Record Live Podcast

Saying yes_ Becoming a missionary the unexpected way
[00:00:00] Hi there everyone. I'm Jared. And I'm Sunita. We are your hosts of Record Live, a podcast where we talk about church faith and living well. We believe as followers of Jesus faith is more than just a set of beliefs. It's a way of life, something we'd put into practice. Let's go live.
Zanita Fletcher: hello everyone and welcome back to another week of Record Live. Unfortunately, I'm here without my normal co-host, Jared, but I do have a very special guest on the show today, and that is Chrissy. Thank you so much for coming on today, Chrissy.
Krissie: Thank you.
Zanita Fletcher: Now, I don't know you too well myself, Chrissy. But when Jared told me about this conversation, I was really excited because I think you have an awesome story and it's so cool to see what [00:01:00] God is doing in your life. So if everyone listening, everyone watching in and tuning in, do you just wanna start by telling us a little bit about who you are and what a typical day kind of looks like for you.
Krissie: Yeah. Well, thank you so much for letting me be here. , It's a privilege , to be able to be up on here, so thank you. , So I'm from Adelaide. , I grew up in Victoria, Victoria, but , yeah, I have always had a passion and a desire to be a missionary and to do God's work.
And, um, yeah, God's led me around the way a bit. And, , I've come to Adelaide. , Well, I came in 2013 to be a teacher, um, and I was a missionary, now Adventist schools here. And, , yeah, then my path, , went, a little bit back, back a bit. And so I was asked to be working at my, church as, , yeah, a lay ministerial worker.
And, , yeah, it's been an absolute blessing and so I work, my day to day is I work half at church and then now I [00:02:00] am working half at my old school that I used to be a teacher at and I'm a chaplain there.
Zanita Fletcher: So you've been a teacher, you've done a bit of chaplaincy, um, you've done some mission work and you mentioned that you have always wanted to be a missionary. At what point did that become a dream? Like how young are we speaking? Was that a childhood dream, a teenage thing? Where did that begin?
Krissie: I think it was, yeah, childhood. , My parents would always talk about going to, , places like China themselves, where they smuggled Bibles in and we'd go to different, yeah, different.
I remember Grant listening to different talks of people that went overseas and not just overseas, but just lived, , a missional life and that really excited me. Yeah.
Zanita Fletcher: There's definitely some awesome mission stories. I remember hearing quite a few of them growing up as well. Um, recently you attended PNG for Christ, and we've had a few people come on record live and share their experiences of that. But what was your experience like? Did you go [00:03:00] over with a certain role or were you just eager to check it all out?
Krissie: Yeah, well, at, at the start when I first heard about it, I just thought, oh, they're just wanting preachers.
I'm not a preacher. , But then, the pastor I work with Pastor William Moala, he said to me, oh, you're gonna go. And I was like, me. And then he sort of planted that seed, , to go. And so I put my name down and, . Yeah, I got accepted to go, , with I, , 12 others from South Australia. And yeah, I went, I had my own site where I preached.
I'd never preached that many times in a row. So we preached every night and we did a market preaching and sometimes morning early bird 5:00 AM preaching. So yeah, it was, was full on and it just, , was definitely outta my comfort zone. , But I absolutely loved it.
Zanita Fletcher: Hmm. Yeah, I'm not sure. Many passes have even preached 12.
That's quite a lot, but that's awesome.
Krissie: More than that. So, yeah, it's crazy.
Zanita Fletcher: And following that trip, I [00:04:00] understand that you then decided that you were going to go back and not just go back alone, but that you were going to go back with a bit of a crew. Did you just have such an incredible time that you thought, I wanna bring as many people back as possible? Or what were you kind of thinking when you decided to do that?
Krissie: Yeah, like I've, I've ran and I've been on many storm code trips, so more mission trips in Australia. , But when I was over there, it was like such a different, unique experience and I just absolutely fell in love with the people that was , so kind and so beautiful. And when I was having my farewell, , ceremony,, they were just all crying and saying all these amazing things about me that I.
Couldn't believe. And I was just like, I, I can't leave these people. They're like family now. And I was just like, I would love to just bring, , a team back and share this experience with other people. So yeah, just at that point I just started yeah. Thinking [00:05:00] about how I could make that possible and yeah, God placed the little seed in my heart and made it happen.
