One day, I was praying in my office, which has a view of a field and the mountains.  I had my bible open to Matthew Chapter 10, where Jesus is sending out His disciples.  I read the passage bit by bit, and paced around my office looking out the windows. As I thought about the fears I struggled with, a flock of sparrows landed in a tree in my view, as if on cue. 
 
“Are not two sparrows sold for a dollar? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.”  A chill went down my spine. We read this, but do we believe it? For the first time, I dared to believe.  He had me completely.  He held me in His hand, in life or death.  There is no place I can go where I can be separated from Him.  How foolish I had been.  Tears came to my eyes as I watched the sparrows fly away.
 
I returned to the open bible on my desk.  The rest of Matthew 10 was daunting….”And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  I closed my eyes, drinking deep in contemplation. 
 
My thoughts were interrupted with a vision.  In my mind, I saw a figure sitting in the chair across from my desk.  He was dressed in white.  I knew instinctively it was Jesus.  I could not look at him directly, but my mind was overwhelmed with the instant knowledge that He was there asking me to go to India.  The impression was so startling and overwhelming that I wept, opening my eyes, which fell upon Matthew 10 again “whoever finds his life will lose it….” Despite my best intentions, I had been seeking to “find my life””—to gain, to achieve, to protect.  He was calling me to give it up.  All of it.   To let go, and put Him first. 
 
Though I could not look upon him directly, I could see that his appearance was not as pictured in popular images.  He was darker, his face was rounder, in a word, He gave the impression of being distinctly Indian.   I knew without words that He had left the field in India, where He had been working, pausing to appear to me momentarily, then returning to His work.  He was telling me to come: “now is the time,” are the words I remember.  He was there for only a moment in my mind, then gone as quickly as He appeared. 
 
The impression left was not temporary, however.  I immediately began to search for flights to India.   I left work that night treasuring these things in my heart.  The next day, I received an email from a missionary in India that my church supports.  The email was about the “january trip,” – something I had not known about before.  I returned his email, relating my vision and asking him to pray with me about it.  He invited me to be a part of the January trip, which was to be a tour of ministry locations. 
 
In the days following the vision I noticed a new feeling in me, a strong conviction and desire to build His church universal, to strengthen, to foster relationships, to support local congregations.  Alongside this desire was a second, to teach the gospel.  I felt an urgent need to gather groups together and get them in the word, to have times of teaching and prayer.  These desires were so strong that they could not be denied.
 
I emailed the pastor of our church, a great friend and brother in the Lord, and he called an invited me to lunch.  When we met, he related that the pastoral team had been considering sending an outreach team to India, but needed a forerunner to scout conditions on the ground.  They had attempted to find a way for the associate pastor to go on the January Trip, but had not been able to arrange it.  It became clear to both of us that the Lord had called me to fill this forerunner role by traveling in January on the trip I had no known about days before.
 
As I began to plan the trip to India, the vision grew.  For many years, I had wanted to visit our missionaries in the field, to encourage them and build relationships.   Time and money and a thousand other things had prevented it.  I had always felt that the Lord wanted me to write and teach.  I also felt that in order to embark upon these things at a deeper, more effective level, I needed experience.  I needed to see for myself.
 
And so I began to look at the potential to visit all of the Church’s missionaries in Asia.  Exploratory emails to the missionaries were positive.  I researched one way flights.  The plan took shape.  I would travel to the India with the pre-arranged “January” team (composed of people from other churches), and then continue to Cambodia and China. After prayer and consideration, I determined to seek a traveling companion, someone skilled in photography and international travel.  The Lord provided a wonderful companion—a former student of mine from the days when I operated the church’s youth group, skilled in both areas.
 
I really could not afford to do any of this, either from a money or time standpoint.  I did it anyway. God has been faithful to provide what I needed, and I trust He will do so in the future. I do not recommend proceeding in this fashion as always advisable, but in this particular instance, the call was so direct, so plain, and so overwhelming,  it seemed the only reasonable course. 
 
And so here I am, 3 hours into a 13 hour flight, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  He told me to come, and so I am going to see what He is doing.  It is that crazy and simple. 
 
I am aware that my vision is bit unconventional, and, being very conservative myself, I paused before sharing it. However, I want to make a record of it, because I believe it to be true, and I want God to be glorified in it.  I don’t know what the next three weeks will bring, but intend to share it with you, in any event.  
 
Andy Jones