While going through a box of old music this week, I found a copy of the song A Boat Goes Sailing, and my heart was filled with joyful memories of small plastic boats or airplanes making dizzyingly swooping motions as we all sang at the top of our voices during children’s Sabbath School.
Although commercial aircraft have certainly been my primary means of travel, I have also used boats, trains, buses, streetcars, taxis, motorbikes and rickshaws to travel the mission lands.
No matter what conveyance I travel in, I praise God for my preparation in becoming a missionary, and I pray that more young missionaries prepare to go.

A Boat Goes Sailing
A boat goes sailing to the mission land,
Sailing, sailing, mission boat.
It takes a teacher to the children there,
Sailing missionary boat.

A plane goes flying to the mission land
Flying, flying mission plane.
It takes a doctor to the children there,
Flying missionary plane.

A train goes chugging to the mission land,
Chugging, chugging mission train.
It brings a Bible to the children there,
Chugging missionary train.

I’ll send my offering to the mission land,
Offering for the children there,
To tell them all that Jesus loves them too;
Jesus loves our mission land.

(Words and Music by A. Haas. In The Sabbath School Worker. October 1959. p. 5; © Review & Herald Publishing Association; EP185972)

You may hear a stanza of the song played at https://heavenwardhome.com/sacred-music-tracks/a-boat-goes-sailing.

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