Zanita Fletcher: Hmm.
Krissie: Yeah.
Zanita Fletcher: To me that sounds quite daunting. That idea of taking a group of people. I, I would be my first to put my hand up to go to a mission trip or something like that but when it comes to planning something, an OR group to go overseas, I logistically probably would get too overwhelmed and just hand it over to someone else. Was that something you were also anxious about or stressing about or, or were you just like, let's get people back, we gotta go, I'll run this show.
Krissie: De Definitely. , So I did like a, a second trip in January just to like sort of plan it and, . Yeah, just 'cause it's hard to communicate with, , a lot of them when they don't have much connection with wifi and that sort of thing. , But yeah, I was, I definitely, yeah, wasn't like, oh yeah, I've got this, you know, I, and that's good because when you think [00:06:00] you've got it, then you're not gonna rely on God more.
So definitely clung to God and prayed a lot about it. But yeah, I, it's always, it was always that feel like I've always. Always run trips and stuff , in Australia, but overseas there's a whole, whole new playing field. And , I just was like, well, just gotta give it to God. And, , yeah, he blessed immensely, so.
Zanita Fletcher: Awesome. And so tell us about that second trip. What did you do? What was your plan going over with that group?
Krissie: Yes. So,, we actually, I was actually blessed because, , rose, , who works for SPD volunteers reached out and said, Hey, I'd love to advertise, , on there.
And that was amazing because , many extra people heard about it. And many people from Papua New Guinea, , mainly in Port Moresby decided that they wanted to come along. And, , yeah, so that was. Incredible. So we started off, , meeting on, on a meta WhatsApp group. Started, , praying together as a team before we went over.[00:07:00]
And one, one thing that was really special was, and I think this is all God's timing. Uh, my brother was reading a story about, , I saw God's hand, , by a missionary who went to Papua New Guinea around just before and after the World War. And, , the stories that, , that he shared. His name is Elwyn Martin, , which is so incredible and encouraging and so.
It was just a blessing to start missionally. , But while we were there, we , were able to do a morning program, so a 5:00 AM , program for the early bird service. , Then we had kids program at, , yeah, starting around nine. , And then in the afternoon we had workshops. So some were on health, some were on, like how to preach with power.
, Others, were on how to. How to have a Bible study, those sorts of things. And , and then we had our evening program each night.
Zanita Fletcher: And that's amazing that everyone woke up at 5:00 [00:08:00] AM for a program each day. You'd never get that here. Um, were there any golden moments, any high moments on that trip that really stood out to you that you think back on often or that you really hold close?
Krissie: Yeah, I think like when we got the, like the first Sabbath, we were sort of like,, just thrown in, everything's happening.
We're organizing Sabbath school, church, ays, and then the evening program and just like saying to people, Hey, can you do this? You do this, and everyone just being so eager. To just preach just like that with not much, , warning and just, yeah, just hearing the Lord like preach through people was just amazing.
And another thing was so often, , when you do mission trips. Locals can sort of seem like, oh, they're doing it for me, and they sort of sit back , and watch. But it wasn't like that when we were there. , It was us and us, it was God, all of us. And it was just so encouraging to see the locals [00:09:00] just jump in and, telling kids stories , and jumping in , and doing the songs and the actions with the kids program and just helping with, they wanted to be a part of the team just as much as any of us.
Which was awesome.
Zanita Fletcher: I love that us and us, everyone involved did as well. Obviously everyone got up and preached, but I'm guessing that you didn't take over a group of theologically trained es. What was the group like that you took over and how many of you went over.
Krissie: Um, so there was, five of us from South Australia, , one from Sydney, one from Victoria, and then there was, , seven from p and g itself.
We're just, we were just a motley little group, , eclectic group. , Most of us, yeah, all missional. , Yeah, I think one was a actual pa pastor. Some worse us studying. . One was a truck driver and, , yeah, everyone was equipped by God , to share in their own way, which was amazing. So it's, you don't need [00:10:00] to be a preacher for God to preach through you.
Yeah.
