When ever people talk about going on missions trips outside of the US, they talk about how shocking it is. The poverty, the starving children, the simple way of life, and how different everything is. I thought I would be experiencing all types of culture shock on this trip. Surprisingly though, I haven’t experienced it at all.
Yes, my heart breaks everyday for the things that I see. I see villages that drink the sewage water coming from the cities. I see men and woman who walk hours to work everyday because they can’t afford the 50 cent bus fare. I see children who fight to be fed. I see people give all they have to serve others, and they survive off of nothing. I see babies who have been abandoned and left to die.
When you see all this for yourself, or hear about it, the temptation to get angry and bitter is real. You think of all the excess stuff people have. The closets full of clothes at home, compared to the girls who can’t even have a new outfit for Christmas. You think of all the money people spend on useless things. And then you see people fighting to survive.
Could I get mad? Yes. Could I sit here and feel guilty about they way I have been allowed to Live? Absolutely. And I do. But then Jesus tells me I’m seeing it all wrong.
You see, in Africa, there are a lot of poor people fighting to survive. And there are also a lot of people living well off. (Yeah, don’t be surprised. Half the time I feel like I’m in America. There’s nice coffee shops and expensive cars and shopping malls).
And you see, in El Salvador, there are a lot of people fighting to feed their families. And there are also people who have plenty of money.
And in America, there are people desperate to find money for their next meal. And there are plenty of people well off.
Do you see what I’m getting at? In the big scheme of things, life is the same no matter where you go.
But Jesus hasn’t called me to fix all the problems of these people. He hasn’t called me to make people’s life easier by giving them money. He doesn’t want me to fix their lives physically and materially. And you know what’s even crazier?
THESE PEOPLE DON’T WANT ME TO FIX THEIR LIVES MATERIALLY EITHER. They aren’t coming to me to ask me for money. They aren’t becoming my friend to see if I will start a fundraising campaign for them.
You know what these people want from me and what Jesus wants me to give them?
LOVE.
UNCONDITIONALY, 1 CORINTHIANS 13, PURE, GENIUNE, LOVE.
Not the kind of Love that we as humans throw around, but the love of the Father.
I was asked in an email by a friend from home (shout out to my fav Ama Idun) What the biggest need I see, whether it be in my team or the community around me or the people that I serve. Here was my response:
So, no matter where I go, I try to find someone I can pour out all my love onto. I pick a single kid out of the hundreds of kids surrounding me, and I hold them and I love them. I look into their eyes and see hurt and pain, so I hold them. I pray over them. I declare truths over them. I sing to them. I tell them how much they are loved even though they can’t understand it. Sometimes I hold a kids for hours. Sometimes its only for 20 minutes. But I’m convinced in those times, that we exchange love for each other. We can’t understand each other, but somehow Love is shared nonetheless.
So you see, right now, I’m not fighting to end poverty. I’m not fighting to get children in school. I’m not fighting for social justice or equality.
I’m fighting for love.
I’m fighting that every person would feel the unconditional Love of the father from the way we love each other. So every morning, I soak in His Love. Because I can only Love as well as I fill up with Love from my Father. And then I go through my day, and let His Love overflow from my heart to His other children.
Would you join me? For no matter where you are, people are asking for this Love. Sometimes they don’t know they are asking, or that they even need it. But they do. And it doesn’t matter what language they speak, or what culture you are in, or any difference between you. It doesn’t even matter how you choose to show love. It just matters that you do love.
So Love deeply. Love purely. Love uniquely. Give the Love that comes from our heavenly father. Because at the end of the day, that’s all people need to keep going. To know they are loved.
Fight for Love.
