Working on the field, we have many short term volunteers come to Bykota House. I have noticed that, just as the body of Christ is vastly different, we too have different types of teams and volunteers. Overall, there are two types of teams that come to work with us. There are the teams that come alongside and lift the burden off your back for a time, so you can take a breather, and also teams that come alongside and till the field with you, so you can accomplish five times more work. Both are great. I enjoy when we have teams that come and take over the school, so I can have an afternoon off, or that babysit, so Kels and I can have a date night. I also am so glad that we have those that come and give us the opportunity to take the kids on field trips or plan big, elaborate activities for the kids to do, with my supervision and help. Some people think that if you prefer one, that the other must not be good, but I disagree--every team is a blessing. Within the teams, there are also different kinds of volunteers. Some people come and want to do, do, do. They just want you to put them to a task and work them to death on something. To that I say, "Awesome! Here are some things that need to be built/organized/painted." While other volunteers want to be relational and hang out with the kids and get to know them, and to that I say, "Great! I have some amazing kids that would love your attention!" There are even those who come just wanting to do whatever is needed, and I am not going to lie, I think that this is a fantastic attitude, and I appreciate flexibility, so to them I say, "You are my favorite..." Not really, but you get the idea that we have all kinds of volunteers, and they are always such a blessing, but there is one thing I notice has almost ceased to exist in missions. When we come to a ministry, our attitude is always, "What can I do." We want to be useful. We must have a purpose. I do not think that this is a bad attitude to have. We want to be as helpful as possible, during the time we have set apart, but I also think that this attitude sometimes stems from pride. We must have something to do, so that we have validation for coming. We want the pat on the back that comes from a job well done. I understand that most people spend thousands of dollars for the plane ticket alone, so I know why they want their time to be productive, and I agree, but there is a form of missions that I think we have forgotten about, and that is the missions of encouragement. Do we remember that Paul sent people with his letters? In most every case, those carrying the letters came to the churches in those cities and just encouraged the believers there. They weren't there to build a wall or teach in a school. They didn't need a purpose for being there, except that there were believers who needed encouragement living in that city. We mostly think that we should be encouraging, while we are doing other things. Could you ever imagine going on a missions trip just to encourage the believers in that area? To come to a ministry and simply make it your aim to pray with the missionaries on site everyday and live life with them. To speak words that would build them up and have a meal with them. Yes, and be willing to help in anyway. Being on the receiving end of short term missions trips, I have to be honest it is difficult to find things to do sometimes, but I am always encouraged when I am able to sit down and talk to people about what God is doing in their lives, and just have time to talk with other believers: doesn't that always build you up? The reason we do not consider this missions is most likely because we can't take a picture of it, but if you want my opinion, we could use a lot more short term encouragers--who make it their aim to be helpful in any way necessary, but also will just spend time in genuine fellowship with other believers--those that understand this to be missions work just as much as anything else that we could be doing. We have had many encouragers on the teams that have come through, and I am always energized by their presence and able to keep on with God's work, with new life, because of it. So, my encouragement: build your wall, teach English, love on kids, paint some rooms, but remember that being busy is not the goal of a short term missions trip. Spend some time with the people you are serving alongside and be an encourager, and you will bring a blessing to them in a way you could have never imagined.
BecauseHeLives,
Micah.
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