Each day on the Race has new surprises. Neither life nor
ministry are ever what you expect; things hardly go as planned. Every day God
reveals something fresh and unexpected to show me.
renewed love for God’s people and a renewed perspective on what “ministry”
should look like but that is exactly what has happened. Most days in Africa
looked the same: house visits, praying for the sick in hospitals, and running
church services. I was burnt out from “ministry” and was not looking forward to
working with yet another church here in Nan. However, as usual, God knew what I
needed.
mundane or monotonous. Each day has held something special, and as the weeks
here progress, each day gets better.
From running an English camp for high school students to visiting hill
tribes in the jungles, God has reminded me that “ministry” is not focused on
how many people I can “save” or how many people are healed. It doesn’t matter
how much a church grows while I am in an area or how many people come to the
front at the altar call after my sermon. The only thing that matters is I loved
His people as much as possible.
The highlights of my month in Thailand are not the people
that came to church, or my students miraculously being fluent in English. My
highlights are the people I have simply loved. More and more, God is showing me
that ministry is life. Ministry is sitting after lunch with an 80 year old
homeless woman, Granny Penn, as she teaches me Vietnamese and Cambodian phrases
to prepare me for the last two months of my journey. Ministry is hanging out
with my English camp kids when they come to Pastor’s house just because they
missed us, even when we can’t have full conversations. Ministry is participating
in the community aerobics class with local women, mostly over the age of 50. Ministry
is holding the hands of women from the hill tribes as I pray for them, yet they
have no idea what I am saying. Ministry is crying with women in a Thai prison
as they hear messages about God’s grace and how they are redeemed by the Cross.
“ministry” would look like. Over the past week, God has reminded me that
ministry just as much playing soccer with Pastor Narong and his friends or
cooking with his wife as it is preaching on Sunday mornings. Jesus calls us to
love just as much as we are called to speak his truth.
While I have met the largest language barrier here in
Thailand, I have learned that I don’t have to speak someone’s language to show
them the love of Christ. I don’t have to do
anything. I must merely live my life following Jesus, and love each person He
puts in my path. Each person is His precious creation, and I pray that I see
everyone I encounter with the eyes of their Father. I pray that my smile shines
with His love for them. I hope that I can minister to everyone around me by
simply living my life and simply loving God and His children.
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but
in deed and in truth.