Zanita Fletcher: Hmm. I love it. We have a nice comment coming through here. Such a wonderful testimony. I hope you get to go again with the team as beautifully excited and enthusiastic too from Wyn. I'm sure there's a lot of people probably wondering. Um, do you have any plans to go back with another team?
Krissie: , I would love to, God willing, , we're just gonna surrender to God and, , yeah, if, if time lasts and we keep, , having opportunities, definitely.
, So yeah. Hopefully.
Zanita Fletcher: You'll have to let our record live audience know if that ever happens. But I'm interested to know, obviously you mentioned earlier in this conversation that this was sort of a childhood dream of yours to become a missionary, and obviously you are doing that now, but what was that journey like in between? Coming out of high school, did you just become a missionary? Or how did you get to this space where you were actually living out that calling God had placed on your [00:11:00] heart?
Krissie: Well, I think, , yeah, we sometimes glorify the term missionaries and we leave it just for people that go overseas, , which is awesome.
I love mission trips overseas, but God places us. Everywhere, anywhere. , So wherever we are, we are a missionary there. So, , you know, even if you're going to the Woolworth shops or Coles, you are a missionary. You are representing Christ there 'cause you are missionary is someone that shares their story and the gospel story.
, But yeah, I, I actually, when I went to high school, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, , which is very common for. For young kids. , And it's okay because it's just a time to, to draw close to God and ask him and spend time with him , and trust him in that process. , But yeah, I decided I wanted to do international development studies because I wanted to work for ADRA or Asian aid.
So I went to Avondale, studied that. , But , I was too, once I [00:12:00] graduated, I was too scared to go overseas with. Two years. Yeah. , And I didn't get a job with Asian aid, so I was sort of, I felt like I was at, a loss. I, I didn't know what to do. . And so I, I went, I decided to keep studying at Avondale just because I wanted to go on , some awesome trips I wanted to go to on a mission trip with, , to Nepal.
, One mission trip, and then I wanted to do the Bible Lands tour. So I think, God, I. Use those as little hooks to get me into teaching. 'cause I never wanted to be a teacher. But once I did my placements, I fell in love with teaching and I loved it. And I can see looking back how teaching, , grew me and trained me.
, Into being more organized and yeah, just having those,, those skills to, to organize people and yeah. I was able to organize my first trip, my first STORMCo trip, in my second year of teaching. And that was just one of the, one of the [00:13:00] I've ever had. Hmm.
Zanita Fletcher: That's so cool, and I think it's awesome that you stepped into things and looked for opportunities as to how you could live out that missionary calling, you know, you mentioned that you can be a missionary even in Woolworths. Um, but what ways did you personally find that you could, I guess, incorporate that into your lifestyle? Was that something you felt like you could bring into the classroom or into your local church? Tell us a bit about that.
Krissie: Yeah, just, just looking at each child that you're teaching, just as someone that God has placed in your life to, , to speak into at that time.
And, , yeah, just working with church and school and encouraging students to, to come to church and be a part of a community was always, , something that I really prioritized. And, , yeah, especially when you see your. , The kids that started in year seven or year eight and then they go off and they graduate and a lot of the time you don't see them anymore.
It just really [00:14:00] highlighted to me, I've only got these kids for a short time. Let's make the most of it and let's,, pour as much knowledge of and love of Jesus that I can in this short time. Yeah.
Zanita Fletcher: Yeah. Like how can I maximize the time that I do have with them because it's gonna go so quick. I'm sure. I guess there's so many people who just like you when you were a child, have something on their hearts. But I think a lot of people kind of put that in a box. Like people will think, I really wanna be a missionary, and they'll just have this picture of going to Africa or something and not looking at their surroundings or what maybe God is calling them to do in their local area. You know, or maybe they'll think, I really wanna preach. I feel like I really have this gift of preaching. And so they go and do a theology degree and they become a church pastor and they realize that there's so much involved in it that they, um, don't really like and they quit, but they still have this awesome gift that they could use in many other ways. How would [00:15:00] you kind of encourage people, you know, if they have something on their heart to think about ways in which they can do that, how would you encourage them to still pursue their heart's callings even when things aren't working out for them?
