Meeting Gladys Staines

   

     Recently, my youngest daughter and I were able to meet a gracious, humble missionary who has inspired people around the world. Gladys Staines made world news as the wife and mother whose husband and two sons were brutally murdered in January 1999 by extremists who were angry about the number of conversions to Christianity in their area. The Least of These is a movie made about the story of their ministry and the murder of her family members.  In February, it was released in US theatres and has since been released in theatres around the world.
     We saw her at an event where she spoke of her life and ministry. As Gladys spoke of how she was raised in her native Australia, she talked about how her mother read missionary stories to her. She loved the missionary stories; and after she became a Christian, God started working in her life and made it clear to her that He wanted her to become a missionary. She completed a degree in nursing; and after a few years of working as a nurse in different places around Australia, she went to India as a missionary. It was there that she met her husband, Graham, who was also Australian and serving as a missionary. They married, and together they served in a leper community in India.
     As the years passed, God blessed them with three children, Esther, Philip, and Timothy. Years later, as Graham and their two sons were returning from running a camp for tribal children, they camped out in their vehicle for the night. That night would be their last here on earth as they were burnt alive in their vehicle by an anti-Christian extremist group. Gladys then made headlines around the world, as she grieved and was questioned by the media; to the amazement of many, she said that she and her daughter had forgiven the perpetrators. The two then went on to serve five more years among the leprous people there in India, before returning to Australia.
     Her testimony touched us in many ways. One thing that she spoke about was sacrifice. She left her comfortable life in Australia to go to an impoverished, disease-ridden place. She also said, that a few weeks before her husband and sons died, she was reading about Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac. She said that it crossed her mind at that time, "What would I be willing to sacrifice?" That spoke to me, because though we may be willing to give up some comforts in this life, how would we respond to giving such an unfathomable sacrifice as Gladys gave or that Abraham was prepared to give. (Many of us have a hard time "sacrificing" any material thing that makes our life comfortable.) Gladys then spoke about forgiveness. While she was clear that the perpetrators should pay for their crimes as required by law, she gave many verses and said that, as Christians, we are called to forgive. Wow! Although we all know that, think about that coming from someone who must have had unimaginable grief at the thought of the suffering of her husband and two sons being burned alive. In her greatest sacrifice and grief, she responded with forgiveness. (Often, we find ourselves having a hard time forgiving pettiness that is part of our every day lives.)
     Finally, a quote that was from someone who was a missionary in India and someone whom Gladys had read about as a child. This quote stirred our hearts and puts perfectly into words something that I have been thinking much about and that should be taught to our children and youth groups. It applies to all Christians and is never too late to put into practice in our lives.                                                                        

A life totally committed to God has Nothing to fear, Nothing to lose, Nothing to regret.

~Pandita Ramabai

Sacrifice (Guest Post}

I’ve realized something as of late. I really haven’t sacrificed anything for God. Yes, I am a missionary, and yes, I have left family and familiar culture behind to tell others about Christ, but have I truly sacrificed for God? Lately I have been reading some missionary biographies and autobiographies and am so convicted that my version of sacrifice comes nowhere near their sacrifices for God. I understand that the time and setting is different in most cases, but not the full service to the Savior. In an age of social media, abundant grocery stores, and coffee shops on every corner I have become accustomed to living quite comfortably because I can. Living comfortably is not wrong but it can produce some laziness and lack of zeal in me. 

Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret was recommended and lent to me by a friend, and I am so thankful she wanted me to read it. One of the things I learned, that I never knew, was that George Mueller helped financially support most, if not all, of the missionaries there in China under the China Inland Mission. I have always had such great respect and admiration for George Mueller, for his reliance on God, and his care for the children in his orphanage. The lessons learned from his faith when he literally had nothing inspired me. Then to add to that the knowledge that the money he could have rightfully used in his own “mission field” he send to others who were just as needy as he was. What a conviction! Of course, the life of Hudson Taylor and his wife are just as convicting. What I have gone through since arriving on the field in Scotland pales in comparison to what they dealt with while serving God. Mrs. Taylor died at 33, which is the age I am right now. Before her death she buried three children in China and sent the others to England for their education. I cannot imagine the grief and heartache to see her children die and her others leave her side never to see her again. And here I get worried when my finances are low enough to be unsure of whether I can pay my electric bill. 
We cannot compare ourselves to others, but at the same time I believe it’s wise to take from what we learn of other missionaries who have gone on before us and apply their experiences to our lives.

