Mission Accomplished!

In the last several years, we have started making a “time capsule” of sorts in the “mascot” of our mission trips, Al Buho (a.k.a. our plastic owl decoy that is a coveted White Elephant gift at our Christmas parties). This year our note from our trip to the Dominican Republic sums it up well:

Mission Field: Anywhere from Kansas to the DR

Mission: To Be the Hands and Feet of God, Serving His People

We assembled at Wichita airport, packed and ready to begin our journey. Each of us had our own concerns, excitements, expectations, but only one goal—to let God’s will be done. For most of the team, the language barrier was a huge challenge we’ve overcome. Though we were plagued with sickness and injury, we never lost sight of our mission. We taught lessons in schools, sang songs, did crafts, played with the kids, loved the kids, visited people in their homes, lead youth group, were a part of church services, and shared God’s love with all whom we met. It didn’t matter what happened before or after, we gave our all to put a smile on every face we came across. We had come to be a blessing, but in return, have been blessed by leaps and bounds. As individuals, we’ve grown in our own different ways. As a team, we have grown to become a family, striving for excellence in all that we do. Our mission in the mission field has been completed, but our mission for God never ends. Armed with our own stories, as testimonies of God’s goodness, we are ready to further God’s kingdom, by being His hands and feet, wherever we go from here.

Our mission trip reminded us of the power of God at work in the world around us…not that we were bringing God’s power…the Holy Spirit had already done that, but we became aware of the work that is being done in a part of the world far from us, in many ways. We experienced significant ministry within our group, as one of our members was hospitalized with Dengue Fever. We witnessed God’s healing in his life as he was released in time to travel home with us, and we experienced the power of prayer, as we kept vigil for him during a particularly dangerous time for him. And we came away with a reminder that God calls us to be in mission wherever we are. Thanks be to God...and mission accomplished!

Campus Ministry Blog-a-thon

My friend, Guy Chmieleski, the campus pastor at Belmont in Nashville, is hosting a blog-a-thon at his blog, faithoncampus.com. He has a series of posts from various people related to campus ministry from around the nation that he is posting between today and Thursday, June 9. He even asked me to write one of the articles. The series is called "Soul Care for the College Pastor" and has a great line up. Read the articles, chime in and pass them on. Hope to see you there!