Krissie: Yeah, I think, , I think it's just about trust. Trusting the process, trusting God, I. Because God can use anything. , Some, sometimes people think, , oh, I didn't say yes to God by doing this, but God can take any plan A, B, C, D, E and use it for his glory and bring you back to, I guess, his original plan. , And so I think it's just a, a matter of, , just surrendering daily and saying, Hey, God, I might have, you know, gone off track here, but this is my day and you can use this day.
His, his mercies are new every morning. So, , we don't have to work, don't have, , where we are on our journey. We just need to surrender the day that we've got ahead of us and God will the rest of the days.
Zanita Fletcher: It's so true. [00:16:00] Did you ever have any moments where you found it harder to believe and were more like, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know why I'm here.
Krissie: Oh, definitely. I think all of us do at some point 'cause we're all human. But I think, yeah, I think God gives us little gems and , people to encourage us along the way. , But , even if it's not specifically through people, I think,. Yes. If you start your day with God , and you are, you're confident that you've surrendered it, , whatever he leads you to, he'll get you through.
And then , it's always looking back. When you look back on your life, you're like, oh, I get it now. So it's a matter of, yeah, just having that trust , in the process, that he is using that even though it might not look like it or seem like it.
Zanita Fletcher: Mm, totally. I'm curious about your time in PNG. . I know p and g isn't kind of a bucket list location for a lot of people and probably not for a lot of [00:17:00] young women. And I know that your team was predominantly women as well. Did you feel quite safe over there? Or did you have any risky, scary situations?
Krissie: Yeah, I mean, when I first was heading over the, in the last year for the first time for p and g for Christ, I , found out that we're all being split up in different villages.
, And I just, me in my village with no one I knew for po, possibly, potentially two weeks. And I was just like, is this okay? Is this safe? , But. Yeah. , After that and getting to know , the people and, you know, we had a lot of security during PG for Christ. , I know that in 1988 there was , a missionary and his family from Australia, Ja, Joseph Kanapa, who was actually killed, in half an hour from the village that I was at.
And they went and showed me and they've got, , a memorial for him. And the bullet mark is still. In the, , in the church where he was [00:18:00] shot. And so the people are very serious about safety and , yeah, they were just, if something was to happen to any of the speak speakers while they were in PG for Christ, it would've just been, I.
Such a, oh, just the worst thing for them. Like they, it would've been so shameful. So they took our safety like very seriously, almost too much. , Yeah. But yeah, because the village where we went to was predominantly seven Day Adventist. , Speaking to them in the planning, they said the whole village is your security.
If anything happened to anyone, we would all just fight for you. Wow. And, knowing them, like they're just such, like, the people there are just so beautiful. I know them and I know that if anything, yeah. If anyone did try and hurt us, they would literally. Dive in to save us. Mm-hmm. So yeah. , You know, you can, [00:19:00] you hear all sorts of terrible stories and there's many stories.
These are true stories. , But for where we were, you can just see how God's, you can see how the Holy Spirit really does transform people because. Yeah, if God can transform people , in the last,, a hundred or so years into such Christ loving people, that's the power of God, and that's what we believe in.
So yeah, there was no, there was no worry while I was there with the, , yeah, but I got, I had to get to know the people to build that trust and see it for myself. I know.
Zanita Fletcher: How good. And you've obviously led storm co trips in the past. Did you feel those trips sort of equipped you to then go and lead these trips in p and g?
Krissie: Oh, definitely. Like, yeah, just speaking to one of, , my friends who used to lead with me and, , he was sort of like a [00:20:00] mentor,, as I was, , planning my storm code trips as a, as a teacher and he's just like, wow, look at what all those storm code trips has led to.
, 'Cause we've, , led many school trips to, and many groups. Yeah. All of the things. And, and there've been tough trips to organize at times. Mm-hmm. Especially coming outta COVID. , It was really hard to get, get the ball rolling and, and getting people to come on board and feeling safe to go on, on trips again.
, I realized all of the, all of this training was, , it's, it's for something , and this has been a blessing that it has helped with so. Yep.
