No material things?!

During my long car rides home from Salem to Blaine, I listen to a fairly wide selection of music.  Feeling really bored with all my current additions to my ipod, I decided to go back to the good old days.  You know, to see what the 14 or 16 year-old Jill liked to listen to.  I was listening to the song Good Life by Audio Adrenaline when I heard these lyrics:

            “What good would it be

            if you had everything

            but what you didn’t have

            was the only thing you need.”

Hmm.  I don’t recall the 14 year-old Jill making much of a connection with those lyrics.  In fact, I don’t remember the pre-teen me ever really hearing them.  But as I heard them as the current 22 year-old Jill that I am, I found new meaning. 

From the time I became a Christian to the age of 21, my idea of a mission trip was probably similar to most other people’s idea of a mission trip: building houses, making wells for villages to get clean water, and bringing shoes to children in Africa.  Right?  Maybe not completely right. 

Mission trips, in my mind, were about building and bringing people things… material things.  Giving people more comfort.  More material comfort.  Bringing people joy.  Material joy. 

When I was invited to take part in a mission trip this past summer, I was confused why Reign Ministries did not send out mission trips that built houses, brought clean water, and gave comfort to the hurting people of these foreign countries.  What kind of a mission trip was this?  No material things?!  Nope, no material things.  Reign Ministries goes out with a specific purpose: to bring people to Christ. 

What good would a house be if the people living in it never came to know salvation?  What good would clean water be without eternal life?  Doing acts of service like this is a great thing that makes a tremendous impact on the lives of those people, and can be a segue into sharing the gospel.  But the key is to keep the focus on the eternal. 

So maybe mission trips aren’t about building “things.”  Maybe mission trips actually have nothing to do with life on earth.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Matthew 6:19-20. 

As I spent my summer preparing for the mission trip and going to dozens of villages in Costa Rica, my idea of a mission trip changed drastically.  Mission trips are about changing lives eternally, not about giving a material change.  It’s not bad to build houses for people who don’t have them, or give a couple of poor Costa Rican girls your candy, but the focus should be on the eternal.  Like the wise lyrics of Audio Adrenaline reminded me, what good is it to have everything but to not have the only thing you need?

So what about life back in the states?  A lot of people here have pretty much all they could ever want… what many of them lack is the only thing they really need.  We don’t have to worry about building houses for our neighbors who have 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and beautiful backyards.  What we do have to worry about is the eternal.  “Missions” are everywhere.  People everywhere are missing the thing they really need.  You can be a missionary, too.  Build relationships with people, pray for them, share your eternal hope with them.  Help them find the one thing they really need.  

If you’re at all interested in Reign Ministries, I would encourage you to visit their site (and download an application for a mission trip!)  http://reignministries.org/

Jesus with skin on

It was our first meal in Cachí (the village where we stayed in Costa Rica) when we met our friend, José.  As we finished our meal, I looked out the window to my right and saw a little boy’s head peeking around the corner.  I waved and he smiled back.  After a good 5 or 10 minutes of staring in the window, he decided to come inside with his own permission.  The group was receiving directions for the day when this boy began walking around, giving hugs, waving “hello,” and making himself at home. 

I tried to ask José how he was, “Como estás?”  No reply.  Then I tried to ask him his name, “Como se llama?”  No reply.  As a last resort, I simply tried to say hello, “Hola?”  Still, no reply.  It turns out that José is deaf.  It broke my heart that I couldn’t communicate with this little boy who was so excited that the gringos had arrived in Cachí.  How would I build a relationship with him?  How would I get to know him?  How would I share with him about Christ? 

The fact that we struggled to communicate with José didn’t deter him from visiting us daily.  Everyday as our bus would return from our village ministry, José was standing in the road awaiting our return.  He wore the biggest smile, waved his arms, and ran alongside of the bus as we pulled up to the church.  José was a common sight to see among our team.  He loved to take our cameras and have paparazzi photo shoots, he loved to clap to the music we played, he gave daily hugs, and was our biggest fan at futsal games. 

By the end of our stay in Cachí, it was apparent that we had all built a relationship with our new friend.  As we said our goodbyes as we loaded the bus to leave, José gave out his famous hugs (this time a little longer than normal) and shed tears to see us go.  It broke my heart.  But I was joyful in knowing that we had managed to show love to José (and he showed love to us) regardless of the fact that we could not talk to him.  We had shared Christ with José. 

