Some people think I am crazy when I talk about being packed and ready to go and serve. Well, actually most think I am!
You see, Mission work to me is a privilege. It is a gift from the Lord. Every time I step foot on the mission field, I feel more blessed than words can express. Each time I go and serve, my eyes are opened a little more, and I desire to see more, to serve more. The Lord has amazed me these past 3 years, sending me to 4 different countries. In each country I was privileged to learn more, to have my heart broken more, to reach out more. In each country I wiped tears, prayed with those I had never met before, and came back a little bit different, a little more changed. I left some of my heart in each person that I touched there. In the Bahamas it was a widow who had 5 children to take care of, in Guatemala it was a wonderful teenage boy who told me his heart was broken, in Honduras it was a wonderful little old lady that we prayed for even though she did not understand what we were saying. I have no idea what Haiti will bring, but I am so thankful for the wonder that the Lord gives to me each time my heart is broken.
Many people have many different excuses for not doing Short term Mission trips. I have heard the typical ones:
-I have small children, I can’t go
-I can’t take off from work
-I don’t have the money
-I am afraid
-I want to only serve where I live
-What will I do with my children?
-It is not my calling
Imagine this…
Imagine the Lord knowing all these excuses and
also knowing your desire to serve him.
Remember…..
He is much bigger than all these circumstances!
If you take a step out of the boat,
you will be surprised to find out what he does behind the scenes!
You might find out that your boss understands
and might even be your biggest sponsor.
Or better yet maybe your family, co-workers, or even clients will step up and help you with the children, and financially supports you during the trip.
Make no mistake, if you receive the calling to go, you will be provided for.
The Lord is a much better planner than we are!
Fundraising is a key element to missions. We suggest you write a sponsorship letter and mail it to everyone you come into contact with. Bless others you regularly do business with, work with or witness to, with the ability to bless you financially. What a great witnessing tool this can be as well. It is best to have someone that can gather the money up for you, and keep a list of names. Then, when the donations the start coming in, you can follow up with a thank you note after the trip. We suggest only letting the missionary know the names and not the amount. The lord called us to serve in one form or another. There are those that can go around the world to serve and those that are called to help financially send others. By accepting their donation, you are enabling them to be a missionary as well. You have been a part of their blessing!
If you are afraid of going on a Short Term Mission trip, you are right on target!
For first timers, it is a very frightening and overwhelming experience…in a good way!
Fear is one of the main reasons that pre-mission and post-mission trip prayer is a key element to supporting the missionaries before, during, and after travel. Many of these fears can be calmed by prayers from churches, friends and family. A good idea is to make up some prayer cards and hand out to your congregation. Our Church makes a prayer card in which we put all the team member photos on and ask our church membership to put it on their refrigerator. This will help the membership to remember to pray for that team each day. In addition, letters of encouragement are sent with team members. Allowing your church membership to be a part of the mission team by writing letters of encouragement is just as big a part of serving as stepping on the mission field. For team members it is nice during quiet time to sit and reflect on the verses that your church family sent along with you. It always amazes me how the verses that are in the letters compliment the action that has just happened on the field that day.
Deuteronomy 31:8 (New International Version)
8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Serving locally is a wonderful thing, and many people are called to do just that. But do not limit yourself to only local missions. The Lord is not limited to just your area, so don’t limit the Lord to only meeting you in your back yard! Serving Short term missions can mean stepping on the mission field in another country or being a part of the support team that stays at home.
Matthew 5:19 (New International Version)
19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Missions is just not my calling….I hear this all the time. The Lord Jesus Christ called us to serve in one area or another. If you do not know your calling, pray that the Lord reveal it to you. You will be amazed at what he asks you to do that will Glorify him.
James 1:27 (New International Version)
27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Just to sum it all up…
The Lord has called us to serve. If you are called to do short term mission projects, get ready to watch the Lord do some amazing things in your life. If you start fundraising you will be amazed at how many people you never expected to help, will. Set a goal and put out that many letters of support and let the Lord do the rest. You will be amazed at how interested he is in making you a successful missionary!
Let him rock your world!
Glennis Wittmuss, editor
Mission Fields Online.com
