Missions on My Heart

God put missions on my heart when I was in 1st grade!

Yes, really!

Our teacher went around the room asking each child what they wanted to be when they grew up. I was one of the last ones. Most said things like teacher, nurse, doctor, fireman, etc. What came out of my mouth surprised even me. 

"I want to be a missionary."

Where in the world did that come from?! It surprised me as much as it surprised anyone. I had never met a missionary in my life and I had no idea what a missionary did. I did have the vague idea that missionaries preached "the gospel." But I certainly had no idea what that meant.

As I grew older, I remembered thinking that I couldn't be a missionary because I didn't know what the gospel was, nor did I have a clue about how to find out. So I contemplated joining the Peace Corps instead.

But college was first.

I was given the amazing gift of a scholarship to attend the University of Wisconsin in Madison and with a little bit of work on the side and during summers, I was able to graduate debt-free!

But what happened during my freshman year in college was so significant that it changed the course of my life.

I was living in a small dorm and during my 1st semester there, another student started a Bible study. About 6 of us attended. I attended because in spite of having gone to church all my life, I had never been to a Bible study. I had decided that I would try new things while in college and this was definitely a new thing.

I was fascinated by what I learned. For the first time, I began to understand what "the gospel" was. 

To be continued...

Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear your comments.

Sharon Reece

P.S. My husband and I are writing this blog together to make it easier to get our book written. Feedback would be wonderful.


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