so what does a mission call feel like?

Books have been written about the call, and the call to mission. I don't want to add to them! But it may help someone if I tell you what it was like for me. (I hope Pat will add her point of view some time!)

It felt logical. There was the need. There was the possibility. There was the willingness.

It felt like an obsession. I became obsessed with France. Every time I prayed - France. Every time I drove - France. In the back of my mind all the time - France.

It felt emotional. Now I'm Welsh, ok? Welshmen get emotional. My father used to find Lassie films moving. I got emotional at the Banner of Truth Conference whenever continental Europe was mentioned. (Just a sigh or a tear - not loud convulsive sobs.....)

It felt like I was going mad. There was no real reason to leave North Wales, and every real reason to stay. Was it a mid-life crisis? Was I simply barking mad?

It felt constant. This was going on for two or three years before I even talked to my wife about it. Why? Because if I was going mad, then why worry Pat before she needed to know! (of course, she knew something was going on, but she just thought I was barking mad.....)

It felt good to talk. I talked it through with a friend - very openly. Am I mad? Is it a mid-life crisis? Is it just emotional fancy? Am I just faddy or flighty, like a teenager, unable to settle down? (I am glad I addressed these questions early on, because they all came up again later!)

Comments

Andrew and Cora said…
Great stuff, Alan, it's good to hear the full story at last. Quiet for three years! Andrew and I got our marching orders pretty sharpish. In three years Bec and Tom could have finished their A-levels, and all would have been so much easier......... or would it? We never know what might have happened. And I would love to hear Pat's version sometime.

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