Living Missionally

God has blessed our mission trip to Jamaica, which seems to have made a deep impact—probably more in our lives than the Jamaicans. The team will meet in a week to debrief and to talk about how we are different as a result of our experience. One thought came to mind this morning: A mission trip is unique, but there is nothing unique about how one lives during a mission trip.

To illustrate, at the end of our trip we stayed at a hotel near the airport. While I was brushing my teeth I instinctively turned the water off, because it had been scarce and expensive at the deaf school in the hills. My next thought was, “The trip is over; I don’t need to conserve water anymore.” This thought, however, was immediately followed up by, “But God calls us to take care of the earth as stewards, which includes not wasting his resources.” In fact the Christian has the strongest and most consistent motivation of all to be an Environmentalist (properly understood). A mission trip is unique, but there is nothing unique about how one lives during a mission trip.

Other areas of life apply equally. Several mothers on the team said during the trip: “I wish I could get him/her to work this hard at home. Why is it so fun and motivating to serve and sweat and get dirty and smile and lend a helping hand in another environment? One afternoon a group of us ran out of jobs and decided to just pick up trash behind the dorms. We found all kinds of things in the thick, deep grass: bicycle frames, lots of rusty metal, a dirty diaper, broken glass, and ticks. And yet it was fun! God, give us such hearts for hard work—that we work unto the Lord, not to men—no matter where we are. A mission trip is unique, but there is nothing unique about how one lives during a mission trip.

There was also talk, and prayer about opportunities to share the gospel during our trip. At a local invalid home I shared Christ, and an urgency to deal with Him, with a woman who “was not a Christian, but would become one soon.” Many others shared words of Christ and God’s love to the students at the deaf school. And yet we all know that in our lives back in the US it is extremely rare to find a Christian looking and praying for opportunities to share Christ to those around us. A mission trip is unique, but there is nothing unique about how one lives during a mission trip.

God, thank you for such an amazing experience. Help us now to take care of what you have given us; help us to more consistently love and serve others; and help us to truly believe the gospel—and would you build in us an urgent desire to share it in the mission field right here at home.

Wrapping Up Work - Mission Trip to Jamaica

Yesterday included several highlights. In the early afternoon Monty took 10 students to a hearing school in the village to help with a one-hour Bible Club. The kids were fascinated at the 'white people' who visited, and they loved the singing, playing and teaching time. Yesterday evening (back at the deaf facility) we all sang and learned to sign songs, together with the students. The other church we are with did a drama, and Monty gave a devotional/gospel talk to all the students.

Finally, after much work and hard play, yesterday evening we held our team debrief outside on the basketball court under a full moon. The team has bonded well, and we enjoyed sharing stories that touched our hearts from our interaction with the kids that day. JJ Miranda took a poll of who missed their TV--not a hand went up; and who missed their computer--not a hand went up. Ok, I think there was one. Clearly we have been affected by how little the Jamaicans need, and we have learned to get by ourselves with much less (in the way of luxuries and entertainment). God, we pray that the impact from this week will carry on in our lives at home in meaningful ways.

Our work projects continue on this final day. The most rewarding for me has been clearing deep weeds (and trash, rusty metal, bottles, etc.) out of four small gardens encircled with cinder block. This afternoon some went into town to buy vegetable seeds to plant. A handful of students stay here for the summer, and they will keep the gardens up after we are gone. This will be fun for them, educational, and at least a small help financially with the increase in the cost of food.

This afternoon we will hang out with the students one last time, and we will pack tonight. Tomorrow morning we will get a presentation from a traveling signing team, then head to some local waterfalls to debrief and relax (YS Falls). Our team will continue on to Montigo Bay and spend the night at a sort of hostel/hotel, since our flight out is so early Saturday.

Because of our travel, this will be my last entry from Jamaica. Thanks so much for support from many of you, encouragement, finances and prayers from so many. I am confident this short trip has made an impact--both here in Jamaica, and probably much more so in our hearts.

