“You do know that there are hundreds of thousands of starving people where you live, right?”
“Have you seen how many homeless people are downtown?”
“You do realize that a mission trip can’t actually change a third world country?”
“Why do you need to travel halfway across the world to help people? Don’t people need to hear the good news here too?”
I could go on and on about the not so supportive responses I have heard when fundraising or simply sharing what it is that I am doing. So, I thought I would share my heart on why exactly I decided to apply for The World Race.
To begin, I would like to express one thing that is heavy on my heart. I do not and have never believed that you need to travel to the poorest countries in the world in order to be “on mission”. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, and those hands and feet need to be used everywhere—not just the poorest city in Africa. It breaks my heart to see homeless people sleeping on the streets, babies left without mothers, teens abandoned by their family, children going without meals and women being subjects of sex trafficking all in the same city that I comfortably live in. You can be on mission working the drive-thru at Starbucks, working on a construction site or selling home owners insurance. Mission is a way of life. It is a call to love, serve and be Jesus if Jesus were you—wherever that may be. The same Spirit that has called many to serve and minister where they are is the same Spirit that has called me to go.
So why not just stay here?
If I am being totally honest the answer is simple, I am in need of a heart change. I am an incredibly empathetic person (it is a blessing and a curse), but sometimes I feel more than I do. It may sound crazy but I am actually looking forward to living out of a backpack for 9 months or going weeks without a warm shower and a cozy bed. I am used to the comfortable lifestyle I have lived in for 21 years. I am not crazy enough to think that I can change everyone’s life that I come into contact with while I am gone, but I am confident that they will change mine. Sometimes God can use something like a mission trip to not only spread the Gospel but to change the hearts of those serving, not just those being served. I know that this trip will wreck me and most likely change my entire worldview, but maybe that is just what I need. I am eager to learn what it means to selflessly serve and to experience joy when it seems there is no reason for it. Being completely pulled from my comfort zone will reveal to me where the source of all comfort stems. I believe this trip will better equip me to serve wherever it is that God calls me after—whether that is being a waitress in Missouri or working at an orphanage in Central America.
Fundraising Update: I am up to almost 80% funded! This means I need $3,000 until I am fully funded. Thank you SO much to those who have supported me in prayer and in giving.
With so much love,
Kristen
