As a young girl, I thought a good Christian passed out Gospel tracts and that was how he or she planted seeds of the Lord. But I have thought about it a lot since, and do not believe in just passing out tracts. It is not wrong to pass them out, but I believe you are a Gospel tract, and the only one most people will take time to read.

We have a cousin who went to Turkey and passed out many tracts with some friends. They were arrested and held for a couple hours, then were told to leave Turkey and never come back. As their plane left and was in the air, an earthquake hit, and destroyed not only the prison they had been in, but also many other places. Hundreds were killed. This same cousin is now in Asia, where he and his wife cannot hand out tracts – instead, they themselves are the tracts.

I read a great biography about a missionary couple to Peru, Jim and Roni Bowers. If ever there was a woman missionary who I much admire and hope to be like, Roni Bowers is that woman. She was a true, living, walking Gospel tract. She lived a life that blessed the people she worked with. They liked what they saw. The Peruvian men told their wives to be like her—to find out what made her different.

There are people who know something is different about you, but they don't know why—so they get closer to you in hopes of finding out. And then there are those who know exactly what makes you different, and they make a comment.

This happened to me when I was in Walmart a few months ago. A woman standing behind me in line read my very silly necklace ("Born to be wild") and said, "You don't look wild to me." I told her my friends think I have a bit of a "wild" personality. Our conversation turned eventually to Christianity. I told her, after her comment about partying, that I was a Christian. She said, so matter-of-factly, "I know." She said it was written all over me.

Have you ever thought of your home as a mission field? For the longest time I argued against that. But I heard it over and over again and have finally come to believe it. You minister to those who look up to you. I have so many who look up to me. Even if you aren't feeling well, those who watch you every day are blessed when you don't bite heads off or have a cranky or crabby attitude.

It is a huge blessing to have young girls that want to be like me when they grow up. I always ask them why, and they say, "You're funny. You're sweet and always happy." Hopefully they know why I'm smiling and joyful.

Wherever you are, that is your mission field. Be a living Gospel tract!

Look On The Fields Ready For Harvest
"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest?
behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields;
for they are white already to harvest."
~John 4:35~

What is your first thought when you think of the "fields"?

The unsaved in your church?
Your unsaved relatives and friends?
Those in your neighborhood/town/city?
Those who have never heard Jesus' name in foreign countries?
Or maybe those who have heard His name (in foreign countries) but have not yet received Him.

You could be the messenger proclaiming Christ to those! God could open their hearts to hear the message of truth when you speak. The unsaved are all around us. Truly not just in foreign mission fields (as we all know), but also right next door! It does not matter what country: God loves and wants everyone to come unto Him. A soul saved and living for Christ in America is just as valuable as one in Russia, or Africa or Asia.

Are you living in comfort in a great part of the country, with your needs are daily met? Do not think that because everything is going well for you and those around you that there is no need for this message. Do not think that because you cannot go overseas or as a missionary that your work is any less. You can bring the message to others whose need is just as great!

Are you a missionary serving in a foreign country? Great! There are many needy bodies and souls in other countries who are waiting for the Gospel message and who long to hear of the hope of heaven. Maybe you are longing to go and do foreign mission work but cannot at this time live that out. Then use this time you have here where you are living as "practice" for sharing the Good News. If God has called you to minister out of the country, then I want to encourage you. I know it takes a lot of strength and faith to leave familiar faces and territory and then step out into the unknown.

I once read a story which illustrated what some people in a poor country thought of us here in America. Did you know that these people viewed us as poor? Not materially poor, but spiritually poor. In a country where we have nearly everything we could want or imagine, we have taken it for granted. We have forgotten Who has blessed us. We have forgotten the Biblical principles this nation was founded on. We have become selfish, forgetting other's needs. In a country where there is less and people have to work harder, the people usually work together better. They must depend on each other to survive. I'm not advertising the life in other countries as a quality way of life -- but in comparison their lives are founded on deeper values than ours in America often are.

Yes, there are so many lost souls here in America! There are even many people who profess to be Christians but have not sought the Truth and have not given their lives to Christ. They may even be attending a church and yet still be "lost." I personally know that surrender is one of those things vital to growth in Christ but it does not come easy. When I became a Christian, I first thought that all I had to do was believe and read my Bible and "be good," so to speak. It took me a long time before I finally surrendered my whole life to Him. It takes much more than belief on my part but rather repenting and a continual coming to the Cross over and over again.

I think one of the most important things we miss as Christians is the need for the message of truth and of salvation here right where we are. Jim Elliot's famous quote says, "Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." Let us strive to be a daily witness to others and share the Gospel message where ever we are at this moment.You can be a witness to others simply in how you live your life. Remember, others are watching!