The following is a part of our weekly devotional series, which is a companion to the 2013 Foursquare Life Journal. This week’s Bible reading comes from 2 Kings 21-22; 2 Chron. 33-34; Ps. 62, 103 and 107; Isa. 57-66; Nahum 1-3; John 1-6; and 2 Peter 3.
I was born in Watsonville, Calif., and I love going home. One of my favorite things to do when I go home is to open the windows and smell the eucalyptus trees, the ocean and the rich, fertile dirt. I love these smells; they remind me of home.
Some years ago while in Ireland, I visited the castle at Powerscourt. This is where my family came from, and it was very emotional for me to be there. I wanted to share that experience with my grandmother, so I collected some dirt. When I got home, with much fanfare and great excitement I brought it to her and exclaimed: “Grandma, this is the dirt from your great-great-grandma’s castle!” I found, again, that it was important to me to connect with “home.”
Isaiah 58:12 states: “Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes” (NLT).
Isaiah included the opportunity of returning to restore our homes, so it should not surprise us when we learn that God often calls people back “home.” The first missionaries that Foursquare Church Founder Aimee Semple McPherson sent out were men and women going back to their “homes.” Today, some of our Foursquare missionaries have returned to the lands from which they came, such as:
- Jacque Antoine, Grenada
- Lois Broughton, Brazil
- Cesar and Ana Crisostomo, Guam
- Judy and Nolan Galido, Philippines
- Brenda and Garry Kean, Kenya
- Beth and Steve Lavooi, Taiwan
- Martine and Daniel Lucero, France
- Naoko and Jeff MacKay, Japan
- Pablo and Alma Pena, El Salvador
- Nikki and James Scott, Bulgaria
The Foursquare Church recently sent Mike and Mary Bave to Wales. Mike wrote us that the Welsh revival of 1904 never reached his home county of Pembrokeshire. He read that when John Wesley preached there in the 18th century, he proclaimed that there would be a great harvest if there were only more zealous workers. Mike and Mary believe that they are the fulfillment of Wesley’s declaration, and their dream is to be and to raise up zealous workers in Pembrokeshire. Mike has been sent “home!”
In the coming months, we hope to send Ann Lantry to Japan. She is half Japanese and a graduate of Life Pacific College. The Lord is calling her “home.” We also hope to send Stephen and Evangelia Larkin to Greece, where Evangelia was born and raised. The Lord Jesus is also calling her “home.”
I have talked and prayed with many prospective missionaries about “going home,” and I have heard some say that they could never do this—that there are too many memories, they are a different person now, they wouldn’t fit in or they have lost the language.
Many of us have our heritage from a place other than where we are living now. What might God be saying to us about “home?” Consider these questions: If you speak the language of your “home,” why is this? If it is emotional to see the flag of your “home,” why might this be? If news from your “home” is important to you, what could be the reason? Maybe God is nudging you “home,” too.
Since my heritage is Irish, I will leave this thought with you: Fág an Bealach!—an old Irish/Gaelic battle cry still used today by the Royal Irish Regiment—which means “Clear the way!”
By: Melinda Scott, assistant to the director of Foursquare Missions International
Download the yearlong reading plan (PDF, 80 KB), or sign up for the full, online version of the Life Journal. To purchase a Life Journal for your own use, or to place a bulk order for church-wide use, visit FoursquareJournal.com. Learn more about Foursquare’s 2013 Life Journal project.
