What do you think of when you think of when you hear the words mission trip?
I think of service. Doing manual labor like painting, pulling weeds, building houses. I also think of ministering to children. Like planning VBS and doing fun carnivals with face painting and balloon animals.
When I first heard of the World Race I though it would be a great opportunity to give back in the name of Jesus! What a great way to show love while sharing the love of Jesus in 11 different countries.
So when I first learned that our first month in Montenegro would be street ministry I kind of had a panic attack. But I was like, ok we will do some service projects too. We have to, it’s a mission trip!
But to my surprise when we arrived in Montenegro they didn’t need anything done. Nothing to build and no VBS to be planned. They just wanted us to go out into the streets of Montenegro and share the gospel.
Which is kind of tricky. The main religion here is Serbian Orthodox, and if you believe in another religion you are in a cult or sect. Also if you believe in anything other than Serbian Orthodox you are betraying Montenegro. When the people hear the world evangelical Christian they politely say no thank you and walk away. So you can see the struggle when it comes to street ministry.
After a few attempts of trying just to share the good news we decided that it will take a lot more than just passing out Bibles. We saw we needed to build real relationships.
Being an introvert I’m not use to just walking up to people and starting conversation. I have also never done street ministry of any kind before so I have no idea where to even start. Seeing my team just talking to someone they never met before and talking like old friends kind of makes me a bit jealous. When they exchange numbers and emails when I barely talk to one person it makes me feel like I’m doing it all wrong.
But seriously, I need to stop that. I can’t compare myself to them. God has me here for a reason and he will use me when He is ready. In the past 2 days I wondered why God put me here first. But I realize he is doing this first so my ministry can be better in later months.
Being a missionary is not about the numbers. Its about building relationships. Building up the church wherever you are! It may be at home, in Costa Rica or Montenegro.
I’ve never been so far out of my comfort zone, but isn’t that where we’re most vulnerable? Isn’t it when we’re so vulnerable we need to rely heavily on the Lord for everything? Isn’t it when we rely so heavily on the Lord that He works in mind blowing ways?
I know somedays of street ministry will be hard but I know that if I give everything to the Lord and go out with no expectations, He will work in awesome ways.
It’s only day 2 of this crazy month and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for Team Nani. Please pray that God will soften the hearts of the Montenegrins and be willing to hear the gospel.
