My energy is gone. People want me to stop calling them. That makes two of us."
-My Journal Entry
Every day I make a not so long walk passed the cafe, the auditorium, and the ATF call center. I walk into Mission Control, passed the MOB, and up the stairs. I walk past 20 cubicles until I get to the one on the right at the end of the row. Mine. I know my spinny chair well. I sit in this chair, at this computer, with this headset, for 27 hours every week. I call teenagers, young adults, tweens, and sometimes parents around the continent monday-friday and give them an opportunity to reach their generation with the Gospel, to experience Jesus Christ in a way they never thought possible, to live for something bigger than themselves, to see lives changed by the love of God. I work in Global Expeditions as a Recruitment Representative. Now, my job, in essence, is awesome. But there are some ever changing factors that make it a bit...frustrating.
For example, when someone hangs up on you It's a general rule that we have to call them back and pretend that it was a 'bad connection' (which sometimes it actually is):
"Hey! This is Janelle with Global Expeditions, we were just on the phone, I called back because our call dropped."
"I know. Can you like, not do that?"
"I'm sorry, not do what?"
"Call back."Ouch. I was taken aback by that. I asked if I could pray for him (something else we have to do) and then swiftly hung up. When I asked him what he wanted prayer for he said 'that this conversation would end sooner'. Ouch again. Some people have been cussed out (just talk to ATF Call Center), yelled at, rejected verbally trampled on... the list goes on. Sometimes I talk to people who would rather die than go on missions, or people who are indifferent towards it. People who would shock you if they told you they were christians, people who think you're selling something and hang up before you can tell them otherwise. It's hard.
But I also get to talk to people like Corey. Corey went on a mission trip last summer and was itching to go on another one. Corey was pretty much one of the coolest people I got to talk to, we're friends on facebook now. Or I talk to people like Landon, who works on a farm all day, has an insanely high IQ, and loves to talk. We talked about rabbits, missions, eagles, Jesus, the army... And on the best days, I get to encourage people like Larke who's having a hard time with family. Larke didn't go on a mission trip, but I got to share the Gospel with her. The same with 16 year old William who told me about how he grew up in an orphanage in Russia. And about how everytime he has a birthday he only thinks about how his birth parents abandoned him. He went to Acquire the Fire and God has been helping him forgive, even the people who abused his girlfriend. I get to talk to 14 year old Josh, who wants to go on a mission trip, but is torn between that and the once in a lifetime opportunity of the advancement of his youtube gaming career (yep. that's a real thing. it's actually a big deal). Or I get to tell Danny that he's not 'just another person'. He was created. He was planned. He's important. He can reach people with the Gospel that I will never be able to; and someones waiting for him.
The best thing that I get to do is preach the Gospel. This is my pulpit. And it eventually reaches nations. From my faithfulness on the phone and telling these people the importance of missions, by painting in their head a picture of this broken world and giving them the opportunity to do something about it, or just by telling them the way that God sees them, or by telling them that they were made for more than what they've been settling for, I see the nations reached.
And sometimes, when God blesses me even more, I get to pray with a parent.
When Ms Dawn answered the phone, she was angry. "What do you want?!" was her response to my very sweet opening. "I don't want to be called ever again. I've told you that a hundred times!"
I apologized profusely and as mandatory closing, asked to pray with her. When I finished she was silent for a bit. Then with her voice cracking she said, 'you have no idea what you just did for me. Thank you. Thank you so much..."
Or praying for a new mom and hearing her say, "Wow. I'm speechless. God has used you so much. Thank you so much. That was beautiful."
That's my job. Listening to Silas stay after hours to share his testimony with a struggling believer. Beautiful. That's why I'm here. In the best of times, in the worst of times. God is so good, even when you call 122 people and only 3 pick up the phone only just to hang up on you. This entire job is worth Tierney texting me right after we get off the phone telling me that 'the entire time you were praying, I just cried.' It's worth it. Just hearing someone change their mind and say, "wow, I really want to go on a trip now. What's the website again? Can you call back tomorrow?"
That is why I'm here.
This what I do. I work for Teen Mania Ministries. Advancing the Gospel through missionaries and to missionaries. I'm an Intern at the Honor Academy and I change the world (that sounds kind of arrogant...my bad).
If you can help me continue my ministry at Teen Mania, please donate to my account at: www.honoracademy.com/donate and enter my intern number '2612849'
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| Silas Preaching the Gospel |
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| My old Call team |
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| My first day calling! (forgive the duck face) |
If you would like to learn more about mission trips, call us! 866-545-6239. globalexpeditions.com
