely creature called a baboon spider, native to Ethiopia. The black, hairy monsters can grow as large as14 inches, with up to 8 millimeter fangs—yes, I said FANGS. I am hyperventilating just typing the description.
- I use 4-letter words often
- I don’t really have any skills to speak of that would be beneficial to the team.
- I am not at all comfortable sharing my faith.
- Because I am scared to death!!!
So, why AM I going? Maybe I am losing sight of what is most important in my life. Maybe I need to learn to follow, rather than take control and lead. Maybe it’s time for me to learn that it’s OK to not be in control. Maybe I want to start giving back more of what God has entrusted me. Maybe it’s time for me to stop being a big, fat chicken when it comes to talking about my faith with other people. Maybe I just need to find some new 4-letter words to use. Whatever the reasons, the only one that really matters is this: Because God wants me to go. I can’t ignore Him. I don’t know what to expect, I am still terrified. But it’s time to get out of my “comfort zone” and let God use me in whatever way He sees fit.
posted by On a Mission @ 8:07 AM
1 Comments:
Dear Mary,
Thank you for your comments on our Mission Ethiopia blog. You are not alone in your feelings about effective ways to use the gifts that God has given us in doing His Mission that we are all called to do.
It may help to know how we at Concordia view mission work (our engaging others in Jesus). First and foremost, it is Jesus’ command that we “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) This is an action command which not only can involve giving of funds but also stepping out of our comfort zone as the apostles did and physically going out into our neighborhoods (Jerusalem), regionally (Judea), domestically (Samaria) and overseas (the ends of the world) to spread the saving word of Jesus.
We have found that sending out our parishioners after proper training on short-term mission trips brings a heightened awareness of the physical and spiritual needs of others right at home – essentially jolting them into local action. Those that have come back are much bolder in their witnessing right here at home. The stories brought back also create a contagion within the congregation to spark a desire to do evangelism work in our community as well.
As far as how this has affected those that we have touched in other parts of the world, it is critical to know that we do not go where we are not first welcomed. All of our overseas trips have been in partnership with Lutheran Hour Ministries who are asking for volunteers to work on projects, witness and support the local ministries in various countries. In training, there is a focus on being sensitive to the work that the church is doing there in places like Thailand and Ethiopia – to be of support and not a hindrance.
God does use these short-term mission trips to further His Kingdom. A wonderful example of this is the impact that the team had on political leaders in Ethiopia. When the prime minister’s wife found out that a group of Americans were in her country working with people their society considers outcast (mentally handicapped), she met with the team at the Gefersa Rehabilitation Center site. At her invitation, top financial investors came with her and committed to provide funding for site plans and building projects to update a facility that had not been touched in many years. After the team had left, she participated in a radio interview which also included LHM-Ethiopia staff on volunteerism. In a country where religious programming is prohibited, this was a big opportunity to open the door for non-Christians to hear what Christians were doing in the area. It has also been reported that the prime minister’s wife has a new view of Americans (not just people who share in their financial wealth but are willing to roll up their sleeves, get dirty and assist those that are shunned by their society) and she is one of the very few that has the prime minister’s ear.
Further, once we leave these countries, our relationship with them does not end. The witness of the experienced needs in these countries has ignited others in the congregation to send additional funds to support key initiatives identified by the host country’s LHM office.
The blog that you read was Loretta’s honest feelings before she left. You would hear a very different account of how she was impacted both spiritually and emotionally by this leap of faith experience. Would she do it again? Perhaps not to the extreme of going to Ethiopia but she is much more effective in her witnessing of Jesus to the lost locally though the spiritual maturity that she gained from this experience.
May God continue to bring each of us new opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those we meet where ever we are. To Him Be The Glory!
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