Well, here we are! The beginning of December… This month will see most of our September students returning home, our January students completing the final stages of preparation to come, and ISM staff thoroughly enjoying the whole process!
It’s hard to believe the first class is already finishing up their internship. I remember the weekend they all arrived, standing at Meeting Point at the airport, hoping I would recognise our students in real life from the photos we’d received, and wondering what the following month would have in store… We had everything planned out nicely on paper, but once you start adding ‘little’ things to plans like, say, people or real life, anything can happen!
In reflecting on this first term, both the in-class training and the internship time, one thing that really stands out is how incredibly open and embracing our students have been. They each truly have a desire to grow and learn and stretch themselves. They have thrown themselves into this experience wholeheartedly, and it has been an honour to see them grow in understanding and confidence as a result.
It is my prayer that as these students return home to their families, friends, and “normal” life situations, they will not return to who they were before they came, but will cling to what God has done and wants to continue doing in them. I pray that regardless of where they end up living and working, their relationship with God and their posture of humble service will be not only maintained, but continually fostered and nurtured.
Looking forward to January, we have another great group of young people getting ready to come, learn, and serve. I am excited to not only see the growth and changes in their lives, but to see how their personalities, thoughts and experiences contribute to making this term at ISM unique and meaningful. I know God planned for this group of students to come together at this time for a reason, and can’t wait to see what He has in store for us in 2013!
I surrender all! I lay it all down! I will sacrifice everything! I will die for you JESUS!
Really?
When we get together in our massive stadiums, comfortable churches or youth/young adult ministries we sing about sacrifice, surrender and death to self with gusto and passion. And…. most of us think we really mean it. These songs ARE great and beautifully written. One of my newer favourites is White Flag on the Passion 2012 CD. It’s stirs up images of 1000′s of sold out young adults waving white flags, hand over their hearts, all ready to DIE. (any leader would love to tweet that!)
Okay, let the fantasy bubble burst for a minute and let’s get real. How much do you REALLY have to sacrifice, surrender or die to self? How is taking up your cross and following Jesus really played out in most of our lives? Have you ever:
- been imprisoned for your faith
- been seriously persecuted
- lost someone you love because of their faith
- live without your basic needs met
- truly suffered (suffering doesn’t include not having an iphone 4S)
A.W Tozer suggested – “Christians don’t tell lies – they just go to church and sing them.” That’s a little harsh! People don’t know what they don’t know and we talk, live and sing songs in our present understanding of those words.
But once your feet land on the mission field, all of a sudden you have a tiny (and by tiny, I mean miniscule) awakening about some of the core realities of living out your faith. Your white flag of surrender may be waving half mast when:
1. The power goes out and you have no internet access (this is a biggy for a lot of people – in fact, reactions can rank up there with a death in the family)
2. No one cares about your previous accomplishments, ministry involvement or leadership position. As one missionary told me, “you become a BIG FAT ZERO.” - Hmmm, lose your life to find it, do I have to?
3. People tell you you’re fat when you weigh over 110 lbs. Are you still singing?
4. People point out all the zits on your face and say you should see a doctor right away.
5. You sweat from morning till night.
6. You live a bad hair life.
7. You friends and families’ lives go on without you, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and births. ”I surrender all?”
8. You are lonely, and unhappy and you feel like you are the only person on the planet.
9. Your bed is a little hard.
10. The smells….. toilet aroma, garlic, rice, garbage.
11. You don’t have loads of money. Sound like fun yet?
12. You try to order something and no one understands you.
13. You lead a Bible study or preach and no one says – “wow that was awesome”
14. You end up sitting on a toilet all night with a bucket in your hands.
Oh I could go on and on. And most of these things are really just minor discomforts and not truly suffering. The point is, until we have to give up a few of the comforts of home, we really don’t understand sacrifice at all.
Sacrifice, surrender and dying to self are essentials to becoming all we were designed to, but most of us RUN from anything that looks remotely like it. Let’s be honest we LOVE comfort don’t we? Paul said it beautifully in Philippians 2
1-4If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.
