We recently announced the launch of pilgrimdays.com at our church members’ meeting, but didn’t have time to fully explain what inspired the launch.
As a member of our Missionary Care team at church, I often waver between praying specific prayers for each of our missionaries and praying “clumpily” for them as a group. Part of this stems from my ignorance of what they are doing or how they are doing and who with, etc. There is a direct correlation between being “in the know” and the specificity and fervor of my prayers. I imagine that this is the case for others as well, am I right?
Being a missionary in a closed country can be challenging in that respect. You can’t always share everything and, what you can share, can’t always be shared in real time. I remember bringing up the idea of a blog to Alex over a year ago and he agreed (although not enthusiastically) that it would be a good idea. About a week prior to the launch, I received daily prodding about the blog. “Did you start the blog yet? Is it set up yet? What’s the URL again? Can I post yet?” I guess I should be thankful that the tiny seed planted over a year ago finally sprouted.
Why “Pilgrim Days”? One of my favorite hymns is Jesus I My Cross Have Taken. I had only learned this hymn a few years ago, but I was gripped by the lyrics. I remember feeling ashamed when I read through the first line: “Jesus I my cross have taken all to leave and follow Thee.” Have I really? Have I really taken up my cross to follow Christ? After being convicted by the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations, this hymn became instantly precious to me.
The closing verse reads:
Haste then on from grace to glory, armed by faith, and winged by prayer,
Heaven’s eternal day’s before thee, God’s own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission, swift shall pass thy pilgrim days;
Hope soon change to glad fruition, faith to sight, and prayer to praise.
Those words inspired a sense of hope and awe in me. We are hastily making our way toward heaven and our pilgrim days are swiftly passing. God has, time and again, affirmed His will for us to go. For me, it started with a prayer of desperation to understand my calling as a Christian. For Alex, it was confirmation through a trip to EA.
We hope that this blog will serve as a platform of encouragement to you. We understand that we are not going out alone; we go commissioned by God’s church and equipped with your prayers and support. We are so thankful for each of you! Please keep us accountable to be “worthy of the calling” and we promise to do the same for you.