I’d wanted to be a missionary for years and I loved the two years my husband and I lived overseas. Thanks to the cooperation of Southern Baptists around the world, we were freed up to focus entirely on evangelizing and discipling Southeast Asians.
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Before you put me on any kind of pedestal in your mind, you should know that overseas missionaries are just ordinary Christians seeking to obey the Great Commission wherever God takes them. “Seeking to obey the Great Commission” does NOT mean that I have it all together, that I never feel afraid or awkward or that I’m always eloquent and know what to say. Quite the opposite actually; I know I don’t have it all together, I feel afraid every time our power threatens to go out, and I’m the most awkward person I know (just ask my husband). If you’ve read this far, you can already tell I’m not always eloquent. But God graciously reconciled me to Himself and gave me the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18), despite all of my shortcomings. When I invite others to believe the gospel, I invite them as a fellow human who needs grace.
The year 2020 brought unprecedented changes for the whole world, including mine. A series of events led us back to America a few months before welcoming our first child. My husband got a typical 9-5 so we were no longer going out evangelizing everyday together; I was at home with a new baby and very unsure how I was to pursue the Great Commission outside of my home. Now five years and three kids in, I can see the Lord is teaching me how to obey the Great Commission as a mother in America the same way he taught me in Southeast Asia: prayer, intentionality and trial and error.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Beka Simmons and originally published by the Baptist Courier.
