We've always struggled to call ourselves missionaries. For many reasons. One thing that we are not: anyone special. What is a missionary anyway? To us, a missionary is someone who lives their life with a specific mission. What is "mission"? Dictionary.com defines it as:
"an important goal or purpose that is accompanied by strong conviction; a calling or vocation." Our mission is to love others. Shouldn't we all be on a similar mission?
No matter where we live? We see many teams come to the island to serve. They have set aside a week of their lives and have prepared their hearts and minds and are ready to see the world in a different way. They come; they love others. They serve without questioning. They hold dirty kids without worrying about "catching something." They see beauty in simple things. They smile and greet just about anyone they pass. They are living out their mission to BE LOVE to each person they encounter, even when they can't speak the same language. Smiles and our actions show love. They are changed. Then they go home. Those same people who took the past 6-8 months preparing their hearts and lives for one week "on mission" go back to their "normal" life. They get caught up in the "busy-ness" that is the American way. They don't really see the people they are encountering. They are back on their phones, running from one thing to the next. Not noticing the struggling mother, elderly man, or dirty kids who just need a smile and maybe an encouraging word. We worry too much about what someone might think. We worry about what might happen if I let that dirty kid breathe all over me and MY (semi-clean) kids. What if we all lived our life in the same mindset as when we are "on mission"? What if we looked for opportunities everywhere we went to BE LOVE to everyone God put in our path that day. We woke up excited about the opportunities that might come our way. We took that extra minute to go out of our way to help someone. Have you ever been on a short term mission trip? If you have, you know the anticipation of each day. The focus you have for a specific mission - nothing else distracting you. The mindset that you have as you walk out the door...going to be the hands and feet of Jesus (LOVE) to all those you encounter. I encourage you all. You do not have to live on a remote island, or in an African village, or anywhere "special" to be a missionary. God has placed us all right where we are for this time in our lives to show His love to those around us. Our family is simply living our lives in a different place, going about our days, trying to love those we encounter. (Hey...let's start with our families!) And some days, we don't do very well. But HIS strength is made perfect in our weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 Thank you for letting us share our life with you all. I hope that these updates are an encouragement to you. I pray that they bring inspiration and hope to you and that you are challenged to not get too comfortable that you forget to really see. I love the words from Hillsong United's Hosanna: Heal my heart and make it clean Open up my eyes to the things unseen Show me how to love like you have loved me Break my heart for what breaks yours Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause As I walk from earth into eternity So let's do this...GO BE LOVE to those you encounter!!!
And to read our March Recap Newsletter (with pictures and videos!) click HERE.