Go Global

There we were, in the Houston International Airport, about to board another flight, this one heading to Managua, Nicaragua. We were a group of twelve, ready for a week of serving and scared of the unknown. The flight to Houston for three of us was the first time in a plane. The next flight to Nicaragua for most was the first time ever out of the country.

The plane took off and all eyes were glued to the window. The months of fundraising and praying were combining with feet-to-the-ground action in just a few hours. The excitement of it all mixing in giddy laughs at 39,000 feet. The seven days that followed were a complete blur of laughs and tears, tickles and spins, photographs and prayers. And there we were, in the Houston International Airport, again. Only our memories to keep us company.

Nicaragua had captured my heart long before this trip, and now had the other eleven from my group in her grasp. That’s what missions does to people. It changes you. How could it not? Anytime you remove the comfortable and replace it with Jesus, the radical happens. When we take one step towards Jesus, He pulls us deeper than we ever thought we could go.

So, when are you going to go? Yea, that’s right, you. When? Where?

Now, you probably think I’m crazy. You have a life full of commitments and obligations. You could never find the time or the money to go. It’s better to just send others fundraising money then send myself. I have a year’s worth stories that say otherwise. When we actually GO, we get to see firsthand what Jesus wanted us to see: the poor, the orphans and the widows. Sure, you have people just like that in your community, but you never truly see them, do you? We’re always in a hurry to get from work to home, from this meeting to the next, from Monday to Friday. When you go on a missions trip, the focus comes off you and your schedule and it becomes about Jesus and His schedule.

And eyes are opened.

I firmly believe that if you go on a missions trip, it will drastically change how you serve Jesus in your own community. A little perspective is all you need. So, I’ll ask again, when are you going to go?