173: Former Missionary, Current Pastor, and TeachBeyond Dad - A Calling Story (with Dave Totman)

This episode covers a lot of ground as co-hosts Keane and Heather talk with Pastor Dave Totman. Dave shares about his experience growing up on the mission field, his own calling to missions, and invaluable suggestions for anyone considering serving in missions. He also unpacks what it means for a church to “hold the ropes” for its missionaries and the blessing of having his adult daughter now serving in missions.

• Listen to some of our previous Third Culture Kid episodes.
• “When [my dad] was told no, he trusted that what God was doing in his heart and in his life, that God was going to make it happen.”
• “Where we are weak, where sometimes we feel like or have even been told that we don’t have what it takes, God can overcome any of that stuff.”
• “God can use me with my interests and my gifting in a very different way than my dad.”
• Third Culture Kids by David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken
• “It was not a couple of days or couple of weeks thing; this was actually a couple of years. It took a while for me to realize what God was doing.”
• “Any decisions have to be saturated in prayer.”
• Operation World and Joshua Project
• “The process of praying through and considering those different things and the conversations that that led to around the dining room table - that was where God was working and shaping our hearts.” 
• “You open up your hands to God, and you say, ‘Anywhere, anytime, anything. I just want to be obedient. I’m going to follow You. You made me in Your image, and You’ve designed me to bring You glory, so I want to bring You glory, and I’ll do it anywhere, anytime, I’ll do anything to bring You glory.’”
• “Looking for wise counsel around you [...] that’s a really vital piece of discerning God’s will.”
• “We are called to reach our neighbors, we are called to reach our wider community, but we are also called to be the Gospel light around the world.”
• “We’ve been the recipients of seeing a church be faithful to [holding the ropes].”
• “We need to know our missionaries, we need to care for our missionaries, and that’s way beyond caring for just their financial needs.”
• “One way to support is to read the prayer updates carefully, and then we’re all humans, so let’s engage at a human level with compassion.”
• Dave’s suggestions if you’re considering missions:
• Pray!
• Ask others to pray with you
• Consider taking a short-term mission trip
• Read missionary biographies
• Serve where you are
• “For a boat that’s tied to the dock, the rudder is worthless [...] Once you push off, the rudder can direct the boat anywhere. I don’t want to be a boat tied to the dock asking God to lead me.”

What’s changing our lives:

• Keane: Lego sets
• Heather: Instagram feed of only those you’re following (here’s how!)
• Dave: Learning from Charles Spurgeon this year

Weekly Spotlight: Sahel Academy and International Christian School of Budapest

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Podcast Website: https://teachbeyond.org/podcast
Learn about TeachBeyond: https://teachbeyond.org/