More Than A Cliche

God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called

This saying has resonated in my mind many times since my wife and I first arrived here in West Africa. As our plane touched down on May 1, 2019, we were overcome with a wide range of emotions such as “What are we getting into” and “God, are you sure you want us here?” But there were also emotions of excitement and joy because we had not seen our African friends in almost 2 years. So you can imagine the mixed emotions we were feeling after saying goodbye to our home and family back in Canada and saying hello to our new home and friends in West Africa…all in one day!

Our life for the past 2 years

We began our deputation travels in the summer of 2017 only 4 months after saying “I do” to each other. That’s right, we were married on March 25th, 2017 and began raising our support to be missionaries in West Africa only 4 months after our wedding. I would not recommend that path for everyone, but for us, we were confident that it was God’s leading. The “deputation ministry”, or sometimes known as the “pre-field ministry” is a time of passionately communicating to churches across North America of the spiritual need of the country where God has called you. It was a joy to share the burden that God placed on our heart to go to that country to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Deputation is a time of raising financial support to live and minister where God has called you as well as a time to build a prayer army that will intercede in prayer for the missionary and his ministry. That said, it is also a time to learn, to grow, and to serve…all of which help prepare you for the missions ministry that lies ahead. The experience that my wife and I gained while on deputation helped to prepare us for not only ministering on the field but also simply staying alive on the field. While on deputation we mostly slept in comfortable beds but, occasionally, had to endure some uncomfortable situations. We sampled some interesting foods as well as some delicious ones and met thousands of people along the way, many of whom we had never met before. I must say that living here isn’t much different than deputation. Sure, there are definite changes to life but some things haven’t really changed. Despite finally being able to sleep in the same bed every night, we still occasionally eat strange foods and greet people daily that we have never met before.

However, there are things that God taught us while on deputation that are different than the things God has been teaching us since arriving on the field. We have learned that God doesn’t always call people who are already equipped, trained, or experienced missionaries. Rather, He calls the individual to the specific area of service and then begins the process of equipping him or her for that area of ministry. There are many examples of this in Scripture but one that comes to my mind is in Matthew 4 where Jesus calls His disciples to follow Him. Many of Jesus’ first disciples were fishermen. They were skilled fishermen who had never heard teachings as Jesus taught. In many ways, they were unequipped before God called them.

We are very much the same. My wife and I both attended solid Bible preaching Christian colleges and spent several months in West Africa as short term missionaries. Despite this fact, we were unequipped and inexperienced when it came to the calling that God had placed on our hearts. But that is exactly where God wants us. He wants us in the place where we can be taught, molded, and equipped for the ministry ahead. And our Lord did just that with His own disciples during his earthly ministry.

God is in Control.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:9

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Among the many things that deputation taught us, one clear lesson we have learned is that God is in complete control and that our steps are providentially directed by the Lord. If you have ever planned a long-distance trip, you can relate to the stress of preparing for it. Doing that for nearly 2 years, week after week is quite the task! We have laughed many times at the thought of whether deputation is one long honeymoon or whether it is one long boot camp! Its probably little bit of both regardless of how long you have been married. The long days and weeks of traveling can teach you this truth that God is ultimately in control by realizing that our plans change and that we are dependent on God for daily protection and provision.

Before we started traveling on deputation, I spent many hours over two-month span scheduling meetings while also trying to plan for the logistics of our travel, lodging, and food. Our desire was to balance staying busy with meetings each month but also not overextending ourselves above what we can physically, emotionally, and spiritually handle. For missionaries on deputation, this is the balance of life and ministry that is constantly on our minds. However, you soon learn that God is in control of the details of the deputation ministry and what we must do is trust God to provide and protect for each step along the way. This lesson also translates to living on the mission field…but to a greater degree! What my wife and I have been learning since arriving here on the field is that literally, nothing is in our control…especially in West Africa. As foreigners, we are looked at as outsiders to the culture and language which gives us quite the learning curve when it comes to accomplishing most anything here. Waiting in long lines (or “queue” as they call it here) is something you have to get used to for most everything. For example, what would take you one hour to do in the States or Canada can sometimes take all day to accomplish here. In North America, we are multitaskers priding ourselves in efficiency and can often accomplish many things in one day, but that is not typically the way things are here. It seems as though if you can accomplish one item on your agenda for the day then your day was a success.

God’s Work Done God’s Way

But on a more spiritual level, deputation helped strengthen our walk with God by preparing us for the challenges of living and ministering in a predominately Muslim third world culture. Spiritual, physical, and emotional challenges seem much more difficult to adjust to here especially since all we have ever known comes from a North American context and way of life. Therefore, we could summarize it by saying there is much to learn, not only in how to properly present the Gospel to The Gambians but also simply living and getting around within this country. These challenges are not foreign to veteran missionaries. They are what most every missionary experiences and has to learn in preparation for ministry in their country. 

Step by Step You Lead Me

Our steps are directed by the Lord. The Bible says in Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” As I have already said, our lives are in complete control by God. This should be a comforting thought to us to know that God understands our every need and thought before we ever take the first step to follow or serve the Lord. Yet many times we think or act as though we know better than God and that our life will turn out best if we are in control. However, we know that our plans done our way will never turn out better than when God has complete control of our hearts and minds. Before God called my wife and me into missions we were just your average faithful church member. We both worked in careers after college for several years: my wife at a Veterinary clinic and myself with a family construction company. We thought we would work in those careers for the rest of our lives. But that was not at all what God’s plan was for our lives. Our steps were ordered by the Lord.

As God has now led us to our mission field we look back on just a few years ago and would never have planned or thought our lives would look like it does now. But we are happy to say we would never want it any different because God’s ways are always best. His steps are always straight and true and His Word never fails. God has provided for our every need and although we have experienced trials, difficulties, and learning curves along the way, Psalm 27:13-14 reminds us to “wait” and “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”. I am thankful for the promises in Scripture that my Lord is in control and that He directs our steps because without Him we can do nothing. As we look forward to seeing souls saved here, planting churches, and training nationals we know that God has led us here for one purpose, and that is to sow the seed of the Gospel. This is His work and His people, and we are thrilled to be a part of sowing the Gospel seed here and pray that God would send forth more laborers into the uttermost. 

~Daniel Jenkins Missionary to The Gambia, West Africa