Hello from Jeffery’s Bay! I know it’s been a minute since I’ve blogged, but these last 11 days have been a whirlwind. Between getting assigned new ministry locations and getting reacquainted with things like easily accessible wifi, it’s been hard to sit down and just write. But I have lots to share, so hang tight!
On the bus to Jeffery’s Bay, the biggest question on my mind, besides “are we there yet”, was “what is ministry going to look like”. Now, I had a lot of time to contemplate this, I was awake for the whole 16 hour ride (don’t recommend). And honestly I didn’t come up with a good answer, partly because I had no idea and partly because I’m learning to keep a loose grip on expectations.
Going into this trip, I was confident in the fact that I wanted to be in Swaziland doing care point ministry, because I knew what we’d be doing, I knew that that’s what I wanted to do, and I knew that it was what felt like “real ministry” to me. If I’m being honest, I chose to do the two month trip because I figured if I’m coming all the way down here I might as well be here for more time. When I read the ministry summary for South Africa, I assumed it would be some teaching related work so I said why not and chose the two months.
These last almost two weeks have been a whirlwind. We started by working in a 3 day school camp. I got to work in the kitchen and meet some of the women there and make muffinus and do lots of dishes. I also got real sick real quick, hence the recommendation of not staying up on a long bus ride and being awake for 40 hours, so I was out for a day. But that whole weekend was a blur and it was exhausting. We got two days rest and then we got assigned a specific type of ministry in smaller pairs. Some people are working in coffee shops, some are doing construction, some are tutoring kids. Day to day, I’m doing more ministry in the kitchen, helping our host make meals for the team, getting to know Wendy (who is one of the sweetest humans you could meet), and even teaching a cooking class at the school here. But the lingering question I have in the back of my head is “is this even ministry?” Especially being behind the scenes, it’s hard to feel like I’m making a difference because I’m not necessarily working with a ton of kids like we were in Swaziland. But if I’ve learned anything from my time here so far, it’s that ministry is just this fancy word that I feel like we’ve limited to looking a specific way.
To me, ministry was going to Africa and working with children or going to Thailand and working with people involved in sex trafficking or even teaching English. And all of those are important and necessary, but ministry isn’t limited to that. For me in Jeffery’s Bay, ministry is getting to know my friend Andrew at church every week or cleaning the house for our hosts or teaching high schoolers how to make snickerdoodles or holding up a welcome sign at church or writing encouraging notes for my teammates. It’s not something you’d see advertised or something that would make for a cool picture on Instagram, but it’s serving those around you, no matter how small it feels. It’s life. And it’s really cool.
I’m learning that ministry isn’t limited to a missions trip or to a group at church, but if we choose to do so, we can make life a ministry. It doesn’t have to be some scary word that is limited to people who go on trips. It’s going out into the world and being a light. It’s taking the time to talk to the person checking out your groceries, it’s letting people know how important they are to you, it’s giving your friend a ride somewhere if they can’t make it. When you’re full of the Holy Spirit, it’s fruits set you apart and it makes people wonder why you’re so joyful or patient or kind and then wonder what it is that makes you that way. I think if we look at life as a constant ministry opportunity, the whole idea of ministry doesn’t feel as daunting. It’s simply loving people and serving others every chance we get. And that’s the ministry I’m doing this month.