Zanita Fletcher: It's so easy to get frustrated and think that, I don't know, everything is going wrong and nothing is going as planned. Um, but hindsight definitely helps. Hey, we've been talking about Mission a lot, obviously, Chrissy, and I'd love to know [00:21:00] why that is something that matters to you so much. Like why, why do you think that's such a big desire of yours? What's the big heart desire there for you in mission?
Krissie: Yeah, I think like, , you can't like change people. That's God's job. , You can't force people to do things. Like, that's not even God's job.
God is so far from force. , But you can, and I, I, I believe William, , from New Zealand, , the youth director there, he said, you can't change people, but you can create, , an environment for them to grow in, and , help them to make those decisions. And I think going away on mission like STORMCo or Overseas mission or, , I've been involved in youth rush programs as well.
Literature, evangelism, , all of those sorts of things takes you away from your normal environment where it's just saturated in. In prayer, prayer's a big thing. And your focus isn't on [00:22:00] you, it's on others. So you are completely like taking your eyes off self, , onto others and Yeah. You are with like-minded people and people that are all on board and it's just, yeah.
, It's amazing to be a part of. And the, I just see because a lot of people. Have looked at, , STORMCo Trips and, oh, you must love kids so much to run these kids clubs and all of those. And, I do love kids, but it's more, I love the people, the change that I see people as they, , as they, yeah, just in a short week, just fall in love with other people that's complete, strangers that they'd never known.
And yeah, that the. The way that God leads and grows in that short amount of time is just amazing. And, , I think we need more of it in this world.
Zanita Fletcher: I really like what you said there. You know, you're right. We can't change people, but you can be influential in their own environment. [00:23:00] I wanna flip to another question. I feel like a lot of women, and this isn't for all of them, but I feel like a lot of women, they have this big desire on their heart, but a lot of them get caught up in the whole, I'm not allowed to do this, or I can't do this, you know, in the whole women's ordination fight. But it kind of just seems like you are just. Doing your thing and not super caught up or focused on that. You know, you've got this calling on your heart and you are just taking initiative and you're going for it. Do you know where that boldness came from or perhaps I've got it wrong and maybe you are just secretly really angry about it all as well.
Krissie: Yeah, I mean, I was privileged enough to go to the GC actually as a delegate for 2015, , when the whole women's ordination thing happened, and whether you are or ordained or not, you're always going to have opportunity , to do God's mission.
Um, and yeah,, I think when we can, when we get bogged down in all of , the pain and the heartache of all of that, , it. It can cause bitterness and [00:24:00] bitterness just is, can blind us to what God can do through us. So, , yeah, I just put all that to the side and just focus on Jesus, look to Jesus and, , yeah, , it's what he has placed on your heart.
If he's placed it on your heart, then just go, go for it. , I just love Jesus. So just you do what he calls. Yeah.
Zanita Fletcher: I love it. Well, our 30 minutes has quickly come to an end. There are likely people listening who have a desire, a vision, a calling, whatever you wanna call it, to do something that is on their hearts. But for whatever reason, they feel stuck or they don't know where to start, or they feel like the doors just keep on closing on them. Do you have any ending words of advice or encouragement for those individuals before we finish up?
Krissie: Yeah, I would just, obvious, the obvious answer is pray. Pray, and people are probably already doing that. But yeah, if, if you, all God wants and needs is a willing heart, , you don't have to go to the go to Avondale and have a theology degree to make an [00:25:00] impact for God's kingdom.
Yeah, you can, but , I would encourage you to just saturate your life with Jesus, whether that's through prayer, , studying the Bible, , listening to inspiring sermons, all of that just. Saturate your life with God and different ideas. God will give you different thoughts. And I'd like, once you start doing mission, God will just, you'll get your brain just starts and sometimes you're like, oh, I've gotta stop.
There's too many things to do. And there's not enough time. So just, yeah, just ask, God, help me to know what best to do with my time and this passion that you've placed in my life.
Zanita Fletcher: Well, hopefully in the future we will see some advertisements for trips to p and g with Chrissy. Um, but thank you so much again for coming on today and sharing Yeah, your story what's been on your heart and how you've gotten into mission. It's been really awesome to chat with you. And thank you everyone for coming on for commenting and [00:26:00] engaging. And we will see you next week on Record Live.
Krissie: Thank you so much.