You've probably noticed by now that the title of this blog is "Taylors on Mission". It probably sounds a little odd without some background, so let me give it to you. Around April of 2009 I began reading Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. I bought the book a while back but never really got into it for whatever reason. So, I decided I would see if I was wasting my life, from the perspective of Piper. (Who I am a huge fan of, by the way.) As I was reading this book I could feel the Lord tugging on my heart in many different ways. (Another amazing book is Let the Nations be Glad) Piper tells many stories of missionaries, clergy, and other believers who took enormous leaps of faith in obedience to God. This led me to examine my own life and the allegiances I held and to whom I live for on a daily basis. I could honestly say as a believer in Christ that I didn't know. I received Christ when I was 7, and was raised in a Christian home. I don't feel like I ever departed from the faith, but I also never had asked myself the difficult questions like, "Is God calling me to leave my home, family, and comfort to share the Gospel with the unreached?" I had always assumed that God used extra strong, holy, and super Christians for the mission field.
Now that I had asked myself that question, and others, I could feel a small tug from the Lord that He was going to change something in the future. I'm still not 100% sure what that may be, but I do know that He has put a burden on my and Jennifer's heart for the lost throughout the world that was not there before. I began to realize how many unreached people groups there were in the world. (One great resource to find unreached people groups is www.joshuaproject.net) One thing I have learned is that God has a mission or plan for the nations. And that mission is that His Gospel will be proclaimed throughout the world. I started to take the Great Commission from Matt. 28 seriously for the first time in my life. I asked myself, "am I making disciples?". Also, please don't think I am under some impression that one must go overseas to make disciples. Acts 1:8 dispels that thought when Jesus says you will be my witnesses in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. That means we do that here in our city, across the region, and throughout the nations.
Jennifer and I feel that God is telling us to go to the nations!
Now, how in the world is this going to happen? That was our first question too. How can we just pick up and go? Well, through much prayer and counsel, we have decided, for now at least, that we are going to pursue overseas opportunities with Mission Aviation Fellowship, or MAF. (www.maf.org) MAF has been a leader on the missionary front reaching unreached people groups since World War Two. We feel that with the skills God has given me as a pilot could be used to reach the lost for Christ. So, obviously this would require me to quit my current job at Pinnacle Airlines. Not only that, but to better equip me on the field, I will also be returning to school for 2 years to obtain my aircraft mechanic certification. What this will enable me to do is keep the airplanes flying once I'm over there. Almost all MAF pilots perform routine maintenance on the airplanes, which helps airplanes stay in service to continue ministry. The school we are looking into now is only 10 minutes from our home here in Olive Branch, MS. The plan for now would be to start sometime in August which would have me graduating in May of 2012.
The scariest aspect of all of this right now is raising support. Having said that, we know God is faithful and will equip us with what we need to move forward. (Matt. 6:33) Since I will have to quit my job, naturally this means we will not have any source of steady income. We are asking family, friends, church community, and you to partner with us. Most importantly, we need your prayers. We would also like to ask you to pray about supporting us financially. We have not crunched the numbers yet, but will have an idea of what our needs will be several months from now after I apply to the school and have been accepted. This is definitely a leap of faith for us and is not natural for us either. We are used to being self sufficient, earning a paycheck, paying for food, clothing, and housing. All this goes away in a couple of months! But, I am reminded of what Paul says in Phil 3. "For whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss for the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as RUBBISH, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him." WOW!! This verse has meant so much to me over the last 6 months because I know that whatever could be considered gain, (money, security, health, comfort, etc.) is dung! - that's what the literal translation says anyway.
It can sound glamourous at times of being a missionary, living abroad, etc. But, when the rubber meets the road and we land wherever God is calling us, it's going to be HARD! We are excited about what God will do and where He will lead us, but we are also aware that we will face trials and possible persecution. We will be ready to face them as God prepares and equips us during the next few years. Sorry for such a long post, but Jennifer and I want everyone we know to be a part of this with us! We definitely can't do it alone. While we continue to fast, pray, and labor over this decision, will you pray with us? We look forward to sharing more with you in the near future. To God be the glory!
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