I have come to one simple conclusion…going into missions is like living on crutches.

We just spent a few days in Denver with some of our closest friends. I
had high hopes for at least one round of golf, but instead found myself
being baggage carrier to my friend. He had just torn his Achilles
tendon a few days before our arrival.

I’ve never been around someone who had to live on
crutches. It is hard to open doors, carry a briefcase, or even bring a
Coke from the refrigerator. It was hard work, maneuvering around on
crutches…and exhausting!

But more importantly, it was humbling. It is humbling
to rely on others when you are used to doing it on your own. It is
humbling to need mechanical support, when your legs had served that
purpose for years. And it was humbling to be dependent.

Yet that is how I feel so often. Missions requires us
to be totally dependent on God and the Church. We do not have the
financial support to go ourselves. We do not have the emotional
strength to survive without the prayers of the Church. We do not the
have the legs to stand on, without the strength of the Spirit of God.

This dependency does not come without cost. Our arms
grow weary from leaning on those crutches. Our pride gets demolished as
we ask another church for monthly support. And our weaknesses become
more apparent as we realize the areas that we need God to work.

We are excited about our future in Moldova. It will challenge us, change us, and energize us. It is our calling.

Yet I think I need to stay on these crutches. Somehow I’m stronger when I’m relying on God and not myself.

And to tell you the truth…I think it is the way we were made to be…dependent.

Your missionary to Moldova,
Andy Raatz