“The true call of a Christian is not to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.” -Dean Stanley
The Church today does a great job of encouraging Missionaries who are out on the field. However, people often elevate them so high that they seem unreachable. Missionaries are put in such a light that others see them as “Super Sayian Christians (Dragon Ball Z reference)” who are so gifted, so talented, and so perfect that they cannot possibly be ordinary people. They must listen to only worship music 24/7, their kids never disobey, and every person who they talk to converts to Christianity. But this is not the case. Missionaries are just your average people who have answered God’s call in their lives. They enjoy the latest pop music (or hate it and miss the days of good music like Johnny Cash and AC/DC), their kids can drive them crazy at times, and some serve years without ever seeing even one person come to know Christ.
Am I trying to devalue the work that missionaries do? Absolutely not, heck I am one! (And if we get technical, I’d argue that we all are as believers, but that can be saved for another blog). But missionaries are answering the same call as your local pastor, as the doctor who shares the gospel in their career, and the stay-at-home mom with a passion for teaching Sunday School. There call just happens to be a bit further away. What call is this? Matthew 28:18-20. The missionary’s “all nations” is just not America. That’s why they(we) go.
One of my favorite things about the mission trips I have done is getting to know the local missionaries who work day in and day out with the people that they have been called to. I love to see their passion for their people groups (they would call them their friends), I love to see the work that they do, and most refreshingly, I love to see that they are normal people (well most of the time they are some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet.)
So to actually get to the point of this blog, I wanted to make a picture blog from our off day. What was special about this day? Well we got to celebrate one of the missionary’s (I would say one of my new best friend’s, quite a bromance has developed) birthdays. Yes, missionaries have birthdays too! Here are some highlights from our day!
We left out in the morning for a two hour road trip!
Our destination, a big ole’ cave system!
Like Indiana Jones, we explored the caves to see what we could find!
After exiting the back of the cave we got to see some beautiful Thailand landscape.
Back at the entrance we found another, smaller cave with something hiding inside…
After the caves we visited a pretty awesome waterfall,
Along with an amazing sunset overlook from atop a mountain!
Upon arriving back at the house we ended the night with a family viewing of Robin Hood: Men in Tights! A hilarious movie to end the day on a good note. In conclusion, missionaries enjoy spending their birthday just like everyone else (ok, they can be more awesome than normal at times, but relatively the same!) Encourage every missionary you know, every pastor you know, every BCM leader you know, and anyone that you know who is obedient to God’s call on their lives wherever that may be. Instead of putting missionaries on a pedestal, use them as an inspiration to go where you feel God calling you. Any of them will tell you that they are not qualified to take the Gospel to the outer reaches of the world, but it is only through Christ’s strength that has brought them where they are. Get to know them. Visit their homes. Treat them like people. Hear their hearts. Who knows? You may goof around and God may call you somewhere you never have even heard of!
So in honor of the guy who inspired this blog, Mason thank you for surviving 25 years and thank your mom for having you a quarter of a century ago! Happy birthday, dude!
Here are two short articles I wanted to include that can help us all understand the missionary life a bit more:
http://chucklawless.com/2016/02/misperceptions-about-missionaries-part-1/
http://chucklawless.com/2016/02/misperceptions-about-missionaries-part-2/