Settling in to Jamaica

Yesterday we settled in to various work projects in the morning, and sports and games with kids in the afternoons. One incident illustrates well the differences in our cultures. Much of the morning was spent looking for and fixing a staple gun to repair screens in the kitchen and dining room. I walked with the Jamaican foreman (very slowly) to several places to find it, then three Americans and two Jamaicans spent an hour trying to fix it. Meanwhile Beth Bradburn spent this time hammering heavy duty staples into screens with a hammer.

While I was looking for the gun in the first place I was thinking, "We would save so much time if we just went out to buy one (which we eventually did). But walking around with the foreman, he told me the fascinating story of how he met and got engaged with his wife. I realized that I would not have heard that story if I had just gone off to buy a new gun. How many times do we miss opportunities to build relationships because we are so efficient in the US?

Work projects include digging and pouring footers for a new bathroom (our young guys are working so hard), painting, screen repair, fixing chain link fences, and tying rebar (steel supports for concrete). After a rainy Monday, yesterday afternoon was perfect--one of those days when you are a little warm in the sun, and a little cool in the shade, with a steady breeze. We brought out beads to make necklaces and bracelets, and we were concerned the older kids would be uninterested. One Jamaican boy got started with them and signed to his teacher--with much emotion, "I LOVE this!"

This is a Christian school, so it is not so much an evangelistic trip as it is simply loving the kids. One teacher said that the kids act up at the end of the school year because they are scared, nervous and sad to go home to thier families during the summer months. Usually their relatives do not sign, and certainly others in their villages and cities do not, which makes them very isolated. So they are hungry now simply for love and attention.

Stephen Dickman has regulars at the Sorry game, Ute with a 1,000 piece puzzle, Beth with Jenga, Forrest with beads, and Brandon made us proud being the only one of us who could beat the Jamaicans at checkers (Jamaican rules). The field in the afternoon is full of activity, especially the popular sport here of soccer. Casey and Monty are involved here, and are often out gunned by the older students (but they hold their own). Others help out in all these areas, and we are building such relationships with the kids that they can't wait to get out of school to hang out with us.

We have enjoyed our evenings together singing and praying, debriefing, and breaking into families (plus one or two guests) for devotions.

Infirmary Visit and First Day on the Job

Anyone just looking on, I am on a mission trip with 24 friends from our church, Cornerstone and trying to write about our experiences.

The infirmary yesterday was intense. It was a state funded (I use that term loosely) facility for about 150 people with all kinds of mental and physical problems, mostly elderly. One woman was dropped off by her sister years ago, never to see her sister again. (Her sister kept the wheel chair when she left.) There were many difficult things for our American senses to take in which we will remember for years.

But positively, we sought to overcome our discomfort and share the love of Christ with them. Many of them gathered in their eating area to listen to us to sing. As with American nursing homes, some visibly appreciated this, and others sat still and rested. Many were not able to attend this, and we visited them in their rooms (large rooms lined with cot-like beds). We were most impacted by the contentment and happiness of them in these pitiful conditions; sometimes their only belongings consisting of a few personal hygiene items and a Bible verse on the wall.

While debriefing, we naturally talked about how blessed we are in the US. But we also flipped this around and considered how little people actually need to get by. As Paul says, “I have learned the secret of contentment in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or in want (writing this even from jail).

This morning we have learned flexibility and patience in two ways. First from the laid back Jamaican culture (most important is not efficiency, but relationships), and second from frequent downpours from a tropical depression. The men and boys were able to clean up, sand, and prime what was a messy room with cement walls and floor. Most of the women and girls painted the inside of the meeting room so it will look nice for the Jamaican students’ graduation next week.

Between small jobs we are having a wonderful time getting to know each other on the team, and also interacting with the Jamaican kids who crave physical touch and attention.

