I was in Venetie, a tiny village in the Alaskan Bush on a mission trip. I had packed only long pants and long sleeve shirts because it usually stayed pretty cold into the summer (and to protect myself from the swarms of mosquitos). But to our surprise as we stepped out of the bush plane, it was HOT! We were later told that the temperature went into the 90’s most days while our team was there.
A few days into our trip, I had decided to walk a few girls to their houses after Bible school and somehow they had talked me into taking a detour to the river. Those girls really do have a special place in my heart and they probably could talk me into anything they wanted.
So there I was, sitting on the bank of the river. I was overheating, trying to roll up my pants and shirt as much as possible, and constantly smacking the mosquitos that seemed to be able to find every inch of visible skin.
That’s when one of the girls from the village stopped playing whatever game they were playing with the rocks along the shoreline and walked over to me. “Cris?” She asked as she sat down, helping me swat away the mosquitos. She had become immune after all the years of living in Venetie and the mosquitos never even went near her anymore.
“Why are you even here?” She asked, her big brown eyes large with curiosity. In a little part of my mind, I wasn’t even sure why I was there. I was hot, smelly from not showering in 5 days, sweaty, and covered in painful bug bites. But that was a very small part.
I smiled and pointed to her sisters and cousins splashing in the river. “I’m here to watch them enjoy this warm summer day.” I pointed to a couple of houses that were visible from the river, “I’m here to talk to everyone in the village. I’m here to try to learn the native language from the Elders and to listen to all the wonderful stories they have to share.” I turned and looked down at her. “I’m here for you.” I said pointing at her. She just giggled and joined her friends, not really understanding what I had just told her.
But one day, she will understand.
Right now, in her mind, Christians are just people that sing Jesus songs and read the Bible all the time. But in my mind, it’s being there for everyone, even people who live places with extreme weather and a million mosquitos. Being a Christian means that I’m not there to tell them about God’s love, but to show them God’s love. I want to show them that I love getting to know them and everything about them. To understand their way of living and their culture. To show them that I love them like Christ loves them.
That’s what I’m looking forward to most about being on the Race. That in the midst of all the craziness and the million obstacles my team and squad are going to face, we will have the opportunity every single day to show God’s love in such beautiful and unique ways.
