An open letter to the people who don’t understand exactly what I’m doing.
To: The person who has a different idea of what “missions” are
The person who commented on my photo “stop shopping & go help people.”
The person who thinks all I do is take photos for Instagram
The person who doesn’t support me
The person who doesn’t understand
For starters, let me be blunt and say that you really have no idea what is going on. Everyday I am learning to walk in the obedience of the Lord. Each day, that looks different than the last. I am processing and healing from wounds of my 21 years on this Earth. I am loving people through this around the world, the unheard, the unseen, the misunderstood and those who can be hard to love.
What you think this may look like is what society has told you. Most people think that being on a missions trip means building houses, painting street murals and saving everyone we meet. And, while sometimes that can be true, for me personally, it is not. God is using me in different ways to build His Kingdom, and you know what, that is OK.
God is using me in the classes I teach English. God is using me to support local vendors at the market. God is using me to speak life into those staying in the same hostel as my team & I. God is using me to stop and spend time with the beggars on the street. God is using me to encourage those who are already believers. God is using me in ways that I can’t even try to explain. God is working through me by my actions, the way I treat others and my words.
That photo on the mountain? – that was me with my Capernaum (special needs) friends who never get the opportunity to take trips up the mountain they’ve lived near their whole life.
That photo of my team at the lake? – that was organized by our YL friends, we spent the afternoon laughing & encouraging one another as fellow believers.
That photo on the Great Wall? – my team & I prayed with a man on that wall.
Another afternoon at a coffee shop? – more times than not, a conversation started at a coffee shop has led to my team & I sharing our “why”
A new tattoo? – the artist asked the meaning behind it & took a photo of it with her personal phone. I could see the wheels turning in her head after I explained it, and fully believe God is using it to work in her
That photo in a mall? – my teammate was buying a coat because it’s cold in Kyrgyzstan and we are living out of a backpack – buying a coat that she’ll have to leave behind and will be able to bless someone through that.
Something that I’ve been trying to do since I launched on the WR was to be authentic. My Facebook album of mirrors around the world was created to show the real and raw WR life I am living. I promise to always keep these photos real to share my authenticity to all who view them.
While I don’t owe an explanation for everything I post, the next time you see a photo of me, my team or my squad, try and see it from a different perspective. Try and see the bigger picture, the Kingdom perspective. Our words have power – use them for good. Let our actions speak louder than our words. And please let’s not focus on the highlight reel that social media tends to be – there is always more to the story.
In the future if you see photos or videos that I post or am a part of and want to know the story or the “why”… please ASK! Part of me being authentically myself means being open to all. My door is always open and that door while being on the side of the world is currently my inbox.
With love,
Mackenzie
