Today, we have the pleasure of hearing from Allison. Allison and her husband, J. currently live overseas in Central Asia. Get ready to be convicted by the true words that Allison shares with us today.
Before we moved overseas, J and I had both counted the cost and knew that Christ and His glory were unbelievably more valuable than everything we were leaving behind in America. We decided that sharing the truth of Christ, the Son of God was more important than raising our own son at home (even though at the time his existence was only hypothetical). We decided that seeing people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation join the family of God was more important than being able to spend weekends with our own family. We decided that we would move to a country where we would speak like a child for years so that people here could have the chance to come to the Father with the faith of a child. We knew what we were giving up to come here and we were totally willing to make the sacrifice.
Fast forward…1 year, 11 months and 15 days to our second Christmas in a foreign country. As I make my 6th batch of cookies for yet another party that I would rather not go to where I will have to force myself not to be a wallflower, I'm sulking and complaining to myself about how silly these things are. Why are we having another Christmas gathering for the local believers? Why do we have to provide the food every time? Why can't they just leave Christmas alone and let us celebrate with the other Americans? Don't they know this is our holiday?
But, as I throw myself a pity party and cry over burnt cookies, I realized that, while I had "counted the cost" and was willing to give up a lot of things, I was still holding so much back. I laid down a lot of things before the Lord, yes, but I was holding back more than I realized. I was willing to spend my life here to share the Truth with these people, as long as I could still keep certain days to myself. But that's not what we were called to.
His Spirit gently reminded me why we came here. He spoke to me and helped me remember how much more He gave up to come to this foreign earth and leave His heavenly home behind. How much He sacrificed to live as man, perfectly, and die in my place… and in the place of my friends here. For His glory, He came as a baby. For His glory, He lived 33 years on this earth. For His glory, He carried His cross up the hill and died. For His glory, He rose and defeated sin and death. For His glory, He ascended to heaven and is sitting at God's right hand. For His glory, He will return.
And when He does return, the judgment will be real. Those who do not pick up their cross and follow Him will spend eternity separated from Him. But those who do will be with him forever, praising Him in a place with no more sin and sadness. We came to this country so that these people may have the chance to know Him and choose to follow Him. We didn't come here to transplant our American life to another place. We came here to "become all things to all people, that by all means [we] might save some." That doesn't mean just sacrificing the things we were willing to give up, that means sacrificing everything so that He might be glorified in every nation.
Allison and her husband were both part of the International Church Planting program at SEBTS. They moved to Central Asia in early 2011, where she spends her days playing with her baby boy and trying to learn the local language. Which basically means, she spends most of her time speaking like a 2 year old. Catch up with Allison on their family blog, www.29stwaterfall.wordpress.com. 
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