Missionary pilot Josh Dalton shares the greatest joy of missionary service.

“One of the hardest things we have ever done was saying goodbye to our friends and family and moving to another country on the other side of the world,” Josh Dalton writes. “As we struggled to learn how to relate to a new culture and a new language, we sometimes wondered, ‘Is it really worth it?’”

Josh serves Christ as a missionary pilot. He says that life for himself and his wife, Candy, and their family is not always the glamourous, exciting adventure that sometimes missionary work is represented to be.

“Mostly it is hard work and sweat mixed with prayer and some tears, only occasionally punctuated with those thrilling stories we all love to hear,” Josh shares.

But recently a Skype message from a co-worker popped up on his computer screen that reminded him deeply that “every tear, every penny and every drop of sweat is truly a small price to pay for the eternal treasure that we seek.”

This treasure, he says, is the goal of introducing the Good News about Jesus to people who have never heard it before and seeing their lives transformed as they place their faith in Christ.

Josh and Candy rejoiced as they watched the story of a Palawano family who had heard the gospel for the first time. Everyone in the family of five gave testimony of how they had turned away from spirit worship to a new joy and hope in Christ.

Pilno’s voice was bursting with joy as he shared, “I believe it! Jesus is the Saviour! Our ancestors said this thing … or that thing is the way to God. But they were wrong! … Jesus paid the price for my sin. It is finished!”

“If I die now,” added Mulok joyfully, “I will go straight to God. I’m not afraid anymore! … Before I was drowning in my sin, just drowning. Now I know that Jesus paid for my sin, and I will go to be with Him in God’s Heaven!”

Josh can hardly wait to revisit these tribal friends, now that they are believers. In past years, before these Palawano people came to Christ, he has had opportunity to fly some of them out of the tribe for medical assistance. “I am excited to … see them for the first time since their conversion when I fly into their village tomorrow!” Josh writes.

“Rejoice with us and the angels,” he continues, “that new believers have been welcomed into the fold.”

And then he adds joyfully, “It is worth it all!!”

You can have a ministry that’s worth it all. Find out how.