As part of an upcoming project, a few of us have been reading testimonies and stories from the IMM archives. I stumbled upon from one Jerry Gibson that particularly caught my attention:
“Recently, we visited one of our ministry partners in Istanbul, Turkey. We met a young producer, Damaris, who told us her story. She had been hired to help run a Christian satellite broadcast ministry focused on a nation of 72 million people. It was her chance to break into the TV business. She began her career at the age of 25, single, well educated, and a Muslim.
Damaris wanted a job in media and she didn’t care who it was with! Over the course of the next two years she couldn’t help but watch programs like “People who Met Jesus.” She heard of the testimonies of lives being changed by Jesus. The emptiness she felt in her own life was set in contrast to what she observed from those around her who seemed filled with joy. Gwen and I listened as tears flowed down her face and she spoke of how Christ had changed her life. She declared to us, “Now I have more than a job; I have a ministry!” In a country where there are only about 4000 known followers of Jesus Christ, together, Damaris, IMM and NHC are telling the story that changes lives.”
Wow. That story still excites me after reading it three or four times. I relate to Damaris so much! We are the same age and both work in media. No, I didn’t come to Jesus through my media job, but in the same way as Damaris, I have seen how my plans pale in comparison to God’s.
When I set out to join IMM, I knew there was a long road ahead of me: support raising, a visa application, the logistics of packing up my life and moving across an ocean - the list goes on. I remember even wanting to prepare myself mentally. One missionary had told me that their first year on the field, they were cleaning toilets instead of preaching to the masses so on more than one occasion, I told myself, “Becky, if you get to Spain and you’re cleaning toilets, don’t complain. You’re going there to serve.”
Looking back on it, I was preparing as though I was going to boot camp. My plan was to take whatever discomfort came my way in the name of spreading the gospel and then pat myself on the back if I “survived.” Between culture shock and the pandemic, there has certainly been discomfort, and I still do remind myself that it’s all worth it if someone hears about Jesus. But time and time again, God has shown me that He had much different plans for my time here all along.
I thought I would be cleaning toilets and giving myself a gold star for humility while I watched other people make movies about Jesus. Instead I got a pandemic-instigated four-month quarantine in a small quiet space where God began to disentangle and heal parts of my heart that I didn’t know were hurting. And at the same time, I’ve gotten my hands dirty working on several projects in several roles, often feeling unqualified, learning innumerable things along the way; I’ve been a part of the team as we’ve launched programs into North Africa and the Middle East and begun dreaming about a new project; I’ve seen my heart for missions grow as God challenges me not just to love an “unreached people group” on the other side of the globe, but to love people who think, talk, and act differently than I do even if I have to think, talk, and walk in close proximity to them; and I’m very grateful to say that I have not had to clean one toilet (well, mine at home, but you know…)
How great is God that He can use any circumstance, desire, or background for good? Damaris stepped into her career with a Christian production studio as a means to break into the media industry, but God had other plans for her endeavors. I came to Spain just wanting to endure, but instead God tenderly opened my heart up to love the people we’re ministering to even more. No matter where we find ourselves today, when we submit our plans to Him, the Lord - without fail - makes something greater than we could have done in our own power!
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” - Proverbs 16:9