Santiago, Chile is full of beauty. Beautiful people, love, food and scenery.
This month has been amazing and I have learned and grown alot.
Our ministry this month has been like nothing I expected. This month we have really just gotten to hang out with people in the church.
I have been on many mission trips before and they were not like this one and I am so glad. I have loved every mission trip I have been on but I can already tell the Lord is teaching more of what missions can look like in daily life by this month. This is only month one, CAN NOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT HE SHOWS ME IN THE NEXT MONTHS.
On my first couple mission trips I was in a high school creative arts team so that was what we were know for. Our missions trips centered around showing Dad’s love through the songs we sung, skits we performed. We also went out and did street witnessing to the community; which I absolutely loved.We normally partnered with a local church and helped them with their services and tried to bring people to the church. My first couple missions trips is where I fell in love with Dad and wanting to do “missions” with my whole life.
I learned so much from my high school youth pastor about what it looks like to live a missional life. “The mission trip never ends if you live missionally.” I learned how to be a missionary from watching my pastor and His family live life. I learned what missions could look like, but I also put “missions” in a box.
Dad is teaching me to push the boundaries on my “view” of missions and what it should look like. I went into this month thinking that we should be “doing” all these things and going out and sharing the gospel on the streets.
At the beginning of this month I was struggling because I felt like we weren’t “doing anything”, I wanted more. I have been challenged here.
Part of our ministry this month has been doing home visits with older people in the church who can no longer come to the church or just to encourage them. We would sing, pray, share scripture and just talk to them. I have absolutely loved home visits. One visit sticks out to me. We visited this woman from the church named Anna. Anna is one of the church members who is always at church for everything. Anna is so passionate about her relationship with Dad. We were at the house and she asked if we would sings some hymns for her. We started singing in english and then got to the chorus and started singing in spanish. Anna started crying and raising her hands up to the sky just fully worshiping Our Father. The presence of the Father is so ALIVE in Anna life all the time, I want the passion Anna has when she is in the presence of My Dad and just in relationship with Him.
Another part of our mission this month has been spending time with the church members in their homes. We go over to their houses and sit and eat (WE EAT SO MUCH FOOD) and hang out with them. We usually end up doing karaoke with them after we eat dinner. We are just building relationships with them doing normal life with them. I have loved getting to know all the families we have met and spent time with. We do normal life with these people and it is beautiful to be let into a part of their family.
Dad is showing me that we don’t always have to be doing so much but that we can just build relationships and hang out. He is challenging me to take initiative and get to know the people around me and He will work if I am faithful to speak up. I was putting God in box when it came to missions and thinking in my head that He could only work if I was doing all these things.
Street witnessing, church services, homeless ministry, hanging out with people, eating dinner with families; Jesus can work in any situation.
Missions is what you make it. All Jesus asks us to do is go and tell people about His love, that can look like ANYTHING! Don’t put limitations on Him, He can work in just having dinner with a family.
I challenge you to ask the Lord where are you putting Him into a box and ask Him to shatter it. We can make all the plans we want but if we don’t invite Him into them they won’t flourish. Missions can look like alot of things just ask the Lord what He wants it to look like for you.
Psalm 25:1 O Lord I give my life to you.
Have open hands towards the Lord and watch Him work, I promise it will be the best decision in your life. He will bless your open hands!
Psalm 25:5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