Arrived Safely

Thank God, our mission trip to Jamaica has started out wonderfully. We arrived safely in Knockpatrick, Jamaica, after a 3 hour bus ride. Though tired, we had time to hang out with the Jamaican kids, learning their names through sign language (and white boards). That evening we had a great time of worship and prayer, with a devotion on our first shorter catechism question (What is the chief end of man?). The idea is that we can't do missions really until we know him meaningfully and personally ourselves. And knowing him and gloryifying him is all tied up with enjoying him.

Worship services today were wonderful. Half of us went to a Baptist (speaking, not deaf) church in the village of Mandeville. How truly wonderful to worship with a different tribe and nation, giving us a foretaste of heaven. The other half went to a deaf service which was more casual and laid back. It was meaningful for them to see deaf children and adults sign their worship songs with such passion.

Thanks to many for their support. This afternoon we are off to show some love, and share drinks and snacks with some terminally ill, poor Jamaicans in town. And tomorrow starts our physical work and more time with the Jamaican kids in the afternoon. More news hopefully in a couple days.

Ready for Jamaica

Our team has worked hard to prepare, and we are excited about our adventure to Jamaica starting Saturday morning at 4:45 a.m.! We are 25 teens and adults from Cornerstone, and we are going to work, serve and love at a boarding school for deaf kids in Jamaica.

Deaf kids there have very little hope for a normal life and vocation, so this school takes them in at very young ages, teaches them sign language, and educates them all the way through high school, including vocations such as sewing, carpentry, cosmotology, cooking and computers.

In the mornings we will do light construction on their simple, and sometimes worn out, facilities. In the afternoon we will engage the older kids (grades 7th through 12th) through soccer and other sports, painting, and arts and crafts. One other church from Charleston, SC will be there this week, which will focus on the younger ages in the afternoons. In the evenings we will worship, debrief each day, and have family and small group devotions.

Check back here next week, as I hope to send a few updates during our trip to the many who have supported us and would like to support us through prayer. Our hope and prayer is not only that we would make an impact in Jamaica, but that we ourselves would be changed in the process.

Taking a Break

What do people do when they are beat up, tired and just worn out from life? Some sleep, some read, some turn to alcohol or other crutches. In college I visited a pastor’s daughter one evening and came into the living room where the pastor was on the couch watching TV. I was excited to see him and interested in getting encouraged by him or having a spiritual conversation, but I didn’t get the time of day. He gruffly said hello and turned back to his movie. (I don’t commend his response, but as a pastor now I know personally his emotional fatigue after a long day of interacting with people.)

In 1 Thess 2, Paul writes about how he had previously suffered in Philippi before moving on to Thessalonica (we often skip over Paul’s greetings and travel details, but these sometimes contain very interesting insights). And did he get rest there? No, he encountered “strong opposition,” which apparently had the effect of running him out of town (3:1). Out of the frying pan and into the fire. And there is no indication anywhere in Paul’s letters that he slowed down, in fact in 2 Timothy he speaks of being poured out like a drink offering—spending his life over and over…for what? For the gospel, which is the central theme of 1 Thess 2, repeated over and over, which is the very content of his message (2:2).

God, may the gospel of Christ be both my message and my fuel to press on, even when I feel opposed or worn out. May the gospel of Christ so fill our church that we would actively live out our faith—not less and less, but more and more as we see The Day approaching.

I don’t know why, but when I was younger, I used to see if I could force a smile on my face during the most sad or hurtful circumstances—just to see if it could be done. It was not easy. But now, a smile comes to my face naturally at the most unusual of times. It is not as if I am happier or have better circumstances than anyone else (though I’m sure that is true too, as I am blessed), but the more I focus on the grace of Christ the more it affects and runs into every chasm of my soul.

I confess sin, and I bask in thankfulness simultaneously. Perhaps this is part of what Paul meant when he wrote, “Hard pressed, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair.” I feel as if I have a twisted grin on my face at times when I am alone—sorrowful and broken over my sin—only a small part of which I am aware. And at the same time the light of grace pours in and lights up any shadow of darkness. And if death has no more sting, then what power does a bad day have over me? Even an injury, or a bad meeting, or a strained relationship, or a sickness, or anything else in all creation?