Map Idea

In our home we had a map pinned up on our living room wall for weeks before we left on our roadtrip. We put pins representing the important stops and people we were hoping to visit so the kids could visually see who and where we'd be visiting.

As people visited our home, they would see our map and would ask questions about our trip, to which we were easily able to point to the colored pushpins and say who lived where. I realized how special it was to have people who we loved and cared about, and who loved and cared about us.

During our travels, we saw similar maps in a variety of places, with pins that represented where people had visited from. Near the start of our trip, while in line for the bathroom, I saw one map in a Starbucks and it showed hundreds of pins of people who had visited from all around the world.

Map in a Starbucks, San Francisco, California, near Fisherman's Wharf

Later on in the trip, at a farm stand in Arkansas, as I took the kids to the bathroom, I found a similar map posted on the wall, with hundreds of stickers representing people from the United States who, like us, had likely seen their billboard and thought 'that sounds great!' and stopped to buy a drink and/or a souvenir.

The Peach Barn, Oklahoma

While driving on the interstate on our return leg of the trip, we happened to see a sign for a town we had never heard of, followed by a sign indicating it as the home of a famous person that our daughter knew all about. She squealed with excited anticipation (while some others groaned with annoyance) when we turned off the highway to go out of our way--two hours out of our way!--to head to De Smet, South Dakota to visit the home of a woman whose writing and story my daughter has loved.

I was surprised to find, (again, near the bathrooms) even in a place that was quite out of the way for us, a map with hundreds of visitors who have loved the history and life story of this famous woman, participating in the support of her legacy.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Homes, De Smet, South Dakota

When we rolled into our parking spot back in Tualatin, we were grateful to be able to return home safely, but especially grateful for all the people we were able to visit and connect with, and grateful for their openness when we shared about our hope to serve Christ in rural Japan. Some people who we met and shared with were complete strangers initially, but amazingly were willing to support us financially because of their heart for the lost. Incredible!

The maps I saw on our trip were representative of peoples' support for the particular mission of the establishment, whether it was for coffee, souvenirs, or a historic legacy. They each were placed in an out-of-the-way area (typically near the bathrooms!) but it drew the attention of those nearby, enough for undirected participation by hundreds of people. The sheer amount of visitors (and the support they likely rendered financially!) was impressive to witness, but its display never stirring or compelling in and of itself to be placed by the establishment in a position of prominence. No store manager came over to highlight the importance of the maps. Likely to most, it was only a novel representation of supporters who made a coffee purchase or a visit to a tourist stop.

But imagine the witness and impact a support map of financial and prayer partners could make, who support reaching Japan with the love of Christ, who are lifting up specific needs to the God of heaven and providing financially for a witness of His love to be made known to the ends of the earth. What witness could it make when the realization comes that every pin, every person, is someone who loves and is supporting the mission of reaching them, personally, with the good news of God's love?

When the good news is shared, needs are met, prayers are answered, I imagine that seeing all of those who played a part visually represented on a map could be a powerful witness of God's love being expressed through the body of Christ.

Lord willing, when in Japan, should a guest ask, "who are these people?" I would happily be able to say, "these are people who love you." And from there, share about the love of the Church, how and why we have left our home and friends and family, and the good news of the Gospel: that Jesus loves us. And unless God leads me to do so, this kind of map wouldn't be placed next to the bathroom.

If you would like to be put on the map as a financial or prayer partner, please use the forms on the support page (and we'll reach out for a picture as well if you're willing!)