Mission in the Ordinary

My mission is no longer flashy, let’s be honest. Most of my days consist of phone calls, meetings, and emails. It is certainly harder to see the ways that God is moving than when I was living in Haiti or in India, especially if I’m not paying attention. There is no longer someone coming to my door in need of food. I’m no longer praying with my neighbor for the healing of her sickness, or accompanying someone to the doctor who is in dire need. It can be hard to share stories or details about what I do now because it feels so “ordinary”. It involves computers and emails and meetings and phone calls. Yet God is present here.

When I have the eyes to see, I recognize ways that I’m able to serve through the work that I’m doing now. Many of those moments include praying with people over the phone. Recently, I was talking with a man who is interested in being a missionary, and we stopped to pray for his brother who was recently diagnosed with leukemia, and his family who was supposed to be receiving the news that day of how long their loved one had left to live. Last week, I was praying with a new missionary who feels the need for deeper emotional healing in her life - for God to provide the right avenues, people, and resources for her. Later that week, someone in her life offered to financially support her to go to counseling.

Another ordinary aspect of my work and mission includes meetings and trainings. Recently, I’ve been in a series of meetings about deepening our process of placement for new missionaries. We’re answering questions like: How much involvement will a new missionary have in their placement? How much involvement will the team on the mission field have? What type of interviews or conversations will happen? How many weeks or months will this take? How can the process be covered in prayer? How do we accompany new missionaries while they/we discern? If you’ve ever been in a meeting, you know that they can sometimes feel drab, difficult, or have moments of conflict. The same things are true of meetings in a mission organization. Though we begin and end in prayer, apologize and offer mercy when needed, we are all still humans in need of God’s grace, and meetings can be difficult on certain days. And yet, God is still here, present with us in the ordinary.

In March, our Missions Department participated in a training day with Barnabas - a Member Care organization. “Member Care” simply means the pastoral care of missionaries. Here’s a photo of us all together with Steve and Deborah who shared their experience of mission in Cambodia (for more than a decade!), as well as what they have learned about serving and supporting missionaries through Member Care.

Most days, if I had a photo to send you of “me on mission” at the moment, it would be me on my phone, at my computer, in a meeting or a training. But isn’t that God’s truth for all of us? Every moment can be a mission if our eyes are open to see.

Will you keep your eyes open in your daily life with me - while at your computer, on your phone, with your family, cooking dinner, or driving to work? Let us pray for each other as we walk through the ordinary mission of our daily lives. I pray that God can move in us and through us as we participate in His mission by loving those around us in the present moment.