Why I Finally Plunged Into Overseas Missions

Let me tell you how the theme of overseas missions has been woven through my life. I got saved while reading material about missionaries. Three times I stepped out to do something overseas and God changed it into a missions trip of some fashion.

The first happened when a family I knew decided to work with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in South Africa.  They asked me to go as a nanny to their two girls.  I said yes even though I was in the middle of my teacher credentialing program.

A few days before we flew out they suggested that I do the YWAM training course with them, and they’d look for child care on the base. I said yes, applied and was accepted to the missionary training program (YWAM calls this a DTS, discipleship training school).  As is turns out they didn’t even need a nanny because they had child care on the base and the older child did her homeschooling with another girl.  It was just God’s way of getting me into the mission field.

Let me just say that the five months I lived in Africa were a mountaintop experience for me.  I developed a passion for missions and met some great girlfriends there that are still a part of my life today.

The second was when my brother got married.  I flew to Cambodia to be in their wedding, but again before I flew out a team from their church asked if I wanted to join them after the wedding. So again I said yes.  On that trip we packed Bibles in our backpacks and walked them over the border into Vietnam, did medical clinics and children’s ministry in rural Cambodian villages, and passed out tracts on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand.

The third occasion is quite a story.  It had been a few years since South Africa.  I sent an email to my friend Grace (a Nigerian who continued to do mission work in S.A.) and said, “It’s been a while, let’s meet in the middle.”  So what is midway between South Africa and California (I’ll give you a moment to look at a map)  …….. Brazil!

So we met in Brazil.  I had no expectation other than to spend time with Grace.  Well Grace being Grace set up ministry for us with a Brazilian friend we both knew from our time in South Africa.  So we gave testimonies in churches, spoke in a halfway house, visited a children’s home and a YWAM ministry in the slums of Rio. If you think Christians, God or the Bible are boring I hope this short account above has blown that misconception out of the water!  The point is, on each of those trips, Africa, Asia, Brazil, I never planned to do mission work, but God led me into it by working through the circumstances, events and people in my life at that time.

Let’s talk purpose. My gifting is with the younger children.  I was an elementary school teacher in Las Vegas, bought a house and “settled”. After a while, I knew I wanted more opportunity to serve more with my gifts and talents. The American public school system is not a great avenue to accomplish this.  So I decided to move to Cambodia!

Why Cambodia?  It seems like an odd corner of the Earth to go to (forgive me my Asian friends).  My brother and his wife live in Cambodia.  They run an amazing orphanage and a fledgling school.  As long as I’ve lived in Las Vegas teaching they’ve asked on and off,  hinted, or indirectly asked me to come to Cambodia to live and teach.  Two years ago this August I told them I would consider it and pray about it.  It’s God’s timing, so now I am going.

So for the next two years I will be teaching in the city to earn my keep, learn the language, and get my land legs culturally speaking.  I will assist my brother with his ministry as well, however I can.  And after that… who knows?

(This article has been slightly edited and shortened. The original post first appeared on http://kimncambodia.blogspot.com)

Written by Kimberly Carson

Kimberly Carson

Kimberly Carson is teacher by training but a hostess at heart. She recently moved from Las Vegas to Cambodia. She now works as a second grade teacher at Asian Hope International School, Cambodia. She writes about her adventures on her blog.

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