A Grateful Heart to God for Those Who Cross Borders

The transformative power of the Gospel spread by missionaries.

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart," said 17th-century French preacher Jean-Baptiste Massillon. Without a doubt, I have many memories I treasure in my heart of events and people for which I am grateful.

I met Christ when I was almost 17 years old. I heard the gospel through a missionary couple, and I will always be grateful to them for that. They explained to me who Jesus was and how I could pass from death to life by believing in Him as my Savior. And I longed for that life!

Over the years, I had the opportunity to express my gratitude to them and say: “Thank you for leaving your country and coming to mine, for learning a new language, for learning about my culture and customs, for adapting to them, and for many other things! Thank you for having patience, much patience, and for persevering in teaching my family and me the Scriptures and showing us the gospel time and time again until we gave our lives to Jesus.”

I remember them fondly and they especially come to mind when I hear the beautiful song that says:

We are small flames, ignited because one day
they were brought to Your eternal light that gave us life
by a few who did not love their lives more than You.
Today we are here, and our torch shines. Today we are here. 

Lyrics from “Una Misma Visión” by Marcos Vidal (2002), Alabanza y Adoración En Vivo Desde España (translated from Spanish).

And that describes them exactly. They “did not love their lives more than You [Jesus].”

Honoring those who loved Christ more than their own lives

A few years ago, I wrote these missionaries to express my gratitude once more after hearing that song again; I felt like I needed to do this, especially because they were already retired. A few weeks after sending that letter, my "spiritual father" died.

Despite feelings of sadness and nostalgia, I thanked the Lord for this missionary's life and for prompting me to thank him once more before he departed to the heavenly home. I am so glad that I did not settle for saying "thank you" just once. I have learned that while we may always feel gratitude, we must look for multiple opportunities to express our gratitude in different ways.

Their legacy as missionaries continues to impact generations

Just like these missionaries who shared the gospel with me and my family, many other missionaries have left a profound mark on my life. Many of them taught, guided, and counseled me when I was single, when I got married, and later when I had my three children. I will always be very grateful to each of them. They continue to impact my life as I collaborate with some of them in ministry today.

Remembering all that God has done in my life through Avant missionaries fills my heart with gratitude and praise to the Lord. I desire that we, as believers impacted by missionaries in so many ways, can express to all those who shared the gospel with us the same thing the Apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians:

“We always thank God for all of you and continually have you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(1 Thessalonians 1:2-3)

Thank God for missionaries!

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