I love mission trips.
I have been on and lead many short term mission trips both local and international over the years. Because of my passion for mission trips I thought a year of missions would be a cinch. I knew it would be hard and there would be some struggles living life as a missionary for a year, I was not naive about it, but I can honestly say being a full time missionary is way different than I thought it would be.
Short term mission trips are anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks, they are jam packed with ministry, worship, sightseeing, and team building activities.
What I have experienced so far on the World Race is quite different than that. We have ministry for a few hours each day then a lot of down time when we do some routine chores, have team time, and just straight chill.
It’s quite boring a lot of the time. I have watched more TV series and movies than I can count.
Some months have been better than others because sometimes with the down time we can go out, explore, and make more of our own ministry. Unfortunately the past two months I have been in more remote villages and we are either not allowed to leave the property or there is nowhere to go in walking distance. So, a lot of time is spent on the church property and in our rooms (which has been the main church building).
It is challenging to use all of your time wisely and frankly I have not done the best with it these past two months. Instead of investing in my team or spending more time in the Word I have chosen to watch movies or just be lazy.
I have come to realize that is what I default to because that is what I do with free time at home. Don’t get me wrong, using free time to veg out is not always a bad thing.
We all need that chill time, but is it getting to the point where you are missing out on other opportunities to grow in your faith or invest in the people around you?
For me, it had. I was choosing selfish laziness over my team and depth in the Lord. Although, technically, I was not missing out on ministry I was not ministering to my team or myself.
All the down time I have been experiencing on the Race, as a full time missionary, has really showed me how much free time I waste that I could be using to invest in others currently on the Race and when I am back home.
And honestly, as followers of Christ, we are all called to be full time missionaries, right where we are, using the time we are given. We are told in Psalms 103:15-16 that our time is fleeting.
Are you using the limited amount of time we are given to further the Kingdom and your relationship with Christ?
It is a hard question, I know, I avoided it at home and various time on the Race.
But which is more important the time spent in the Kingdom mindset or time spent in earthly mind-numbing pleasures?
