Distractions??

 We have been living in Vung Tau a beach city in an apartment for the last two weeks. The only people living in the apartment are my team and our 21 year old translator. I have not lived in this situation since Romania (month 1) and this time it is reminding me of college and living with roommates at Western. Everyone comes and goes at their own times just like if they were working or going to class. I either eat at the apartment or go with someone out to eat, just like I would living at home. I have internet, and cable TV with the Disney channel and several HBO channels.  A lot of this resembles home and these two weeks has been a challenge on how I’m going to handle and prioritize everything when I go home and have all this back all the time.

                                             

Living here in Vung Tau we are not doing much ministry but asking the Lord what he would have us do that day. Which is what it will be like at home, I am not going to be given a schedule every day that says this is what time you do ministry and what you need to have prepared. However Jesus didn’t start his day with a plan either he followed his daddy and would walk into a city and minister to the people he saw or that came up to him.

It is very easy to say there is nothing to do here, and to stay home every day. Just like I expect it to be very easy to go home and sit in front of the TV and only talk with my family and not go out and find ministry.  While here I have the excuses that “well no one here speaks English so how am I going to build a relationship with them?”  But Jesus also said to show God’s love through our actions. Since being here in Vung Tau I have done just that.  I have gone to get pizza and a drink for a $1 from the same lady almost every night for dinner. I went and played charades with two women at a salon to get my hair cut and tipped them when I was finished (something you don’t do in this culture).  I found a man selling tickets by a popcorn stand and just blessed him with a little money. We went to a park and I walked up to a family playing ball and asked if I could play to   (with charades) and they let me play for an hour with them just laughing and kicking a ball back and forth.   All of these things did not require me to speak English. But in all these things I was showing Jesus to the people I interacted with.

When I come home everyone will speak my language but yet there will be other distractions and excuses I could come up with not to “do” ministry. I have already thought of some in my head for example I cannot go to a park and just ask a family if I can join them and play with their kids. In America that is a red flag and creeps people out. I don’t want my life to look any different when I come home than it does now. There are still people who need love and kindness everywhere I go.

There is the lady at a local restaurant (probably Wendy’s) that I can build a relationship with and just encourage whenever I see her. There is definitely a cashier in Wal-Mart that I will see several times that I can bless by just smiling and being patient with them while waiting in line or fixing a problem with a price. It might look like covering the car behind me bill at a drive through before they get to the cashier and not letting them know until I’m gone.  There are neighbors who need to see a smiling face and just a nice hello when they are noticed. I’m not called to walk by people and ignore them pretending I didn’t see them.

Is that what Jesus would do?

I don’t believe so considering he hung out with all types of people. The best thing to do is show love to them in my actions and words.

So while these two weeks have been an eye opener that going home will be very easy to get caught up in my own thing it has also taught me that

I WILL NEED to make it a priority to start my days with the Lord, and ask him what he has for me that day.  

I WILL NEED to be aware of what God is doing around me and not worry about what others might think but ask the person God has called me to pray for to pray for them in Wal-Mart.

I WILL NEED to remember to not only love my friends and family but everyone I see, because every person is special and God’s son or daughter.