Life = ministry, ministry = life.
This theme has been brought up repeatedly throughout my trip this far and it has stuck with me. Because the World Race Fusion route is different than others and we don’t have set ministries or hosts to stay with, it is easy to get frustrated at the lack of ministry opportunities. We spend a lot of time making connections and interacting with the locals. I have to keep reminding myself that life is ministry. Being intentional with people is one way to show them Christ. It may just be asking the cashier her name, or smiling at a stranger as they walk by, and I constantly ask myself; how can my interactions with strangers point them to Jesus? I don’t have to be in a formal ministry setting or a church to reach people.
The Fusion route also focuses on listening prayer and going where the Holy Spirit leads us. It has been incredibly challenging because my flesh wants to serve at a non-profit, orphanage, or other structured ministry setting to see direct results. I want to see the fruits of my labor. But God is teaching me to accept the fact that I’m not in control. I may not see change in someone after one conversation. Our everyday interactions are not life-changing experiences, but we are still planting seeds in people’s hearts. And we may never see direct results from those conversations. However, someone else will come along, water that seed and it will continue to grow. I am learning to be okay with walking away – believing God can work in every situation with anyone. It’s not up to me. It’s up to Him.
Cool opportunities arise from talking to the workers at a local coffee shop or making friends at the market. I don’t have to volunteer at a refugee camp every month, or speak to unreached people in the mountains to see Jesus. Some people think mission trips are an opportunity to travel overseas to remote villages to bring others to Jesus who have never heard the gospel (I know that’s what I thought). What we don’t realize is that everything we do is considered ministry. I believe that is why Jesus places a huge emphasis on loving your neighbor. It’s the second greatest commandment behind loving the Lord with all your heart. Jesus isn’t talking about donating money every month to fulfill a quota and feel good about ourselves (although donating is awesome.) He is calling us to get to know our neighbors. Loving them and struggling through life together. Mourning when they mourn and rejoicing when they rejoice. The world would be a different place if Christians followed through with these commandments – to love God and our neighbor.
Another thing God is placing on my heart; Jesus is our neighbor. He is our taxi driver and the woman at the market selling fruit. Jesus is the homeless man we walk past every day. Jesus is everywhere we go. What are we doing about that? Are we stopping to talk to someone on the street when we feel the Holy Spirit leading us or do we just turn our backs and keep walking? God gives us opportunities to touch people’s hearts every day. We need ears to listen and follow that still small voice inside our head, and in our hearts that is telling us to go.
I keep going back to the passage in Luke when Jesus tells the story of The Good Samaritan. A man was beaten and left on the side of the road. A priest walked by and crossed the road; avoiding him. A Levite walked by and crossed the road; just as the priest did moments earlier. Then a Samaritan saw the man lying on the side of the road and Jesus says, “he had compassion.” He stopped and helped the man without even knowing his name. He showed him mercy and Jesus commands us to do likewise. The concept of loving your neighbor is difficult and something that takes effort. It is not something that will happen overnight. Your mindset must change. Do we have a self-centered mindset like the priest and Levite, or do we have a Christ-like mindset reflecting the Samaritan? Jesus points out that it doesn’t matter who is laying on the side of the road. We are called to have compassion and help no matter what. If we start putting others before ourselves and serving our neighbors I truly believe we will start to see a change in this world.
My time in Rwanda looked like: playing with kids on Saturday mornings; showing them love that they may not experience at home. Encouraging a women’s sewing group; talking with them and letting them teach us their trade. They brought so much joy to our lives and we reciprocated that joy. We helped set up a sponsorship program for the women’s sewing ministry. This will allow them to have enough funds to hire a teacher and purchase sewing machines to continue this program; helping more families in the community. We also helped an organization create their website. That is often overlooked, but indirectly helps many people. We were involved in multiple Bible studies. I got the opportunity to sponsor a child and meet his family. Spending quality time with him before I left was a highlight of my month. We also made friends with a local jeweler through daily visits and encouraging him with the gospel and companionship. We went to the same people at the market and almost every day visited our favorite smoothie shop. Through these intentional interactions, we built friendships with the workers. This month we were poured into by our hosts and so encouraged by these couples and their families. In return we had the opportunity to reciprocate those blessings.
I am thankful for the slowness this month brought. I am thankful for the variety of ministry work. It has encouraged me to remember the small things and to be intentional with everyone I encounter. I have seen how much a simple smile means to people, or how happy people would get when I said “Amakuru!” (“What’s up?” in Kinyarwanda) or asked someone their name at the market. It is the small things that make big impacts. The small glimpses of Christ bring others to Him.
We cannot save the world over night, it starts with one person. We must start small and remember that life is ministry. That means loving our neighbor. Mother Teresa sums it up best, “Prayer in action is love, and love in action is service. Try to give unconditionally whatever a person needs in the moment. The point is to do something, however small, and show you care through your actions by giving your time… We are all God’s children so it is important to share His gifts. Do not worry about why problems exist in the world – just respond to people’s needs … We feel what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but that ocean would be less without that drop.“
I want to encourage everyone reading that you have the power to change someone’s life if you surrender to God and let Him use you. Whether it is in the workplace, in school, at the gym, at home with family, or in the community; wherever you are, God will lead you to the right people if you listen to his voice. Always remember that your life is ministry and it is the small decisions that make the big decisions.
(This is my new friend Rene at Best Family Rwanda)
