About halfway through our five-year journey of preparing for the mission field and raising the support we needed to get there, I remember feeling like, “This will never end.”
I just wanted to get to Chile to begin the ministry we had been praying and dreaming about for so long. I was so sick of my husband working full time, homeschooling, mowing the lawn, doing laundry, packing, and unpacking. Then each and every Sunday we worshiped somewhere unfamiliar, only to hear my husband’s sermon again. I was tired and I felt like I could barely see the light at the end of our tunnel. Our dream of the mission field didn’t seem to be getting any closer. And then I read a book in my devotional time that talked about where the light at the end of my tunnel really was: with God. God showed me that the light at the end wasn’t Chile or any other destination here on earth; He is the light and the true destination is to be with Him in Heaven.
Ever since that day — and long after we finally left for the mission field — God has used that revelation over and over to refocus me on His light at the end of our tunnel. It hasn’t been easy. Many times our tunnel has been dark and challenging. In our first five years overseas, our family confronted a potentially fatal illness, an earthquake, adopting twin girls, assisting two different churches, moving five times, and my husband falling through a roof. Each time I was reminded of our need to refocus ourselves on God’s light.
During the 8.8 earthquake of
2010, we lost basic utilities that are often taken for granted, and my
husband Doug and I struggled with how best to care of our family while
also wanting to minister to Chileans during this tragedy. God gave us
the wisdom and peace to wait, and when Doug finally went to help in the
earthquake torn areas, he was given the amazing opportunities to witness
to many. Then when Doug fe ll more than 25 feet headfirst through the
roof at our Christian school onto a cement floor, I was confronted with
whether or not I could live without him. But God showed Himself mighty
through the love of our teammates and Chileans who came alongside us.
Later, in our second term, we faced different challenges caused by the
sudden departure of a teammate, and God showed us the importance of
never wavering from His light.
While each challenge had its
own unique circumstances and lessons, God’s overwhelming lesson has
always been clear: “Daughter, do you see My light? Keep going, and trust
me. Don’t turn back or try to find a new tunnel, just focus on My light
and be faithful.”
Recently, God has brought us back to ministry in the United States. While some people thought we were abandoning the path God had laid out for us, we knew this to be God’s will for our lives. While each tunnel has twists, turns, trials, and challenges, the end goal is, and always will be, Heaven. Although each obstacle we face as missionaries and in life can look complex and confusing, they bring His light back into focus. If you look for it, I know that you, too, will find that His light is always there to guide us and encourage us forward.
Where is the light you focus on? Is it His light?
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33
About the Author - Heather Admundson
Heather and Doug Admundson served as ABWE missionaries to Chile for seven years before moving to serve at the Home Office in 2016.