Receiving a call to missions can be confusing at first, and it is easy to get headed in a wrong direction. Long-term missions work requires commitment. For the early missionaries, the trip was one-way in many cases; there was no going back, not ever. Nowadays, it is often way too easy to change tickets or book flights and just bail out for home if we don't like something. But to be an effective missionary means you are determined to carry out your calling no matter what. I can say with certainty that there will be times when things will go all wrong, and you'll be asking, "why am I here trying to do this? We all get those kinds of doubts. But you must have that issue firmly settled in your spirit, or you will not be able to make it as a missionary. Once you're in, you're in for the duration.

There are lots of physical and spiritual hardships in India: Heat, humidity, bugs and creepy-crawlies, nasty food, electrical outages, communication breakdown, loneliness, frustration, homesickness, and lots more. Maybe (God forbid) even depression, persecution, sickness, or accident. ICII can't take responsibility for you; you will come to India at your own risk. But I once was told, and it's true, you are much safer to be in the will of God, whatever that may be for you, than you are even in your own bed at home. If you are supposed to be in India, God will take care of you and give you the strength to endure.

You must be very certain that it is definitely a call of God that is bringing you to India. If your desire is to help further the Gospel in India, you want to help the Indian people, you want to be used by God, you want a change in your life, or so forth, all these things can be more sensibly and easily accomplished right where you are now. The ONLY valid reason to leave it all and commit to a term in India is that you know without a doubt that God Himself is telling you to do so. Pray fervently for clarity and guidance, with fasting if you are able (yes, it's THAT big a deal). Take some time and test the calling. I have found that if it is truly of God, He will bring you enough confirmations so that you will know what He wants you to do if you earnestly and patiently seek His will. There is real danger involved. If you go ahead and travel to India when it is not in God's will or timing, you will endanger yourself personally, you will endanger the ministry of ICII, and you might endanger other Christians in India and even the work of the Gospel.

Maybe it sounds like I am trying to scare you away from coming to India, but I'm really not. Above all I want you to find the fullness of God's will for your life and avoid the heartache of missing His best for you. If you feel like these simple facts I write are discouraging to you, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your calling.

Where God's calling is, there will be vision and purpose. God will not only lead you to come to India, but will give you a certain set of goals or objectives for you to accomplish there. It should be specific enough that you can write it down and explain it to others, and that people will be able to see the results in action. Without that drive toward a specific purpose or goal to keep you going, you may find yourself in for months of feeling useless and trapped in India. We will discuss all this with you personally. We believe that if you are supposed to come to India, God will bear witness to you, and also to us as a confirmation.