Testimonies from past Urbanas

18,730 delegates. . . 1,400 exhibitors. . . Five days. . . One Call

by Amanda Burford

Long before I attended Urbana, I knew the Lord wanted me to serve as an overseas career missionary. What I couldn't know was how He would use this student missions convention to change my life.

As soon as I heard Wycliffe would have a booth at Urbana, I began soliciting my managers to allow me to attend. "I'm young; I'm in touch with this generation! I am this generation! I could take video footage; I could interview students. Please, please, let me go!" Ultimately the pleading and the praying paid off and I, a lone Wycliffe employee, was whisked away to Urbana, Illinois, along with more than 20 other Wycliffe members.

The convention was non-stop energy! My arrival into Chicago was tainted only by the loss of my luggage, which I would not see until two days before the convention ended. The negative-sixteen-degree wind chill was a shock to my Floridian system, but somehow I survived. The Wycliffe booth sprawled over four exhibitor booth spaces, and towered high above the missions-seeking delegates. Through the course of the convention, more than 700 contact cards were filled out by students seeking more information on how they might fit into Bible translation. For every student who approached us with general questions about possible short-term trips, there was another announcing, "I want to be a translator, where do I sign up?"

But the most amazing part for me was not the fact that the workshop I helped lead, Telling the Story: Media in Missions, was full to overflowing, or the fact that I could join in worship with more than 20,000 people during the plenary sessions. It was the gentle tug on my heart from the Lord, prompting me to become a Wycliffe missionary.

During the long days I eagerly stood at our booth telling students what a joy and privilege it is to work for Wycliffe. During the nights, I earnestly prayed and asked my fellow Wycliffe team members, "So if I decided to really join, what do I need to do first, and how do I raise support?" Two nights before the convention ended, I stood along with thousands of other delegates, and pledged my life again to overseas service. Only this time with a definite end in mind. I would become a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

I returned home to the Orlando office, filled out my Preliminary Questionnaire, had my first interview, and told my family about my decision. If everything goes well, I will have my credit card debts paid off in time to start my literacy-work training in the fall.

If you have never had the opportunity to attend Urbana, I highly recommend you go. The presence of the Lord is amazing. . .the hearts of the students are encouraging. . .the excitement is contagious. . .and God's call is undeniable.

Roadblocks

By Barbara Colborn

"In college I felt certain that God would have me spend my life as a missionary," said John Wimbish. "So I packed myself off to the Urbana missions conference with full assurance that the Lord would make it clear how He would use me and my chemical engineering degree."

John went from booth to booth at the conference, asking, "I’m a chemical engineer. How can you use me?" Nobody had anything even remotely related to his field.

On the final day of the conference, John was sitting in the coliseum with thousands of other students. But he wasn’t paying attention to the speaker—he was wrestling with disappointment. God hadn’t opened a door.

"Then I realized the problem," John said. "I had put the condition of ‘chemical engineering’ upon my service. I had told God the parameters under which I would serve."

While the speaker continued, John prayed. "I repented of my presumption and told God I would serve Him with no preconditions. I also asked for some kind of confirmation that He would guide me."

John tuned back in to the speaker, whose next words were: "Don’t say, ‘God, I’m a chemical engineer. How can you use me?’ Rather, say, ‘God, here I am,’ and go find out what He has for you."

"Well, I fell out of my chair!" John said. "Then my friend who was with me took me over to check out Wycliffe." John learned that engineers make excellent Bible translators because of their approach to problem solving. "I realized what I had just given to God, He was giving back to me—repackaged as only He can do."

John served in a language project in Southeast Asia, and now helps develop software to assist Bible translators.