“Life is ministry and ministry is life” a phrase my team and I heard over and over the first two weeks on the field. When you think of the World Race or ministry in general what do you think of? Most people think of kids, homeless, orphans, manual labor, sex trafficking, etc. Which is true, these are all great forms of ministry however so far on the race I’ve learned that ministry can look like a lot of different things.
Over the first two weeks, my team and I spent our days helping a lady pack up and move to her new house across town. Mrs. Beth is my teams ministry host for our time here in Costa Rica. Mrs. Beth helps run a ministry organization with one of her close friends here. The goal behind the organization is to serve families of Costa Rica by providing biblical education, showing up in the lives of students at school, and free medical clinics. Mrs. Beth is originally from the States, she moved here ten years ago with her husband and kiddos.
The other three teams on my squad are doing different forms of ministry than us. The men’s team does manual labor as well as discipleship while one of the girls teams does children ministry and the other works with women in sex trafficking. So, if we’re being honest, when my team found out we were going to be helping someone move it brought up different emotions. For me, at first I was more than excited, finally starting ministry. We began the first couple days by helping her pack up her old house. Her husband was away in the states and her kiddos no longer live here. So it was my team and Mrs. Beth ready to conquer her three story house. We packed up all her valuables in anything from boxes to garbage bags to old suitcases. Honestly, I loved getting a new job because almost always I was paired to work with someone new. Allowing me to have conversations and joke around with each of my new teammates who I get to call sisters.
The first couple day were great until it began hard to see the fruit behind packing and unpacking. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a day where I was jealous of the other teams and their ministry. I decided to take that jealousy to the Lord and ask him what He had to say about it. He laid multiple verses on my heart during that. One of them being, Phillippians 2:13-14, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” So, the next day I reminded myself of this before setting out to help Mrs. Beth. I don’t want to be someone who grumbles about a task. I want to treat Mrs. Beth how I would treat Jesus. When one of us got frustrated, we’d crack a joke and speak truth into what we were doing. And what we were doing was beautiful. I never expected my first two weeks on the field to go how they did, however I wouldn’t want to change it. I learned so much about myself, the Lord, and ministry during that time. Finding ministry in the mundane because anything in life is ministry. Ministry isn’t just something you do in a season, ministry is life. Ultimately, we are short term missionaries here in Costa although Mrs. Beth is a long term missionary here. What an honor it was for us to be able to help her during a season that can feel so chaotic for her. This time blessed us as well since we got to know her outside of her work, we got to hear about her family and learn so much about her. I wish you guys could meet Mrs. Beth because she truly has a heart of gold. Her love for the Father and the people of Costa Rica is undeniable. Her smile lights up the entire room each day she greets us. A woman of boldness and truth. She spends so much time pouring into those around her. Packing up and moving across town on your own wouldn’t be easy. I’m thankful that we got the privilege to lighten her load because by us lightening her load it goes deeper than that- it goes to all the people that she impacts day to day. I’m happy to say she is now settled into her new home. My team started working with her and her ministry this week, serving and loving on kids. Unfortunately, I have’t been apart of ministry this week due to a concussion but I hear it’s been great. As I look forward to going to ministry soon, I get excited to see our ministry host because, thanks to helping her move, we now get to have a real relationship with Mrs. Beth.
In those first two weeks, she taught me more than how to fit your entire kitchen into two suitcases, she taught me how to walk with joy in what can seem like the mundane. Ministry doesn’t have to be flashy or what everyone expects it to look like. I was reminded that I told myself to come into this thing with zero expectations. I was pushed to rely on the Father in frustration and jealousy. I was reminded that just because we didn’t directly see an impact it doesn’t mean there wasn’t one. It’s truly a mindset. I can choose to buy into whatever God places me in or choose to grumble about it. I’m thankful that it only took me about half a day to realize this. Thankful I realized this so early on in the race- life is ministry and ministry is life.
Thanks for reading.
Love always, Cass
