'Because I don't know a better way'

By Troy Roberts in Thailand

The young daughter of a friend sent me this message tonight:

“Dear mr Troy, I want to ask you a question ok you ready to start where do you work and what do you do as a missionary what dose it mean to be a missionary why did you want to be a missionary ps please wright bake today”

Her questions led to my best devotional time with the Lord in quite a while. My response:

My wife, Cora, and I are missionaries with SEND International, but I work as a volunteer teacher at Chiang Rai International Christian School in Chiang Rai, Thailand. Our school helps families that share Jesus with groups of people who have never heard about him. There has been no one to tell them until now. Our school also teaches students from families that don’t know about or don’t understand Jesus. We teach them to read, write, do math, play sports, and to understand the importance of Jesus and what he did for us by dying on the cross and coming back from the dead.

“What does it mean to be a missionary?” Wow. I guess it means that I have a mission. It means that someone follows the example of Jesus who left heaven to bring his hope to a world that was dying without him. That’s my mission too. I want to take the hope of Jesus to every person who I can before my short life is over. I will go to meet God forgiven and glad when I die, but billions of beautiful people today, will not. They will be judged, found guilty, and go to Hell forever. They will suffer away from the God who made them. I don’t want that for them, and God deserves their joyful, happy worship for saving us.

Sometimes being a missionary means moving to a new place. Sometimes it means making new friends. Sometimes it means bringing a neighbor food. Sometimes being a missionary means shoveling an elderly person’s driveway. Sometimes being a missionary means praying for someone every day. Sometimes it means reading your Bible and memorizing really “good” parts.

But all of these, a missionary does because he or she wants to a chance to tell the person across the street, and across the oceans, that death is NOT the end. There is a God, and he made every person as his artwork to know him and enjoy him, to see how great he is and be amazed, completely blown away, that he is so powerful, but he still loves a tired teacher named Troy and a curious girl named ******.

Sadly though, we have rejected him, and the only way to come home to our God is to turn away from our old life and follow Jesus. “I am free because of Jesus and I want others to be free!” I think a missionary is someone who feels that way toward others.

“Why am I a missionary?” Because I don’t know a better way to tell Jesus, “Thank you.”

I really enjoyed writing this. I might have even needed to write this tonight. Thank you. Maybe you should message more missionaries. They probably all could use a reminder now and again. God bless you ***** to know him and enjoy him more than anything else in this world. I pray that you will become a “missionary” for Jesus wherever God leads you.

• • •

It’s refreshing to be reminded of the simplicity of why we Christians give it all away. There’s so much more to gain, for ourselves and everyone whom we are called to serve.

To read more from Troy and Cora Roberts, visit their blog.

Additional Posts

By SEND media Team August 4, 2026
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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