Now in month three of the race, I’ve been able to experience various types of ministry. While all the types may have looked very different at the time, I’ve realized that there’s always been a common thread: the purpose was to bring future kingdom.
In the Dominican Republic, we cleaned up the ministry grounds where kids would play and learn about Jesus during summer camps that would be hosted there in future months, we painted the houses future missionary groups would stay in, and we updated their ministry website to aid in bringing more missionaries to help out at Hope Mountain in the coming years.
In Haiti, we painted future missionary homes, we did demolition to a space that would be used for future staff at Baptist Haiti Mission, we cleaned out the medical depot for future medical mission teams to use in mobile clinics, and we were a trial run for future teams to come in order to make sure the ministry is equipped to handle north American teams as this is something they haven’t done before.
Here in South Africa, we’re helping to build a log home for future missionaries to stay in when they do ministry with Global Leadership Academy and we invest in kids’ future at Ithemba’s after school tutoring program by helping them learn English and other subjects and teaching them about how much Jesus loves them.
This thought of investing in the now in order for kingdom to be brought later reminds me of a story that Jesus tells his disciples in the book of Mark in the bible. In Mark chapter 4 verses 30-32, Jesus describes the kingdom of God by relating it to a mustard seed. He says that the even though the mustard seed is the smallest seed on all the earth, it ends up growing to become the largest of all garden plants, with huge branches that birds can come and perch on. All of this meaning that small things, done in faith, can become large, impactful things done for the kingdom of God.
But a seed doesn’t become a tree overnight. It takes someone tending to it regularly, making sure there’s no weeds choking it out and ensuring its soil is well watered, but most of all it takes time. So even though I’m not seeing the immediate kingdom outcomes while I take a hammer to a nail, a paint brush to a wall, or by teaching a child one math problem, I can trust that God will take care of the seeds I’ve planted in faith, and in His timing and by His power, He will bring a harvest that will do far more for the kingdom than I could have ever imagined, because it won’t be something huge I produced out of my own strength but something small I planted out of steadfast faith.
God’s doing big things on my perspective of what it looks like to trust him and I can’t wait to see where this journey leads. As always, thanks for reading!!
