On February 26th, it was pouring down rain in Zimbabwe as it had done most of that month. When it is raining, everyone knows you don’t just walk when you have to go somewhere by foot. Obviously, you run so you don’t get as wet. I booked it barefoot across a parking lot as the rain came down. I made it to the other side only slightly damp but had kicked a large rock by accident right as I got to the shelter to which I was running. I turned to my friend, Brooke, and said somewhat jokingly but also slightly seriously, “I think I broke my toe.”
Later on that day, it turned many amazing colors and was very painful to walk on. As the week passed, it remained funny colors and continued to hurt. Now that we are 3-4 weeks past the incident and it still is uncomfortable to walk on, I think it is safe to say that I broke or fractured my toe as I ran across the parking lot.
At first, I was put out not being able to walk. This month my team is doing door-to-door ministry. Having a broken toe and walking through neighborhoods to share the Gospel don’t go together well. I was not particularly looking forward to doing door-to-door ministry because it’s hard for me, but I still want to go because it would cause me to grow. As the first week of door-to-door approached, I became sadder and more frustrated over my broken toe. I half-heartedly complained to God about not being able to go.
The day before what I perceived to be my team’s ministry for the month was to start I became more frustrated. I wanted to do ministry. Then a saying from one of my professors popped into my head. “Your ministry field is right between your two feet.” I thought ministry this month was going door-to-door, but in reality, it was right where I was.
This realization changed my perspective and attitude 180 degrees. I started to see potential where I was. I decided to spend the first day of my teams’ ‘ministry’ with my foot up on a chair and doing intercession for my team while they were out. God really showed up that day, and my team came back with some great stories. The second day and the days that followed during that week, I decided to start ministering to the people on the YWAM base that are full-time missionaries. Over the week I built some amazing relationships with the women and children on the base.
The second week of ministry, I decided to hobble around the neighborhoods to do door-to-door. As that week and the next progressed, I realized how much more fulfilling my time building relationships was than door-to-door. This confirmed that my true ministry this month was to pour into the people at the base. I am still doing door-to-door with my team but look forward to the mornings or afternoons I get to bring life to the people on the base.
The broken toe that I at first took as a curse turned out to be a blessing. Not only did it give me a unique opportunity for ministry this month but it changed my thinking and perceptions. The place I am called to do ministry is between my two feet wherever that may be, even if one of the toes is broken. This also means anywhere is game for ministry. The store where we buy groceries, the taxi ride back from town, the coffee shop we get wifi in, the plane we are on, the house we live in. Basically anywhere.
This matches up well with the Great Commission. When looking at the actual Greek of Matthew 28:19-20 (Take a half sec to look it up… ok, let’s move on!) the main verb in there is not teaching, making disciples, or baptizing. Rather the main verb is “as you are going.” As you are going, you should do all those things. Not once you are there but where you are now. Wherever you are, you should be fulfilling the Great Commission by ministering to the people you come in contact with as you are going about life.
This is true in Zambia but also in the USA or whatever country you happen to be in. You and I are called as Christians to do ministry right where our two feet are at that moment. People ask me if I was called to be a missionary, and I say that I was, but that they are too. We are called to be missionaries wherever we are by the Great Commission. My call may take me out of the States for this time, but that doesn’t mean the USA is any less of a mission field to reach for God. You, as my Brother or Sister in Christ, have a huge ministry opportunity that you are literally standing on. It may not seem like much, but it is. Go and take it. Jump in with both feet! I will join you in that mission field as soon as my plane lands on US soil in August. The US is not less of a mission field than any of the 11 countries I am in. Some would even say it is more.
It took me breaking a toe to learn this lesson. Literally a painful and as-hard-as-a-rock lesson to learn… Please live vicariously through me and learn this lesson without breaking your toe. Become bold and reach the mission field between your two feet that God has called you to in His word. It is just as amazing as Zambia.
I can’t wait to join you in ministry when I land in August. Until then, I am praying for your ministry.
Blessings,
Elise Swepston
Month 6: Zambia
