Month 2 is almost halfway over. We have about a week left of ministry. And I’m not sure what words to even share about the month so far. This month has definitely not been a cookie cutter month. Ministry hasn’t been what I think it would be or expect to be. And that has been really hard for me.
I think it’s easy to go into the World Race thinking that ministry is going to be all planned out and be pretty comparable to ministry in the U.S. It’s especially easy to think that when month 1 looked a lot like that. And they have give you a ministry to partner and work alongside with each month. So why wouldn’t it look like that?
But God has used this month to shatter my view of ministry. Because ministry isn’t a cookie cutter thing. There isn’t a secret formula that works for every single ministry.
So it’s been a hard month. The ministry we were partnered with was Dzoole Village in Ntcheu, Malawi. It’s a village consisting of 500 families and about a million children. Okay maybe not a million children but probably close to 1500 to 2000.
We arrived at the village with no electricity and the covering of our very basic needs. We were greeted by a handful of smiling kids, which was definitely the best welcome. That afternoon we went on a walk around the village only to be followed by 200 kids coming out from everywhere. They loved that we were there. We got many shy smiles, handshakes, and greetings in a language we didn’t understand. It was great.
But then day 2 and day 3 happened. And each day, I sat in a classroom for 4 hours, with nothing to do besides notice all the set of eyes staring at me. Which by the way is very uncomfortable, especially when at the beginning of class, laughter exploded from so many when my name was introduced. It was hard because I was in the classroom with no purpose for being there. At least I didn’t feel like it.
Once we were done for the day at the classroom, we didn’t have anything specific to do for the rest of the day. It was just hang out. I was struggling to figure out what do, what the purpose was for us being there. I wasn’t okay with spending more than half the day not feeling like I had anything to do. But I was at a loss for what to do.
I spent some time in prayer, but felt like the Lord was giving me nothing. Great. Just what I needed for the month. The Lord to be silent in a time where I needed Him to give me direction.
As the month progressed, we spent some time at a day care, teaching preschool age kids for a couple of hours. That was even less time than time spent at the school. So an even larger chunk of time to figure out what to do with.
But as the weeks have continued, I have come to learn that ministry doesn’t have to be this cookie cutter programed event. Which is so hard when that’s what a lot of ministry looks like in the U.S. I’m finding it hard to change my mentality when that is all I’ve ever known. Just because it’s all I’ve ever known doesn’t mean it’s always right or the only way.
Ministry can be going on walks with a kid holding each of my hands. It can be playing a game with some of the girls of our host family. It may mean letting our host show us the different wells the women have to go to for water each day for their families. It may mean visiting the teachers at their houses and cooking a snack together. It may mean ministering to my team and spending time together sharing our stories and having Bible studies.
I’m still wrestling with what all the Lord is doing this month. But He’s definitely teaching me that ministry doesn’t have to be cute and cookie cutter to be ministry. It doesn’t have to be the planned out and programmed time. But it can simply be loving people well and intentionally. It’s hard some days to see those opportunities when that is the ministry. But I’m praying for the Lord to continue to give me an awareness and heart for it. Even on the days where I don’t want to or it may require an extra dose of courage to step out of my comfort zone to do it.
We still have a full week left of ministry. And I don’t want to waste it. I don’t want to look back on this month wondering what I did with it. But I want to look back knowing that I gave everything I had each day. And really I want to know that I loved these people well because they have loved me so well from the start. And because God cares so much for these people, too, even if they do break the cookie cutter mold my heart is used to.
