By Nick Wilson (Guest Writer)
For nearly six months, I have had the unique privilege of seeing the inner works of Letters in Motion. Whenever John has a new idea, I’m one of the first people (after Courtney, of course) to hear about it. During this time I have been called on to give advice, counsel, encouragement, you name it. All of this has given me a rather unique perspective on Letters in Motion, and it is one that I would like to share with you all.
First, I need to put my perspective into, well, perspective. Growing up in a Christian home, I began to see that there was more to living than just life on this earth, and I wanted to do something that made a difference in eternity. No matter what I tried, however, there was still this emptiness inside my soul; a missing piece, so to speak.
During my sophomore year in college, I came under the conviction that what I lacked was a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and I made the decision right then to give my life to Him. The emptiness inside of my soul was filled, and my life was steeped in purpose. That purpose was to tell as many people about the saving power of Jesus as possible.
As a result, I have developed a heart for mission work. This heart for missions has led me to invest time into going on mission trips (I have done mission work in the continental United States, from New York City to Florida to Iowa) along with investing time and money into helping other people go on mission trips.
In 2012, I was able to join members of my BCM in Panama City Beach, Florida where we helped reach out to the Spring Breakers. We offered them safe rides, free breakfast, and shared the Gospel through word and love.
This heart for mission work has also affected my career choices. I’m currently working on getting my teaching license, with the goal being to teach young people in the high school setting. My greatest goal, however, is to be able to present the Gospel message and Christ’s saving power to the next generation.
But that’s enough about me. You are probably wondering,
“How does Letter in Motion fit into all this?”
I’ll tell you how. Almost six months ago, I became roommates with John Sellers. I had barely unpacked my bags when he started telling me about this idea he had: an idea to build orphanages in Nepal and help raise awareness of the dire conditions that orphaned children in that country face. He also told me that he would accomplish all of this by starting up his own non-profit organization, which you all know now as Letters in Motion. My reaction to this new information was,
“Okay, that’s cool.”
Like some of you, I was apprehensive at first. Here was my roommate planning big goals, big projects – dreaming big – and I had no idea how he planned to achieve these goals.
The first thing I wanted to know was why he had chosen Nepal. There are millions of children in other countries whose need is just as great. It was then that I learned the story behind Nepal. Basically, John Sellers’s family has been involved in missionary work to Nepal for over 20 years. First, his aunt and uncle served in Nepal for two years in the early ‘90s, during which time they took in their first orphan. However, tragedy struck: after traveling out of country, his aunt, uncle, and five nieces and nephews perished in a plane crash upon their return to Nepal. It was at this time that his grandparents took over the work that had been started by his aunt and uncle, eventually building their own orphanage. Over the course of the next 20 years, John’s parents became a part of the ministry to Nepal, where they currently run an orphanage of their own.
The Sellers Family
Letters in Motion, then, is John’s independent effort to build upon the foundation of a ministry that has already been established within the country.
After hearing the story, I also wanted to know the plan for achieving these objectives. There was no doubt in my mind that I was on board, but I needed to know that the plan for achieving these goals was solid and would work. To restate, the goal of Letters in Motion is to take a mission team to Nepal, where they will hand-deliver over 3,000 letters to the Nepali orphans, along with conducting a special project such as scouting a location for building an orphanage in the future. The plan is simplistic, yet complicated at the same time: get as many people, organizations, etc., involved as possible. The focus of Letters in Motion has been primarily on college campuses, starting at the University of Tennessee at Martin and expanding further. Focusing on the university setting requires a lot of connections, which is something that John is not lacking. Thanks to his connections, Letters in Motion is not only involved in Christian organizations on the campus of UTM, but Greek organizations, sports teams, academic organizations, etc. The goal is to get every student organization involved in writing letters to the Nepali orphans. Because John’s connections are so widespread, Letters in Motion is also expanding to the campuses of Union University, Middle Tennessee State University, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, to name a few. Needless to say, I was completely on board after I figured out just how well thought out and organized this plan was.
Finally, I am on board with Letters in Motion because of that missionary’s heart that I mentioned earlier. For me, Letters in Motion is a way to reach as many people with the Gospel as possible. To put it simply, we are going to Nepal to show these orphans the love of Jesus. They will see this love through the letters that you write to them, through the orphanage that this organization will build, and through the support you show, be it through buying LinM products, or simply through your prayers. I believe that anyone who has a heart for missions should get involved with this organization in some capacity. This organization provides you with a chance to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and that is something that speaks to me directly, and hopefully to Christians everywhere. For those with a more secular worldview, Letters in Motion provides you with the chance to do some good in a world that desperately needs it. It is a growing organization, an organization that reaches across social and cultural boundaries to show love to people who need love in the worst way imaginable. It is for these reasons that I believe in, and support, Letters in Motion. I hope that you will choose to do the same.
God bless you!
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