So friends I encourage you today to embrace a little discomfort and resist the temptation to complain. If we are willing to step out and risk our white flags of surrender will become more than a lyric.
If you are coming on a short term missions trip or just travelling it’s really helpful to have some tools to help you understand the customs, language and currency, take pictures, play games and read your favourite books on those long plane, train & bus rides. The following apps are our Top 10 Picks.
If you have favourites let us know!
World and Customs App FREE! – This app includes customs, cultural information and facts of over 165 countries.
CIA World fact book – $2.99 The CIA World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities, includes: maps of the major world regions,
Word Power languages – $9.99 – language dictionary 2000 words, Many languages available, includes search, flash cards, audio and record.
Currency Converter App – Free. Convert world currencies on the go!
Instagram App – Free. 15 million use this app worldwide to share photos.
Camera + App – $1.99 Great Camera with many filters and ability to upload to Instagram, FB, T and more
Bible App – Free. Any where any time, open this app read God’s love letter to the world.
Kindle App – Free – Read your ebooks on your iphone.
Scrabble Blast App – Free
Tiny Wings App – $.99 Voted game of 2011 in many countries. Get ready to FLY!
Usually when you start preparing for 2 months or more of volunteering/serving in another country you feel exhilarated about all the new things/people/food/culture you are about to experience. And you should! Serving overseas is no small task and it’s a step that I cheer about every time someone makes the gigantic leap from wanting to serve and actually starting the process, raising funds and getting on a plane. I say WAY to GO to everyone who actually does it. Amazing and beautiful!
Some of your initial thoughts may be, “I’ve been on a missions trip so this will be a piece of cake!“ But there is a big difference between a missions trip (a visit) and serving for a few months. One gives you a taste of the mission’s world and the other gives you the full meal deal. Your first inkling that what you are embarking on isn’t just a taste test is the time factor. After 10 days on a missions trip you are heading to an airport back to your family, mom’s cooking and your own soft bed! When you are staying in a foreign country for a few months after a few weeks the excitement can start to wear off and you start longing for pancakes and maple syrup! When you come to serve, you still have a return ticket, which lets you know the trip WILL come to an end, but as days turn into months, that return date can seem like an eternity away. A missions trip includes a translator; a team and you bringing lots of wonderful gifts and programs to those you came to serve. None of those things are part of the serving experience. You are alone or maybe with one other brave soul, you can’t communicate, and you’ve got “nothing” to offer as you usually are hanging on to every penny so you can make it to the end without running out of cash. You also feel very hindered by the inability to say any more than hello and thank you. At about day 10 you will probably ask yourself. “What have I done?”
What have I done?
Why serve short term instead of just coming on a missions trip? You can compare the missions trip to going to a great concert and loving the experience because it was so amazing to hear such a talented band. The euphoria wears off as quickly as singing the tunes does and within a couple of days you are over it and on to the next new hit. It was still a great time, but the high you received was very short lived. If however, you got on the bus and travelled with the artists for 2 months, listened to them practice 24/7, went from city to city, watched them write songs, set up and tear down, fight with other band members and deal with adoring fans you’d get a real taste of what it means to be a rock star. For some people it would be the icing on the cake that YES this is what they were born to do and others would rather just go buy a CD. The difference however on a short term trip is even if you don’t fully enjoy the experience you still may be compelled make it a life long decision. Serving others really isn’t about you or what you like. That can be a bitter pill to swallow, but it really can be the most incredible thing you learn while doing it. If you don’t feel the missions life is for you, you still can return home a different person by spending less, praying more and being an advocate for the those in the missions world.
A short-term trip means you really taste and see what it means to be a missionary; a missions trip means you get an adventure with memories that last a lifetime. Short term trips also give you and the Lord a chance to have some in depth discussions about The tower of Babel, death to self, His character, the showdown with the Prophets of Baal, heaven and hell, that nagging sin you had no idea lurked in the corners of your heart, your character and that’s only the beginning of the deep digging His Holy Spirit will do in your life, if you let Him. Coming to serve in another nation is not just about good memories that last a lifetime; it’s about a changed life that can last for eternity.
