Well, Beloved. And what can I say to all of you regarding Missions? That it is a bumpy road; a long road; a dusty road; a hard road. This was true for me. I found it difficult to make the initial decision to go on a mission trip. I began the process at least three times only to drop out beforehand. Not secure enough; not brave enough; not strong enough.
One day something changed. Not in me, but in spite of me. I committed. I started. I took baby steps. I translated. I planned. I gathered together and prepared and suddenly one day I was packing.
It was difficult because I had to exxteeeennnddd myself; reach beyond what I thought I was capable of, and trust God, the team leaders and my own abilities. It was also much easier than I thought.
Not knowing what to expect, I found poverty, hardship, despair, quiet desperation. I cried and wondereed why I was exempt.
Then I looked deeper, saw more clearly, became enamored of the community and saw with clear sight.
This is what I saw.
Joy. Unadulterated, untainted, unmarred. There is no shadow but what is found in the human heart. But in the faces of children, there is some reflection of the joy of the Lord.
On mission I travelled down that long, bumpy, dusty road. And somewhere on that road, somewhere in the middle of getting there and you've arrived, I found "missions". Or rather it found me. I found joy, or rather Joy found me. The joy of the Lord. The joy of a job well done. The joy of being perfectly fine and in the center of God's will.
The road goes ever on. Joy will find you as you journey. God bless.
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