“Don’t fall in love with being a servant; fall in love with
the people you are serving.� — John Smith’s Mom (via email to John)
The longer that I am on the World Race, the more I feel like
I am really living out the way that Jesus’ disciples lived. Not in the way that I am “more holier
than thou� or am always walking side by side with Jesus, but just in the way
that EVERYDAY is different. More
often than not there is a group of people that are waiting to hear us preach,
teach, or entertain. Our team is
CONSTANTLY moving to new areas, meeting new people, and bringing the Word of
God. We work with orphans, the
poor, men, women, children, teenagers, the disabled, etc. We live in a community of 6 other
people ALL the time; sharing meals, beds, computers, clothes, feelings, fears,
frustrations, etc. Being able to
share Christ with this variety of people all the time for 11 months sounds
really great!
However, just like the disciples, there are times when we
doubt even 
though we see so much evidence of God everywhere. There are many times when we are tired
of being around people and don’t really WANT to love ANYBODY! Sometimes we think, “Why am I here? I
have left my family, friends and everything that seems normal to me!� We lose sight of the fact that God has
blessed us with the opportunity to see so many cultures, visit so many places,
and do so many incredible things.
The “new-ness� and excitement of traveling loses its appeal.
THEN, usually rather quickly, God reminds us why we are
here: Because He called us with a “holy calling,� one calling that we obviously
couldn’t ignore. God reminds us
that the people that we have been put on a team with are people that all love
Him and have this same calling. We
are reminded that God has brought us to these countries so that we might share
the hope that we have in the salvation that Christ offers. It’s brought to our attention again
that these are opportunities that we have so that we might show the people that
evidence of God is all around them!
After these realizations, I generally feel a little bit silly for having
been in such a bad mood, yelling at my teammate, or not wanting to do a
particular ministry.
In case you’ve forgotten why you work where you do, go to
school 
where you go, or live in the town that you do…remember that God has a
purpose for you there. On
the flip-side, if you are not where God wants you to be….you should probably go
there. He has people that need to
see you living a life that is set apart, one that is different from
theirs. Don’t forget that there is
a specific purpose for you being where you are…even when it doesn’t seem that
this is true on some days.
Make the MOST of EVERY opportunity.
Lovin’ Him,
Lyndsay
