Kelly Phillips, Pacific Region President, November 2010

As I write this, I am sitting in the Hyatt Regency in Dallas.  I’M AT CONFERENCE!!!  And it is so completely amazing!  If you were not one of the fortunate 1,334 precious women of God who were blessed to attend conference, then please allow me to share a little bit with you.  God is awesome!  God is great!  He alone is worthy of our praise!  And He has a plan for YOUR life!

I came to conference especially anxious to hear God speak to me because I’m in a season of discouragement right now.  I want to give up.  Everywhere I turn, there are hard things.  Our speaker, Priscilla Shirer, spoke last night and expounded on Genesis 28:10-17.  (You should probably stop and read that now!)  She explained that like Jacob, sometimes when we get to the hard places in life, we are tempted to look at the stones around us and just go to sleep.  That is truly what I have wanted to do.  I have been tempted to sleep walk through this season of my life; to be physically present but mentally and emotionally “checked out.”  Have you ever done that?

As Priscilla spoke last night, she explained that “there’s good stuff in the hard stuff.”  She explained that in the Hebrew text, “certain places” are sacred places.  They are places that God has been before.  And they are places where we grow the most.  They are the places that God brings us to so that we can become more like Him.  “Certain places” are the places where we receive the biggest blessings.  When she stated that, it was like a fog lifted.  This entire conference has been such an encouragement to my weary self.

If, like me, you are in a hard place, a place where you would just like to move on to the next thing, can I encourage you to STOP!  Don’t miss the blessing!  God has brought you to this place, at this time, for this season – for HIS purposes.  You are a one of a kind masterpiece and He is working on you!  God has a purpose for whatever it is that you are going through.  I know it is difficult now, but as James said in James 1: 2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  I know that I want to “lack nothing.”  How about you?

My family recently traveled to the tropical and very hot Kingdom of Cambodia. It is a third world country stricken with poverty; not only physical, but spiritual too. I was disheartened by the many Buddhist temples and shrines that lined the main roads and were scattered across the county side. My heart felt joy when I identified a small number of churches that displayed a cross above the building; a visible symbol to me and a remnant of HOPE that TRUTH was being proclaimed in this land. There are people who heard the call to missions in this country. A mission is defined as an assignment, task, job, work, charge, undertaking, duty, or operation. “Missions” is the Great Commission that Jesus calls us to fulfill in the book of Acts and the four Gospels.

When I was a young teenager, I felt in my heart God called me to the mission field. However, I didn’t surrender to the call to go into foreign missions and went my own way. I pursued a college degree and upon graduation, married an Airman from my home town. Even though I didn’t step out in faith and obedience when I was young, God had His way of accomplishing His purpose and plan in my life. God foreknew I would marry an Airman who would take me all over the United States and the world. I have had wonderful opportunities to be a missionary in several states and live abroad in predominantly Islamic and Buddhist countries. God is amazing!! Only He could have orchestrated the plans He had for me. I am so thankful for the opportunity to serve my God, husband, children, country and church in the wonderful places He has sent me and will send me.

God has a purpose and plan for each of our lives. It is His plan for us to share the gospel; not only in word, but in actions too. There are many people with physical and spiritual needs. Jesus did not come only to save the lost from their sins; but He fed the hungry, cast out demons, healed the sick, and even raised the dead. That is the power of God! He told the disciples that anyone with faith could do greater things if they ask in His Name. (John 14:11-13). The Holy Spirit will give you boldness and endue you with power to witness and minister to a lost world. He will be the light shining through you in a dark world. Where has God placed you? Are you sharing the gospel and fulfilling the mission that God has planned for you? Are you a living testimony of His salvation and are you demonstrating His love and power in your actions? It is His plan for you to be where you are right now and to use you. Listen to His voice and allow Him to guide your footsteps. Surrender your ‘will’ and step out in faith and obedience to serve Him wholeheartedly. Don’t limit the power of God. Trust in Him and not in your own ability or the gifts of others. God calls us to live by faith, not by sight. Love, minister and proclaim the gospel of HOPE and TRUTH to the people He has placed in your home, neighborhood, school, workplace, and church. If your husband has a military “mission” in a foreign country, take the opportunity to reach beyond the gates of the base. The mission field is all around you. Have you heard and surrendered to The Call to Missions?

What you can do:
* Share the Gospel
* Live the Gospel
* Support missions with tithes and offerings
* Pray for missionaries around the world
* Pray for salvation of the lost

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Psalm 33:11

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

John 14:11-13

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