We Are All Missionaries | Missions Blog
We Are All Missionaries
Hello there! My name is Carolyn Shields.
I am the eldest daughter of James and Stacey Shields, missionaries to Alaska. Pretty soon, we will have been living up here for a whole year. We moved up here from Round Rock, Texas. Prior to this move, the biggest distance we’d ever put between our old homes were a few towns. As you can imagine, moving from Texas to Alaska is a pretty big leap, and was one of our most difficult moves.
Alaska is a beautiful place, especially in autumn. The birch leaves turn a lovely shade of orange and yellow, and the sky is clear as crystal! Even on the days where the sky is cloudy and grey, it’s still such a pretty place. I will be honest, though, moving here during the wintertime was both the best and the worst decision, in my book. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but when Alaska winter rolls around, it takes the sun with it. So, during our first several months of living here, it was dark all the time. Now, coming from Texas, where the sun never stops shining, this was a new experience for me. And quite a depressing one, I might add. Moving is always hard. Always has been, always will be. And it was with God’s help every single time that my siblings and I adjusted as smoothly as we did.
Around March of this year, my family and I made a few friends. Any time you move, finding good friends is a difficult task, and though it may take a while and seem impossible, it really is just a pass-ing trial. In time, God will show you to the right people. No matter where it is in the world that God takes you, family is a blessing, but friends are a special kind of blessing. These people that we met? They really were a Godsend. They’ve shown themselves to be true friends.
I am all for the mission work we were sent to do up here. I admire my parents’ desire to help the people of Alaska, but I feel God has been narrowing my min-istry focus. Until recently, I had never known how to tell if God was placing something on my heart. About a month ago, my siblings and I went with our friends to an event called Fusion. This event feels a little like Missionary Training Ministry, except they hold Christian concerts,and the lessons are built more for teens and young adults. Around this time, I was struggling the most I ever had since the move, but Fusion was an eye-opening experience for me. It helped me to remember how amazing God really is, and how blessed I am to be called His child. While attending the event, a few of us opened up about things we were struggling with, and ever since, we’ve all been trying to be more honest with each other. We are being more observant, checking on each other when one of us seems down.
I have learned that as Christians, we are all called to be missionaries. Maybe not official, church sent missionaries, but every day, as we live out our lives, we are to be ministering to the people in our lives. For some, this may look like showing kindness and patience to the waitress, or loving on your little brother when he’s feeling down, or standing up for the kid getting bullied. Right now, I’m ministering to my group of friends. I am sitting with them as they cry into my shoulder. I am giving them the care and affection some of them are not getting in their own homes. I am praying for their growth in Christ.
Sometimes our ministry up here feels like we are trying to minister to all of Alaska. However, those to whom we give the most time and with whom we choose to go the extra mile are the people whose lives are touched the most.
I have been searching for God’s calling over the years. I’ve always wanted to have the heart of a missionary, to have the heart my parents have, but I have found my current calling. It’s not the most specific, but it is a calling all the same. I am to love and care for those who are hurt and broken. I am to show that I will be there for them, to be the example I, as a Christian, need to set. Since God is unconditional love, I need to live that out. That’s what I am striving to do.
Being a missionary is really hard. Because we go wherever God sends us, we have had to move a lot. That means goodbyes have been pretty frequent. You see friends come and friends go, and you never know what the next calling will bring. I feel that God allows us, as missionaries, to live a life full of uncertainties so that all we are left to do is trust His plan, and to let Him lead us.
I love seeing the way God pieces things together. It’s like our life is all one giant puzzle, and each obstacle or accomplishment is one step closer to completing the picture. Ever since God first placed it on our hearts to minister to Alaska, I’ve started journaling. I find it’s the best way to look back on all that God has done. It’s truly amazing to see how He has been working in and around me.
The thing that I love about being a missionary is just how close you become with your family. Sure, we don’t always get along, but that’s every family for you, and we’re all human. We all make mistakes. However, this closeness we have is as rare as a purple moon. You won’t find it anywhere else.
To be quite frank, I have personally been struggling a lot as of late. I am eighteen years old and only just now trying to figure things out while trying to become my own person. I am trying to graduate school, to look for a job, and on top of all this, I’m trying to keep a good routine of quiet time with God in the mornings. I’m not the best at juggling things, especially now, when the futureholds so many questions. Honestly, I have not been communicating with my parents as I should. That seems to be taking its toll and has made living peacefully as a family difficult. I’m praying for God’s guidance and strength, and trust everything will smooth out.
He has done so much up here in Alaska already, big and little. I look forward
to what He does next for us.
Carolyn Shields
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