I recently read a blog article called "This is missions" and it talked about the different things you could experience, like eating ants in your rice and trying to cross the road, to seeing people accept Christ or at least start understanding what Christianity really is for the first time. I decided to write my own.
Missions is finding ants in your rice and eating it any way. Taking cold bucket showers with used water, because you don't waste the water and always having clean clothes or a towel fall in the toilet because thats where showers take place. Its sleeping with the lights on so cockroaches don't fall on you at night, but having other bugs and lizards on your bed instead. Its eating weird food like Balut and chicken intestines or goat. Its perfecting the art of crossing the road and grabbing a jeepney or hobble hobble. Its always feeling out of place because of your skin color and gender. Its going to the market and trying to barter, but having the price doubled because your long nose or the shock on their faces when they realize you 1) know what they said about you and 2) you can respond in their dialect. Its missing holidays, birthdays and weddings. Its eating yummy food. Its street kids running up to you and putting their hands in your pockets to find money or trinkets. Its being around beautiful beautiful people.
Missions is also crossing through sewage to a bible study, because it is very important to the people who attend. Missions is sleeping on a 6 hour overnight ferry to a neighboring island, followed by a 4 hour jeep ride(no ac), to visit churches town apart by Typoon Yolanda and to show a remote church how to effectively share the gospel. Its a 95 year old lady crying in your arms because she knows the real Jesus now. Its going into below poverty stricken areas to teach the young children and share the gospel, then later seeing their parents come Christ. Its working with short-term teams and seeing the excitement on their faces as they experience what you experience every week. Its building relationships with women coming out of sex-trafficking. Missions is watching the church wrap their arms around a community that was destroyed by fire, and doing everything they can to help them. Its watching 2 girls embrace and cry together, because one of them lost everything she got in America on a sponsorship trip, but rejoicing because she and her family were unharmed. Its watching the youth in the church step up, lead, and step out in faith. Its watching 4 girls memorize a total of 42 scripture verses!
This is Missions and it is probably the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced.
Missions is finding ants in your rice and eating it any way. Taking cold bucket showers with used water, because you don't waste the water and always having clean clothes or a towel fall in the toilet because thats where showers take place. Its sleeping with the lights on so cockroaches don't fall on you at night, but having other bugs and lizards on your bed instead. Its eating weird food like Balut and chicken intestines or goat. Its perfecting the art of crossing the road and grabbing a jeepney or hobble hobble. Its always feeling out of place because of your skin color and gender. Its going to the market and trying to barter, but having the price doubled because your long nose or the shock on their faces when they realize you 1) know what they said about you and 2) you can respond in their dialect. Its missing holidays, birthdays and weddings. Its eating yummy food. Its street kids running up to you and putting their hands in your pockets to find money or trinkets. Its being around beautiful beautiful people.
Missions is also crossing through sewage to a bible study, because it is very important to the people who attend. Missions is sleeping on a 6 hour overnight ferry to a neighboring island, followed by a 4 hour jeep ride(no ac), to visit churches town apart by Typoon Yolanda and to show a remote church how to effectively share the gospel. Its a 95 year old lady crying in your arms because she knows the real Jesus now. Its going into below poverty stricken areas to teach the young children and share the gospel, then later seeing their parents come Christ. Its working with short-term teams and seeing the excitement on their faces as they experience what you experience every week. Its building relationships with women coming out of sex-trafficking. Missions is watching the church wrap their arms around a community that was destroyed by fire, and doing everything they can to help them. Its watching 2 girls embrace and cry together, because one of them lost everything she got in America on a sponsorship trip, but rejoicing because she and her family were unharmed. Its watching the youth in the church step up, lead, and step out in faith. Its watching 4 girls memorize a total of 42 scripture verses!
This is Missions and it is probably the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced.
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