"A Labourer into his Harvest"

Just two days ago, I received my mission call to serve in the Norway Oslo mission. I report to the Missionary Training Center early in December and then after about 2 months of training in the Norwegian language and gospel study, I will travel to Norway where I will stay for 16 more months sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
In Matthew 9:36-38, Jesus feels compassion for a multitude of people "because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd." He then speaks to the disciples, in what I read as a not-so-subtle suggestion: "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest." The next chapter continues with Jesus giving his disciples a list of missionary dos and don'ts. One of my favorites comes in verse 8: "freely ye have received, freely give."
Whenever my family gets ready to leave the house, my mother often looks despairingly at my youngest sister who, no matter what care or time my mother expends in making her look presentable, always seems to be able to undo my mother's efforts. "She looks like an orphan child," Mom will sigh. "But she's really not! I take such good care of her, and no one can even tell." I wonder if my mother's sentiments echo something of what Christ felt as he looked at the multitudes of his time, "scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd." Because the truth is, they do have a shepherd, one who loves them very much. They do have a Father, just as all of us do now; however, there are many people who don't know about the shepherd because they don't know where to find Him, or even worse, they don't even know that they can be looking! My calling as a missionary is to introduce people to the Good Shepherd, to help them find what they've had all along. I have received so much of the Lord, and by giving of what I've received, not only will my own faith in Jesus increase but others will have the resources to begin their own quest of faith.