Missions looks like: preaching the gospel and changing the hearts of sinners, planting churches in areas people have never heard of Jesus, healing people, digging wells, building schools, playing with orphans, loving widows, feeding the hungry, and investing time in the socially shunned.
While all of this is true and many of those listed are things I have done so far on this mission trip. I have also been exposed to, and come to thoroughly enjoy another, just as important, part of our traveling missionary job description.
Although we are always tired, and constantly being stretched, we have found out this month that we bring much needed rest and friendship.
I say this with particularly our hosts this month in mind. Pastor Alex and his wife Mimi are two of the most selfless, hardworking, loving people I have ever met. They are missionaries to Panama from Costa Rica. They are in their 60’s and unfortunately, although you’d never guess from their joyful attitudes and selfless service, both suffer from very tiresome health issues.
With the help of two young Costa Rican missionaries, David and Mau, and one of their sons Alex Jr., they work up in the mountains where the indigenous tribes of Panama live. They put on a number of kids events, discipleship groups, and have helped plant 13 churches sprinkled across the mountain tops.
Although Pastor Alex and Mimi have grown, adult children of their own. Four years ago they took in twin two-year-old girls who at the time suffered severely from malnutrition and were neglected in every way possible. Since then they have raised the girls as their own daughters. In addition to this, they have taken in four indigenous teenage girls who live with them in order to attend school. They also pastor and disciple a growing church in their local town of San Felix.
Mimi tells us she loves having people in her house and serving them like it is their own home. Which we have felt the full extent of. I cannot count the amount of times they have invited us over for pancakes in the morning, coffee in the afternoon, lunch, a comfy couch to sit on and watch the World Cup, their table to play games on, and most often times, these days lead into the night and somehow, dinner shows up on the table without us even knowing she was cooking it.
Pastor Alex says, with a joking tone, but still a sad truth in his words, that because of his health, involving two past heart attacks, he predicts that he only has about four years left to live and he will serve Christ all the way to the end of himself. He says, “When God calls, who am I to not respond?”
With all of that being said. This month, although our schedule has not been packed full like we are used to, and we have done a lot of what would seem like small, mundane chores. I have come to see how our job this month has been to be a blessing to these missionaries who live here and pour out so much of themselves 24/7. We helped invite indigenous children to the events in the mountains by hiking through the mountains for hours to find houses, painting their church, staining their church benches, sanding and varnishing all the doors in their house, picking up trash at the park, washing all their dishes after the meals, volunteering to deep clean their kitchen, offering to babysit the twins while the other half of us cook and serve them a date night meal, and planning an evening where we can just sit with them in their living room and pray for them, in whatever way the Lord put on our hearts.
Some of these were projects they had in mind for us when we came. While others were ideas we came up with after praying about further ways we could bless them while we were here. Not only did we serve, but we developed friendships. David and Alex Jr. told us we were the first team that they actually became friends with and were comfortable to be around. Which is rare for them being missionaries in a country that is not their own and having missions teams always coming and going. And although they always have a house full, Pastor Alex told us he was sad we were leaving and wished we could stay for another month just to be around.
All of their examples of serving as far as they possibly can, in whatever way the Lord asks them to. Led us to strive in ourselves and as a team to further push ourselves to develop the habit of serving beyond what is asked. No matter what that looks like.
When the service that is expected or requested is completed. Don’t stop there. Sink in your feet and ask the Holy Spirit what more can be done. Follow our example, which is following our new friends examples, which is initially following the selfless example of Jesus.
Lord Jesus, help me to fully grasp and adopt the characteristic trait of serving beyond myself.
