I truly can’t thank Mark and Lori enough for all that they taught me during the time I was in Brazil. Both what I saw in Brazil and what the Lord taught me through their lives has left a permanent impression on my heart.

Christ told His disciples, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all.” I’ve never had any trouble believing that this commission applies to the Lord’s work in foreign countries. Clearly, when the Lord Jesus said, “the world,” He was talking about the far-flung corners of the planet. But what about the United States of America? What about my own state, or better yet, my own town? It’s clear that this commission applies to missionaries, the “Lord’s workers,” as we call them. But what about me? Does God also expect this of me? It took a trip to one of those distant countries (Brazil) for me to realize that this commission is just as valid for an everyday Christian in the United States of America.

I’ll never forget my first trip as a believer, to Brazil. Never before have I encountered a people so obviously in need of the gospel. The people of that country are addicted, abused, battered, and starving–everything about them cries out for the liberating message of Jesus Christ. I’ll never forget the thrill of putting God’s word into their hands. I felt like shouting, “Here is a message that can set your soul free!” The joy of sharing the gospel with lost souls was indelibly fixed upon my heart on that trip. The stark condition of the people in Brazil was a dramatic backdrop on which God demonstrated to me the power of His gospel. I was impressed at its power to radically transform lives when I met several guys in the rehab whom I had met a year ago on the streets. They had professed to be saved and the difference between who they were now and who they had been on the streets was truly astounding.

When I returned home, it was with a new, keen awareness that every person I encounter is a soul, a soul that God loves and desperately desires to save. God began burdening my heart for my community. I began to pray that God would use me to reach out to those around me. I had no “expertise” in spreading the gospel and, having been saved later in life, I had limited knowledge of the scriptures. I’ve never been particularly gifted or courageous. But, there was a truth in which I firmly believed: God wants the gospel of His Son to be spread and if I make myself available He can and will use me. As I was recently reminded at a missionary conference, didn’t Christ say to His disciples, “I will make you fishers of men.”

But how to spread the gospel? It is to my shame that I was completely at a loss as to how to reach out to those around me with the good news. My mother (equally burdened) and I began praying for wisdom. We had no clue. We asked other Christians and searched the scriptures to try to find the answer: how can we be missionaries here, in and around the town in which we live? Certainly souls all around the world are in need of the gospel. But how often we forget that “the world” includes the United States as well. I remembered Mark and Lori giving tracts to each person they encountered in their day (cashiers, gas attendants, waiters, etc.). It was with much fear and trepidation that I began to do so at home; how worth it to know that each soul was receiving the Words of Life!

God began to show us different ways that He could use us to reach others with the gospel. We were (and in many ways still are) bumbling idiots. But we were available. And God used us. Let’s make sure we get the emphasis right: it’s not that God used us, it’s that God used us. God has also been working in the lives of other believers in our assembly and, with them, we have seen the Lord open up various opportunities for the gospel. God has taught us how absolutely desperate our fellow Americans are for the gospel. They always have been, I suppose, but I wasn’t paying attention. Some of the people God has brought into our lives have stories that are reminiscent of Brazil: the Muslim woman who fled Guinea to escape her abusive husband, the divorced mother who came to our town to flee her legalistic family and alcoholism, and the woman who is on dialysis because cancer took out her kidneys. Others lead more “normal” lives, but the need for their souls to be saved is still there.

I’ll never forget Lori reminding me of this simple truth: “God is God. I am not God.” What a relief. I remember her telling me how God wants us to be weak and helpless so that He can work through us. If we have no strength of our own, God gets all the glory! It’s really all about Him: it begins with Him, is empowered through Him, and is finished by Him. It’s His work. God gave us a burden for the souls around us and we made ourselves available. That’s all we did. It has involved sacrifice, but isn’t it worth it if even one soul is saved? In one year, God has opened several homes in our town. An ESL class is now being held weekly at our hall. A summer Bible camp was held at our home this summer and our assembly is praying about gospel meetings in our town in the fall. God is working. I pray that one day He will establish an assembly here. He is more than able.

In 1 Timothy 2, Paul says (of God), “He wants not only us, but everyone saved… everyone to get to know the truth we’ve learned: that there’s one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free.” Christ has died for us. The Almighty Creator has shed His blood that we might be reconciled to Him, that we might become His children. What incredible news! Who are we not to share this with others? Are we not obligated, like Paul was (Romans 1:15), to share the good news with those around us?

In 2 Corinthians 5:15, Paul says of Christ, “He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” Every soul has an eternal destination: heaven or hell. God wants every single one to be saved, those in Brazil and those in the United States of America. Can I challenge you to begin praying for your community and to begin asking God how He can use you to share the gospel with others? It doesn’t matter if you aren’t an expert. It doesn’t matter if you are afraid. As long as you are available, as long as you are willing, and as long as you are ready to obey, God can use you. Don’t believe people when they tell you that Americans don’t want the gospel. Is God not able to break down even the greatest barrier? Look at the work that is being done in Brazil and ask God to show you how you can “do this at home.”