Ten years ago, Randy Pausch shared a talk called Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon University where he was a professor of computer science. It was literally his last lecture because he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. His message became well known because of its positive tone, humor and the down-to-earth wisdom he imparted. His presentation was nominated for video of the year on YouTube, and the book he co-authored before he died became an international best-seller.
The lecture was supposed to answer the question, “What wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?” In response to that question, he shared this nugget: We should all try to actually achieve our childhood dreams.

Each of us has our own set of childhood dreams: getting a high score in a game; completing a degree at a particular school; meeting our childhood hero; finding our knight in shining armor (or our beautiful princess); jumping out of an airplane (not for everyone); and many, many others.

For many of you who have been raised in the Adventist Church, at some point in your childhood you heard the Holy Spirit encourage you to become a missionary. It became your dream to one day become a cross between J.N. Andrews and Indiana Jones (or Ellen White and Florence Nightingale), swashbuckling across a foreign land with a Bible in one hand and a can of Veja-Links in the other.

Now perhaps you are in college or recently graduated. Now is the time to fulfill your childhood dream of being a missionary. If you wait too much longer, it will be a challenge to become unencumbered of “stuff”—mortgage, car payments, and of course, the dreaded student loans. Now is your time!

Someday you will be giving your “last lecture” to someone, seeking to impart a gem of wisdom to those who respect you and want to glean insight from someone who has lived out their dreams. If you really achieve your childhood dream and serve as a student missionary, you will have no regrets and will have much to share.

Please email service@afmonline.org or call 800-937-4236. Now is the time to live your childhood dreams!

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