Our ministry in Costa Rica was with the ticos there.  For the most part, they did not speak English, or only spoke a little.  This made ministry difficult for many people on the team who did not know any Spanish.  How could we share Christ if we couldn’t speak the same language?  Where do you begin? 

Just like with José, sharing Christ does not need to come from words alone.  Of course, we were equipped with Spanish pamphlets that explained the Gospel, but the main way we shared Christ was through our actions.  The students were often sent out to be “Jesus with skin on.”  This was a time for students to go out into the villages and do things Christ would do: pick up trash, buy treats for kids, wash cars, strike up conversations with lonely people (even if these conversations only consisted of ‘como estás?’), clean someone’s shop, LOVE PEOPLE. 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  (John 13: 34-35)

That’s what we are called to do: love people.  So find ways to love.  How can you love with actions?  How can you share Christ in all you do?  Go and be Jesus with skin on.  

Hasty conclusions about my pasty skin

I love going to the fruit stand up the street here in Costa Rica.  I usually walk up in the morning to grab some green beans, an apple, or a pepper to take with me for the day.  The other day when I went to the stand, an old man was there buying his own produce.  I did the friendly (socially acceptable) thing- I smiled and then looked away.  This man, however, did not.  He smiled, but then stared at me for a good 2 minutes or more.  All I could think was, "how rude!" and "this is NOT polite."  I did my best to ignore him and turn my head so he couldn't stare.  I know my pasty white skin is a rare sight around here, but this was getting ridiculous.

It was at this moment of me thinking the worst of this man that I realized he was trying to pay for the apple I wanted to buy.  Embarrassment overwhelmed me.  How dare I think the worst of this man when he was attempting to show me love?

John 7:24 reminds us, "do not judge by appearances, but with right judgement." 

Far too often I make assumptions.  I make assumptions based on appearances, limited knowledge, and biased judgments.  And far too often these assumptions are wrong.

Things are not always as they seem.  Maybe I shouldn't jump to hasty conclusions about my pasty skin attracting unecessary attention.  Maybe I just shouldn't jump to conlcusions at all.  Maybe I should leave that up to God and mind my own business.

Confessions of a Clueless Costa Rican

Because time on the internet is limited here, I don´t have a funny anecdote to tell and then relate to a Biblical truth.  But I am sure those will come later... when I have more time.  But for now, here´s an update on my Costa Rican happenings:

1.  The food here is incredible.  The Costa Rican ladies make dinner for us every night and it is AMAZING.  Lots of beans and rice, vegetables, and good meat.

2.  The people here are so kind.  My first memory here is walking out of the airport to see a man who was smiling, greeting us and guiding us to our bus.  It was a good feeling.  I felt welcome.

3.  I do not care for the tarantulas known to grace this area of the globe, including the kitchen where we are staying.

4.  The carnecerias (meat shops) here are not like the ones in the United States.  The smell is less than appetizing, along with some of the cuts of "meat" (cow stomach, chicken throats, sausage made from pig blood, etc.).  However the two people who work there every day are so kind.

5.  Soccer is HUGE here.  I think I have watched more soccer in the past 3 days than I have watched over the course of my 21 years of existence.  I tried playing in a little practice game back when we were at training camp.  It was fun, but laughable on my part.

6.  Previously mentioned soccer watching has resulted in awesome opportunities to talk with the Costa Ricans.  Yesterday I talked with a family, one of the members (names Rossy) is suffering from cancer.  They asked me to pray for her.  Would you pray for Rossy too?  Pray for healing, for comfort, for finances, and for the doctors´ wisdom. 

7.  Costa Ricans are not familiar with mint life savers.  We shared some with them and they had no idea how to eat them.  I tried not to laugh, knowing that I have done some fairly ridiculous things since being here as well.

8.  The stray dogs here are like guard dogs.  "Sophie," who has been here for the past couple years, waits for me to go get bread every morning.  She runs up to me and follows me all the way to the panaderia (bread shop). 

9.  If you think of it, please pray for our team.  Pray for unity, courage in sharing our faith, pray that the language barrier would not hinder our testimony, pray for safety and health, and pray that God would prepare the hearts of the people we talk to here in Costa Rica.