What of modern missionaries who have suffered?  I think of Martin and Gracia Burnham. Just ten or so years ago, they were captured by Islamic extremists and marched through a jungle for over a year at gun point, with death threatened on all sides. Martin didn’t make it out alive, but Gracia did.  Just this past year, a missionary husband tried to save some kids from drowning and in doing so, lost his life. His wife and family are still carrying on the work God has called them to. There was a missionary family here in Scotland who served faithfully for many years until the husband ended up with a brain tumor and ultimately went home to be with the Lord. Their children were all grown, but the wife is still faithfully serving where God has put her. There are many stories like these that have happened even in the last 10 years. So I have to ask myself, am I willing to truly sacrifice for God? My heart’s desire and longing is to say, "yes." I have so much to learn about trusting God and following him, and I am very thankful that other missionaries have such an amazing testimony that we can learn from and follow.  

My prayer and longing is that no matter what happens and no matter what God has asked of me that I will do it. Not in my strength, for I have none of myself. It scares me to even put this on paper, but I know that what I am doing now is my ‘reasonable service’ (Romans 12:1). With certainty we all deal with the knowledge that we lack any strength in and of ourselves. Ladies, especially those of us who are single, don’t let satan convince you that you are not worth it. Don’t let satan deceive you into thinking God has not called you! I pray that we all can say at the end of our lives, we followed God and served Him to the best of our ability even when it meant loss and sacrifice. In the end it’s worth it when souls are saved and we reach heaven to live with Him!

Guest post by Deana Hewston, missionary to Scotland

But I Liked That Pot!

Joanna Burdett and her husband are missionaries serving in Madagascar. Her last post on her blog really hit home with me, so I wanted to share it with you. (Please stop by her blog. The Burdetts are NEVER short on adventures!)

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This post is about a process, not a lesson learned and checked off the list.    The call of Jesus is to follow Him. Sure, sometimes that means  Sunday School and Sermons, village outreaches, health clinics that help hundreds of people or disaster relief during cyclone season.  Those are the more visible acts of following that look good in prayer letters.  Then there’s a normal day – choosing joy when the geckos nibbled most of the cinnamon rolls that were supposed to be for breakfast, smiling at the beggar who is not happy with the donation just given, praying for someone who takes advantage of you, dealing gracefully with people who steal from you, or speaking kindly to someone you’d rather pinch.  I don’t always follow that well. (yes, missionaries struggle too!)

There is a beggar in our town who is wheeled around by three different kids.  He has cerebral palsy, probably no education and has most likely begged his whole life.  He knows our truck and will wait by it until we come out from the market to give him money.  He also comes by the house for rice.   He has also asked for batteries and soccer cleats.   The other day he tracked me down in the road to ask for something more than rice.  His speech is slurred and I didn’t understand what he wanted.  Yesterday, Bobby called me to say the crippled guy wanted a pot because his was stolen.  That’s what he’d been trying to tell me!  Did I have a pot I could give him? Yes.  Did I want to give him that pot? No.  My first thought was “but I like all my pots!”  Then the Spirit rebuked me.  The guy didn’t have any pot and I was fretting over which one to release!  Even then, as I gave him the pot, the temptation was strong to mention how valuable a gift he was receiving. ( I can’t believe myself even as I write this!)

Sometimes we feel like we have given and given and can’t give any more.  If one more person asks us for something, we will scream.  Then Jesus asks us to give again.   Jesus said if any man would follow Him he was to deny himself, take up his cross and follow.  For me, yesterday, following meant giving up the luxury of four pots so that a crippled guy with cerebral palsy could have one.  Today, it means doing/being/saying whatever God asks of me today.  Tomorrow?  Well, let’s just say I’m so very grateful for new mercies every morning.  I have a feeling this will be a life-long lesson.  Hopefully, next time I will more quickly respond with a cheerful heart.

-- Joanna Burdett, Madagascar