Finding my lost passion
By Amy Walters —
It was a rude awakening. Here I am, a writer at a missions organization and I don’t care about lost people. My job is to create media that will motivate people to take the gospel to the unreached and yet I have no motivation myself. How did this happen?
Growing up I’d always been interested in missions. I remember times when I would fall asleep crying because there were people in the world who had never heard of Jesus. What happened to that earnest little girl?
When I moved to Michigan to get married, I was elated to be involved in missions from the office of SEND International. I still love working here but at some point, it became just a job.
Maybe it’s because I read stories of lost people all the time. I’m inundated daily with missionary newsletters and stats on the number of Christians in places like the Middle East and the Czech Republic. I write video scripts and web articles and edit stories about the urgency of reaching the lost. And maybe, through all that, I’ve become calloused.
Or maybe I’ve forgotten the value of my own salvation. I’ve been a Christian for as long as I can remember. I’m grateful that God saved me at an early age and that He has been faithful to grow me up in my faith. But since that’s almost all that I know, I can easily take it for granted. I forget that without Christ I would have no relief from my guilt. I forget that without Christ I would be a slave to sin, unable to escape dangerous cycles. I forget that without Christ I would have no real hope for anything better. I must stop forgetting.
Or maybe it’s because I’ve gotten too wrapped up in and distracted with the stuff of life. My husband, my daughter, my church, my job—all important things but need to be viewed with the right perspective. They are not nice things in addition to my salvation. They are relationships and environments to live out my salvation. I want my daughter to care about lost people and to tell her friends about Jesus. How will she care about them if her mother doesn’t?
Maybe I’ve let the TV and hours of surfing the internet lull me to sleep spiritually.
Regardless of how that passion got lost, I need to get it back. Jesus’ compassion for lost people drove Him to show mercy to sinners and give fiery speeches to hypocrites. He was committed to glorifying the Father which meant showing love to the people He had created.
That little girl crying for the unreached didn’t create that passion on her own—God gave it to her. And I need to keep bugging God about it until I get it back. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to pray every day for God to give me a heart for the lost and an urgency to reach them with the gospel. Every day until that is the driving passion in my life. I’m sure that in the process, He’s going to show me things in my life that I need to get rid of or rearrange. And I’ll do it. Because the only things worth caring about are what God cares about.
What about you?
Additional Posts
Choosing a Missions Organization: Why SEND International Stands Out “Why should I be a missionary through SEND International?” Jenna, a new missionary in Eastern Europe, shared with us what she appreciates about working with SEND. The highlights for her are: - Devotion to prayer - Diligence in communication - Commitment to development - Intentionality in accountability Prayer “Back in September of 2022, the Lord reconnected me with SEND after I had met them a year prior at the Moody Bible Institute. However, before he would sign me up for anything, my Missions Coach encouraged me to pray. He said something to the effect of, "I know that you've been praying on your own for a long time. But as the Church, we are not called to walk alone. So, you and I won't talk for about a month unless you have questions. I want you to go pray with 5 or 6 others from your church about where God is calling you." That October, more than 10 friends prayed with me and we saw God answer as He directed me to Romania. From February 2024 to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being a part of team meetings in Romania with my SEND colleagues. Our meetings were four hours long, two for prayer and two for business. This has been the minimum for our team. There are also prayer meetings with the local churches we partner with, among smaller groups within our team, of course prayer with many of you across the pond, including those at our US office. The organization was built, has been sustained, and continues to run on prayer. This is my favorite thing about SEND. Communication As I mentioned above, we have a two hour block for business / ministry details in each of our meetings. This provides consistency across our team which works alongside three different churches and in a variety of ministries. It also helps us to communicate about the need for change or growth, alongside what is working well. In addition, my team director also meets with each of us, allowing us to communicate needs, considerations, and prayer requests. I've also enjoyed getting to work with SEND workers outside of my immediate region . We receive emails with the minutes from the Europe leadership team, Friday communications from our international director, and information regarding projects that affect our work among the unreached. In December of 2024, our international director at the time wrote a note to my parents for the first Christmas that I was gone. If nothing else had convinced my mom yet, this did. He took the time to care for me, but also to care well for the parents that were sending me (What it meant to my dad and mom for him to do this well has been one of the greatest ways I've been supported.). I also have some pretty wonderful regional directors. These people have prayed alongside us (while also serving in their own countries of service), they have taken time to come visit and encourage our team, and they have also taken the time to encourage the people in our churches. Development SEND has provided much in the area of development and care (spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally). At our regional conference (every three years), there have been medical check ups available, counseling options, and time for connecting with others on the field with similar experience. At our conference last October, I connected with a missionary who served overseas for many years, and is now serving on the administrative side of SEND. She has met with me since then for mentorship and has also invested much of her time recently in preparing a retreat for the singles across Europe. Accountability Over the years I have read and heard amazing stories of how God has worked through missionaries. God has done great things and great things He is still doing! However, people who have committed their lives to the Lord in this way are not “super Christians”. We are still humans with the same struggle against flesh that others have . A major challenge is in being isolated -- living in areas with little to no presence of other believers to sharpen them can cause many difficulties. SEND has been a great resource in this area too. Through my team, I have an accountability partner that I meet with monthly. When my regional director came to visit, he and his wife spent a day with me and asked intentional questions about how I lead, handle conflict, and how I am growing in general as a Christian. In addition, my teammates share their wisdom with me on a regular basis. These things and more have assured me that SEND International is a highly valuable organization and I'm excited to partner with them in service to, for, and with our great God! Interested in being sent by SEND?
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