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Missions at the Kitchen Table

It might seem odd to say that mission trips are as much for the person going as for the people being to served. But the truth is, often what we get out of going on the field impacts us just as much as what we go to share. This is the beauty and gift of a mission trip – the personal impact for everyone involved. 


 

“If only this were real life.”

“I wish I were back on the field.”

“I can’t wait until I (graduate/quit my job) so I can go into missions full time.”

Surprise. This is real life – and we are on the “field” full time – right now, wherever we are.

The beauty of a mission trip is that is takes us out of our “normal” and into the lives of others. The result is a different perspective on the tensions in our relationships, homes, workplaces, churches, etc. It also challenges us to live differently. This isn’t a bad thing.

Because mission trips are partially for us too.

Sometimes it’s easier to serve God on the field than at home, around people we live with and risk rejection from, with the pressure of bills, final exams, and an overpacked schedule. When the practical, energy-draining “stuff” of life gets in the way, our days don’t feel purposeful. It’s easier to long for what we had in Africa, without electricity or internet, where the excitement of a new culture helped us forget the problems of home.

Life on the field feels more exotic too.

There’s purpose in “suffering” there, in being uncomfortable, missing family and friends, sacrificing attending weddings and birthday parties.

The truth is, the portion of a mission trip that is “for” us – the part where we are challenged in our relationships with God, where we become best friends with people we’ve never met before and might never see again, where we completely focus on Christ because the problems of life are on literally on the other side of the world-

it is a picture of how we are to live every single day.

When Jesus said, “Go and make disciples,” he meant for us to live the way we would live on the field while in Starbucks and Target, at community baseball games, by the water cooler at work, in our churches, and at the kitchen table. To be missional as we balance checkbooks and fill planners, Christmas shop and commute to work. To listen for his voice while standing in the check out line at the grocery store and in the quiet moments before the kids wake up.

Because to be a follower of Christ is to live missionally in every single moment.

When there might not be anything interesting enough to share on social media, and it seems like laundry and dishes might take the entire weekend to complete – that’s where we start.

In addition to helping the people we go to serve, mission trips encourage the church and help us too – to get out of our “normal” and catch a glimpse of life in God’s Kingdom. When life – whether in North America or overseas – looks like a day in the life of the Kingdom of God, it is life on the field.

And that is real life.


Do you feel God calling you on a mission trip? Go to our website to find a trip for you!

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