Months 1 & 2 didn’t seem real, but now Month 3 feels like ordinary life. Oh course I don’t have an IHOP to run to at 2 AM, a target and pumpkin spice lattes do NOT exist in Asia (I know, I know I’m a relatable teen, woo Starbucks reference), but whenever I’m hungry I can run to the store and get food, whenever I’m bored I can start a new Netflix series, and whenever I need to clear my head theres a coffee shop right down the street. Everything sounds normal on paper, but being here I realize it’s so different from the way I lived back home, but in ways I didn’t expect. My day to day isn’t filled with baptizing every child that walks in the church doors or giving the best sermon that saves to an audience of 100 people because believe me, missionary life is not that glamorous. It’s not always filled with moments where you see lives changed on the instant, it’s usually about planting seeds. It about learning to live everyday for God. It’s full of weird jobs that you don’t understand most of the time, jobs that feel small or don’t even seem to matter like mulching pineapple plants, buying candy for the kids at the grocery store or painting the same stupid pillar of a house for 3 days straight. (I cannot even begin to tell you how many of my brain cells died that week)
If you think about it Jesus’ life wasn’t only based off of outrageous miracles. Some days he ate meals with sinners, went fishing, or asked some lady in a crowd why she was trying to touch him. On paper, it sounds like everyday life (except for the lady..that would start to get weird). On paper, these things are nothing that makes your mind explode in awe. It kind of makes you think if the God of the universe came down to earth why is he’s making bread for a party? With our small minded brains we think there’s so much more important things Jesus could have done. We think he could afford to ride in on something little more glamorous than a donkey, but God loves transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Moments that started off as boring everyday life turned into history and the gospel. These moments changed peoples lives and continue to do so. Jesus walked every step with love. He did everything 100% and thats what this month is teaching me to do. To let God turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. To let him use the unglamorous moments for his work, to live 100% out of his love and plan. Missionary living isn’t about taking the best pictures so people donate or look up to you. It’s about learning to be small.
You see Month 3 is everyday life, but a little different. It’s everyday life with weird jobs, purpose and a focus on God. Month 3 taking away the pride of being a missionary. It’s making me small. It’s turning my everyday life into being a regular at the coffee shop down the street and making an extra effort to treat the workers with love and greet them with smiles that make my cheeks cramp. It’s every time I run to the grocery store trying to ask the cashier how her day is today no matter how bad the language barrier embarrasses me. This month is about showing Jesus’ love in the everyday life. It’s about choosing in and letting go of expectations and pride.
