I’m spending the month of May living in the Albanian countryside. My squad is helping prepare a complex that will host over 1,500 kids throughout the summer, for a series of summer camps.
The list of jobs I’ve had include painting fences, lime washing walls, cleaning out pig pens, pulling weeds and shoveling chicken poop. Glorious, right?
It would be easy for me to ask ‘This is the World Race?’ ‘This is what God called me to do?’.
The answer is YES.
When I felt God calling me to this mission trip there were no guarantees of what this year would look like. I’m on a journey that spreads the love of Christ and also brings me into a closer relationship with him. You won’t see the ways I’m serving this month on the cover of magazines or on the homepage of the World Race website…but they are just as important.
Who am I to decide what the work of the Lord looks like?
Whether I am feeding orphans in Africa or cleaning out pigsties in Albania, I do it with joy in my heart because it’s for the Lord. I do it because it’s a chance to serve God, the people around me, and through my actions spread the love of Christ.
I feel we get too wrapped up in ‘mission work’ that we forget every day we roll out of bed we’re in a mission field. Working a 9-5 job offers just as many opportunities to be Jesus to people as being a missionary overseas. My month here in Albania will probably never be the first thing I think of when I look back on my World Race experience…but it’s just as important and beneficial as any other month. There will be other months that appear more ‘glorious’. Other countries that involve more ‘facebook moments’.
For the next two weeks I’m going to continue to paint fences, whitewash walls and clean out pig pens. I’m going to appreciate the morning devotionals with my squad. Enjoy every sunset over the beautiful Albanian countryside. Soak up each blessing sent my way, and do it with a smile on my face.
Even if I won’t meet the kids that will be at this camp in a few months, I know God is using my small actions this month to prepare the grounds for them. Seeds will be planting here this summer and these children will hear the incredible news of Jesus Christ.
So my challenge to you is this: Are you downplaying or ignoring the chances you have to serve God in your daily life?
Don’t have missed opportunities because your misconception of what ‘mission work’ looks like. No matter if you are an accountant, personal trainer or a teacher…each day is an opportunity to serve Christ and be a light to those around you!
There are endless ways to spread the love of Christ…sometimes it’s by painting fences.
