This is for any mom who's girl came home with the crazy idea of joining the Global Challenge...
Your little girl, all the way on the other side of the world... well, I’m not going to lie. This is probably the hardest thing any mother will do in their life, to send their daughter away for a year, but actually for a lifetime – for you will never really get your little girl back. A year like this involves a lot of tears, and a lot of fears – especially when she smiles and laughs over Skype while she tells you about a hitch hike or some other scary concept that never passed through your mind. You can’t even pack her an extra box of rusks for her bag is loaded with 20kg of things she needs to survive FOR A WHOLE YEAR.
But the fact is, you are sending your little girl to become a woman. To learn how to face this life and how to stand upon her own two feet. To learn how to have an intimate relationship with Jesus that no circumstance in this life can ever break. To learn how to be content in every situation, how to handle money, and how to trust God if there is not enough. She will come back as a woman who has dealt with her past and with the deepest hurt she has always carried around – and you can know that the hurt she had in the beginning is now left somewhere in the Carribbean or Amazon or some other amazing place. She will learn that God is enough for her, and that no man would ever satisfy the desires that only God can fill, and she will learn to hide her heart so deep in Christ that she would rely on Him alone to find a man worthy of her.
Through all the trials, loads of rice, mountains to climb, houses to build – she would actually discover her feminine side and the beauty that was always in her, and she would once more realize how much she needs her mother. Each missionary woman somehow resembles her mother and makes her realize how much she actually does love her, and miss her. While her life is changing, your life will change as well. As she is blessed by God, you will share in the blessings, the laughter, the tears and the unending joy.
This year will save her life. I can testify about that. It will open her eyes and she will realize “well, my mom always told me this and that...” she will actually learn how to cook – and with the little budget we have, truly miss all your home made meals. Moms are the most special gift we as daughters have, but I don’t think it is something we say to them a lot.... but know this, the moment you give birth to a daughter; you meet the person who will hold your hand when you leave this earth. She is precious, but moms, you must learn to let her go, so she could find herself... whether it is on the other side of the world or in your own country. Allow her to follow the voice of God – for that is the safest place she can be – believe it or not. Trust that God is powerful enough to keep her safe, for He is. The moment she arrives at the airport after a year away, you will understand that every tear that fell down was worth it, and she will receive a testimony that will not just change her life, but every single person she touches. And when you smile and thank God for all that He has done, you will know that this is the one choice you will never regret in your life.
