Embracing the Value of Willingness to Move a Big Mountain

The original version of this was posted on Leadership Couples.

Imagine a young married couple who felt called to engage in missionary work in a foreign country. Their mission: the rescue and restoration of sex-trafficked children in South East Asia.

Now that’s a big, dark mountain to move.

Consider just some of the obstacles:

– Learning a foreign language (Thai).
– Adjusting to a new culture, climate, and foods.
– Building enough trust with strangers to influence a change, without putting yourself in harms way.
– Encountering new types of bugs (insects and people), and identifying which ones are dangerous.
– Making new friends. Leaving old ones behind.
– Ongoing fundraising efforts required to support your mission.

Of course, there are also the typical issues that come with being newly married. Learning to live and work together, while respecting your spouse’s personal needs takes time – and patience.

Yet, Brandon and Kala Hoffman accepted the challenge of their God-given calling and pushed forward into this new venture, fully embracing the value of willingness.

The Value of Willingness

As a differentiating value, Willingness means cheerful compliance; acting freely and spontaneously.

For Brandon and Kala, the first part of willingness was their cheerful compliance around what they felt God called them to do – prayerfully making a difference in Thailand. Now that they’re on this journey, their lives are filled with opportunities to act spontaneously.

Willingness is a constant requirement for success.

It’s been two years now since Brandon and Kala left the United States for Thailand. Their area of focus is Northeast Thailand where they have the biggest opportunity to make a difference.

Tackling a huge challenge

According to the Hoffman’s blog, there are an estimated 300,000 prostitutes in the city of Bangkok alone. Most of these women come from the Northeast part of Thailand, an area referred to as Isaan. It’s also the poorest part of the country, where an estimated 90% of all Bangkok prostitutes are sourced. Many of the young women are tricked into the trade by recruiters promising a legitimate job in Bangkok.

So for Brandon and Kala, they have narrowed their area of focus on where they can have the greatest impact: the region of Isaan, where the Mekong River divides Northeast Thailand from the country of Laos.

As beautifully recorded on their blog, tackling this huge challenge requires prayer. Lots of prayer. Wisely, the Hoffman’s acknowledge that only God can bring about significant change. He is the one who can engineer the rescue and restoration of these children.

Brandon and Kala are a leadership couple, proving that with God’s help, even the biggest, darkest mountain CAN be moved by faith – through prayer and willingness.

 

Does Brandon and Kala’s mission inspire you? Why?

Does the value of willingness resonate with you? How would it benefit your marriage and/or mission?

 

Today’s value was selected from the “Harmony-Order” category, based on the e-book Developing Your Differentiating Values.