Traveling to share the Gospel to unreached people groups

Martha and I on our flight from Dothan to Atlanta. Then we flew to
Seoul, Korea, and then safely to Yangon, Myanmar.

When people hear that Martha and I are traveling to Asia for a mission trip, the top question is, “How long does it take to get there? When we say 20-something or 30-something hours, we often get looks of surprise, shock and even those, “you must be crazy looks.”

Some will say, “That’s way too long in an airplane.” Others quip, “God bless you” ... those are usually the ones with the, “you must be crazy” looks. Well, they are right. We are crazy ... crazy about Jesus. 

As I write this blog we are about 32,000 feet above Canada on a Korean Airlines flight to Seoul, Korea. Then we will fly about 6 hours to our destination, which is Yangon, Myanmar. In all, we will traveled for 27-plus hours.

These trips over to Asia aren’t bad at all. We’ve taken enough of them to the point that a 20-hour flight doesn’t seem that long. We’ve also learned how not to get jet lag. We get tired, though. We aren’t superhuman.

The sole reason for these trips is souls. There are billions of people in the 10/40 Window who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The 10/40 Window is a rectangular area that spans across the Middle East and Asia. It’s the area where the majority of unreached people groups live.

Knowing there are billions of people living without hearing the Gospel greatly concerns us. That means billions of people will die and go to Hell. We can’t reach them all, but we can reach some. The Great Commission compels us to go.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all I have commanded you, and I am with you always to the end of the age.”

That is the Great Commission. It is a command from our Lord and Savior, and it’s for every follower of Jesus. Does that mean everyone needs to travel overseas to spread the Gospel. I wish everyone could. Many simply cannot physically take a 30-hour flight and then live in a Third World country, even if it’s for only two weeks. Others cannot commit that kind of time to take off work.

What people can do is help send others. There are some individuals who helped send Martha and me on this trip to Myanmar, and there are two churches - Harvest and Covenant - who helped us tremendously. We can’t say thank you enough. The souls saved on this trip will one day thank those who gave so we could go and tell them about Jesus.

It’s not just about traveling overseas to share the Gospel. We must do it in our hometown as well. In fact, everywhere we go we need to be sharing the Gospel and showing the love of Jesus to people. The Great Commission is a lifestyle, not an event or mission trip. Live it out. That’s the model Jesus gave us, and that’s how He expects us to live. Being a Christian isn’t just about saying a prayer. That’s only the beginning. It’s about living this life for Christ. That’s a big commitment and not something to take lightly.

As we have WiFi, I will give updates about our trip on this blog. Please pray for us, and please pray for those who will hear the Gospel and those we will train on discipleship.