My Dream of Becoming a Missionary

I’ve been dreaming of becoming a missionary since I was in college. After graduation, I landed on a teaching job in one of the universities in my hometown. A few months after signing my work contract, I learned from a pastor that the newly started 1000 Missionary Movement in Silang, Cavite, Philippines is looking for missionary volunteers who will be trained for 8 months and then be sent to a mission field for a year and as he/she desires, may extend for another term. Since a breach of my job contract means paying a huge amount, I didn’t get the chance to become what I’ve always wanted to be.

After three years on my teaching job, I received a call to serve in one of the new SDA colleges in our Conference. After much hesitation and much prayers, I finally decided to accept the challenge of teaching in an SDA learning institution. Laboring for six years in the teaching field, I lost my dream of becoming a missionary. I was just consoled with the thought that being a teacher in one of the SDA schools is some kind of a missionary endeavor. Teaching and serving as a chairperson in the Computer Science Department is a tough job. The demands of the students and the department as a whole soon contributed to a lot of stress and had me burnt out. The thought of quitting my job frequented me. The one thing that made me stick is the fact that I would be guilty leaving the job without anyone to replace me as the head of the department since the one previously holding the post is still finishing her master’s degree.

On my seventh year, bored and unenthusiastic I was to begin another semester of teaching, I mustered all my energy left to prepare myself for another semester of challenges. I made all the syllabi needed for all my subjects and prepared everything needed in the department. Just a week before the semester starts however, a close friend of mine dropped by my house and excitedly told me of her plans to join the missionary movement. Without hesitation, she invited me to join her in her plans. I got ecstatic. This has been my lost dream. I couldn’t believe that my friend who I thought didn’t have missionary inclinations would decide to become a missionary. I wanted to, but how could I? The classes is soon to start and I have my responsibilities to do in school. I couldn’t sleep that night. My youthful desire of becoming a missionary went flashing in my mind and even in my dream that night. The following day, I shared my awakened dream with one of our administrators and he didn’t show any opposition, rather, he encouraged me and told me that my colleague sent on up-grading has finally finished her thesis and is coming back to our school that semester. My hopes raised, I prayed hard that God would bless my plans. After much praying, I gained courage to talk to our college president about my plan. To my amazement, he readily approved of it and without further hustle and bustle, I was off to the 1000 Missionary Movement campus the following week.

Never in my wildest dream did I imagine that I could still fulfill my dream of becoming a missionary, but God in His mysterious ways opened a chance and made a way when I thought it was too late. I was already twenty nine when I joined the movement and the age limit for those who are qualified to join is only until thirty.

I realized then that God’s timing is still the right time and His delays are still on time.

After three months of training and more than a week of conducting a cottage meeting(evangelistic effort), I was sent to Guri Si, Seoul, South Korea for a missionary work as an English Bible Teacher. The experience was one of the best in my whole life. I thank God for giving me the chance to fulfill my dreams just on the right time.

Annalyn V. Okan – presently works as Asst. Professor in the Computer Science Department of South Philippine Adventist College, joined the 1000 Missionary Movement on June 2003 – Oct 2004