Last night I went to a birthday party. It just so happens that this birthday party was more of a fiesta. It’s funny how different those seemingly similar events can be. At a fiesta, you show up late (but not empty handed), help chop the tomatoes for the pico de gallo, and invite the neighborhood kids. You eat carne asada and the creamiest guacamole. Your tongue aches because the spice factor is way above your tolerance level, but the food is too delectable and the hospitality too warm, you can’t resist. You are celebrating the birthday of the neighborhood grandma, la abuela del barrio, so naturally all the adopted grandkids are running around the backyard, stealing each other’s shoes and pleading for one more glass of coke. No one is using silverware, that’s what tortillas are for. And all you can think is, “This is what I’m created for.”
I love it when the Lord gives us glimpses of what He created us for. It’s those places of God’s calling that Frederick Buechner describes as the intersection “where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” One of my professors at JBU called these “thin places:” places where we feel as if the distance between heaven and earth is small, and we know God is near. That’s how I felt at the fiesta last night. Sitting around the table in southern Olathe, we might as well have been in Mexico City — that’s where Mari (la abuela) and her family are from anyway. Dinner conversation included talk of mariachi bands and the best way to prepare pico de gallo. As the evening progressed someone asked me how I learned Spanish, and the more startling question, “Why are you a missionary?”
Those are the kind of moments I pray for…but I found myself scrambling for words. God’s calling on my life to serve and live alongside Spanish speaking people is so deeply rooted in who I am and how I live, sometimes I forget how to express it. I was humbled in that moment as I fumbled through my explanation of how I went on a missions trip to Mexico in high school and fell in love with Latino culture, the Spanish language, and the people and how I believe Jesus has called me to pursue serving and loving people by living a missional lifestyle. It’s funny how explaining ideas in your second language forces you to simplify. I imagine the above explanation in Spanish sounding more like, “Well, I love Jesus, and I care about you guys, so how could I do anything else?”
It’s this passion and calling that the Lord continues to cultivate, develop, and stir in me for His Kingdom work. It’s this passion and calling that drive me to pursue serving alongside Spanish speaking people in 11 countries over 11 months with the World Race this coming year. And it’s this passion and calling that propel me to invite you into this crazy adventure with me. Would you consider partnering and praying with me as I serve alongside Spanish speaking people both here in the United States and across the world? My first financial deadline is $3000 due on September 26th. I ask that you prayerfully consider joining the work that the Lord is doing through daily things like fiestas and chopping pico de gallo. To make a financial donation of $50 a month or some other amount, please click the “Support Me” tab on the left side of my blog or mail a check to Adventures in Missions, P.O. Box 742570, Atlanta, GA 30374-2570 with ROGGDANIELLE in the memo. All gifts are tax-deductible. I am so thankful for your prayers, encouragement and support and I pray that the Lord will richly bless you as you partner with me on this incredible journey.
