Day 19 - Mickey Bane

Read: Matthew 28:18-20, Psalm 23

Reflect: One day a young girl walked into a Mission’s class at Mt. Hope Bible Camp. She sat in the middle pew excited to hear the Missionary speaker. She loved missions class, it was her favorite. There on the stage stood Mickey, not knowing that in about an hour, he was going to turn this young girl’s life upside down.

He talked about his missions work all week and he had been to several different places, but he lived in Tennessee. He did not live far away, only a few hours and he ministered to many. He read to the children about the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations.” He also made it a point that all nations, included right where you are at. This inspired this little girl and she started to tear up. She wanted to be a missionary, just like Mickey. She went up to Mickey shyly after the class. With reservation, she asked “How do I become a Missionary?”

This little girl was me eight years ago. Mickey responded with a question, “Emma, are you saved?”. I thought about it and I was not saved, I had never made that decision for myself. Right there Mickey led me through the process of salvation, Then he answered my question about how to be a missionary, “now that you are a Christian, you are a missionary”. You see, God calls all Christians to be Missionaries, not just a select few. Some of us are missionaries in our school, our homes, and some are called to other countries. 

You see, Mickey’s influence on my life did not stop there, I ended up receiving a calling to the Mission’s field several years later, and possibly even full-time missions work. In the midst of this, I thought of Mickey a lot. Mickey was diagnosed with terminal cancer a few years back and had an extremely hard fight, but through it all, he found peace. You see, Mickey knew exactly where he was going, and now he is with the Lord. This world is not our home but while we are here we are told to spread the gospel. That is exactly what Mickey did. One of Mickey’s famous quotes was “Have an UPWARD focus, to have an INWARD change, to have an OUTWARD impact”. We need to learn from Mickey’s life and focus on God, so we can change inwardly, and we can make an outward impact on all of our mission fields- whether it be ten minutes from home or a long plane ride- he has called each and every one of us. Mickey taught me this lesson and he was one of the most faithful people I have ever met. In Psalms 23:4 it says “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” 

Mickey was quite literally in the valley of the shadow of death but he did not fear because he remained faithful. Mickey was the definition of faithful through everything he went through. He would post on Facebook about God’s goodness while he could not sleep because of all the chemo. The sicker he got, the more at peace he seemed. Mickey did not fear death because he knew that he made the same decision I did, to live a faithful life with Jesus by his side. Then he followed his calling and made disciples, in different nations and his own. 

Respond: Have you met someone that has been your example of faithfulness? If so, how have they been your example? How can you show your faithfulness to others?

What do you believe your mission’s field is?