Whitney Outreach Ministries

Posted by Don and Maria Whitney February 28, 2012

Often people ask us, "what is it like being a missionary?" Personally, I'm not sure how to answer that other than to say it is a wonderful time in my life, along with being interesting, exciting, scary and unbelievable. Sometimes I find myself saying, "God, what in the world am I do here?" or "How in the world did I do that?" Church secretary's don't usually have these experiences and especially not at my age!

So with that lead in, let me take you through our Sunday morning just a few days ago.

Yep...that's me!

We started out being picked up by two young women on their motorbikes. The time was 5 AM....yes, 5 AM. Everything was pitch black, as there are no street lights out here on our country roads. The road leading from our home to the main road is about 1 1/2 miles...of dirt, rocks and potholes. It's chilly and very quiet except for the ever present roosters and dogs occasionally barking. I remember praying for God's protection as our friends began carrying us on their bikes. I looked up at the black sky and said...this is a day that the Lord has made...I will rejoice and be glad in it.

There are times, as a missionary, that you have no control of situations and you have to put your trust in God and sometimes in other people's knowledge and abilities. I find these to be totally faith building lessons. This was one of those times. I knew the road we would be traveling. It was a two lane well paved road, but it was uphill and winding. We'd be maneuvering around large trucks and buses honking their horns at us to move over when we were already hugging the railing. (Did I mention they have very LOUD horns?!)

Well we made it to the main road and began traveling into higher elevations. Soon it became foggy and cold and all I had was a little light tan jacket. As we rode further I became wetter and wetter. (Are we there yet?) Don's driver, Thuy Linh, moved up alongside us and handed me another jacket to wear over mine. These wonderful people think of everything.

There were many times I had to close my eyes to not see how close we were to the trucks or buses. Our skillful drivers knew how to move ahead or around at just the right moment even when there was a curve up ahead. That's how it is with the Lord. He knows just exactly where he is taking us and how to get there safely. We need only to stay fixed on Him and let Him skillfully do the driving regardless of what we may see ahead or around us. There were times that bumpy roads would bounce me up in the air, but as long as I held on to my driver I was fine.

As the sun came up we began to feel a little warmer. This two hour ride was starting to stiffen my legs, but I knew that we were on an assignment from our Lord and King... "I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me". We made it to our destination, and a restroom, where I could attempt to fluff up my "flat helmet head" hair, had coffee with the Pastor and entered the church.

We walked into a room bursting in heavenly language prayer. This was definitely a FULL GOSPEL type church. The worship was heavenly and the presence of the Lord sweet.

Don preached the message the Lord gave him and thirty people came forward and were touched with the Spirit of God at the altar. It was amazing to see God touching so many lives in personal ways. Because of the language barrier we didn't always know what to pray for, but we prayed in the Spirit and He took over.

That's what I feel being a missionary is all about. Trusting and being obedient to the call, even if you don't understand, it doesn't make sense or it seems a little scary. With the Master at the wheel we can close our eyes and rest in Him.