Safe at Home

by Brad Koenig (guest blogger)

I love baseball. One of the most exciting plays in the game is when a base runner tries to slide under the tag of the catcher at home plate and score a run for his team. If he succeeds, the umpire signals with his arms outstretched and the broadcaster announces, “He’s safe at home!”

Being a Christian in our home country is safe. There we attend church freely. We carry and read our Bibles without fear. We declare our faith openly. We have easy access to healthcare. Law enforcement officials are committed to our protection. We have many comforts and conveniences. We are safe at home.

When the Lord called me into missions, a veteran missionary challenged me and others in a chapel service to count the cost. Was I willing to risk my health, my safety, my comfort—and even my life—for the sake of spreading the gospel in a foreign country? In a time of private, solemn prayer, I told the Lord yes, I was willing to risk it all to obey him and follow him to the mission field.It has not been easy. In fact, it has been very challenging for my wife and me, and for our children while they were growing up in Cameroon. We have had to deal with malaria and other health problems, living and homeschooling in a remote village, the hassles of bone-jarring roads, etc. We made the decision to return to the States for our children’s education. After our kids grew up and left the nest, we returned to the field last year.

Since then our degree of risk has increased due to civil unrest in our region and the city where we live now. This has caused us to reevaluate our presence here. But our heavenly Father has reassured us to press on in the ministry that he has given us with the Esimbi people as they translate his Word into their own language. God is blessing our work in wonderful ways, which gives us extra encouragement. We have already come through many dangers, toils, and snares, and with John Newton we testify: it is God’s grace that has brought us safe thus far, and his grace will lead us to our heavenly home, where we will be fully safe forever.

Some people say that the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will. But I don’t believe that anymore. For sure the best place to be is in the center of God’s will. Jesus, who followed his Father’s will perfectly, was kept safe in a number of risky situations, but even he was susceptible to the dangers of this fallen world. The same is true of the apostle Paul and the other apostles. We follow the legacy of generations of saints who have presented themselves as a living sacrifice in worship unto the Lord (Romans 12:1).

Ships are safe in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are made for. We are safe at home, but that’s not what missionaries are called to.

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Brad and his wife, Kathy, spent 5 years working on the Esimbi Bible translation project in Cameroon, West Africa. They came back to Colorado for their children’s education. After 13 years they returned to Cameroon last year to see their project through. They serve in linguistic support for the Esimbi Bible translators. Their two children are now grown and living in Taiwan and Hawaii.