We were asked to write a blog about how we were called to this mission trip. Here is my story…
Last week, I was reminded of a news article I had read last winter. In my mind, the details were vague, but the memory of sadness profound. It was about a woman named Christina who lived in New York City and was found dead in her apartment. She was wearing her hat and winter jacket, lying on her bed. When the autopsy came back, it was presumed that she had been dead for 12-14 months. There was no family, no friends, no neighbors, no corner deli-store workers, no mailmen who missed her.
No one.
She had been dead for over a year and no one knew. I remember being overwhelmed with sadness when I read this. It seemed atrocious that someone could live life among millions and still live in complete separation from them all. Is that really living? But this then got me thinking: how often are people around me spiritually dying inside? And am I too blind, too self-centered, too agenda-driven, too tired, too restless to even notice? If I live my whole life in spiritual separation from those I brush up against every day, is this an atrocity? If Jesus came that we might have abundant life (John 10:10), what does that look like? Does abundant life come not with endless blessing, but with complete vulnerability, letting people (all people, not just the ones that make me comfortable) into my life, even when it hurts? If I’m on to something with these questions, I want to dig deeper. I want to know more. I want to be transformed.
My heart’s desire is that my life might count. I long to know that when I die, whether it be tomorrow or in 80 years, that my life told a story of something…no, Someone…much bigger than myself. To me, this is the mission field. To me, today is my mission field. I wish I could say I always got it right, but I seem to struggle more than I succeed. In my journey of becoming more like Jesus and loving more like Jesus, I have so much to learn.
This is where Adventures in Missions enters my story. When I heard about AIM and the Community Life program, I was so excited. I was stirred by knowing that there was a group of people who were committed to uncovering new ways of relating to God and one another. My longings were triggered at the suggestion that I could learn to share life with people who were interested in living out a radical, sacrificial, surrendered faith. And I wanted in. I desire to serve God and I know I can learn from my brothers and sisters how to do that more, to do that better. And I can’t wait.
So, here is to a year of adventure. Here is to choosing to see the Christina’s in my world, and love them like Jesus does. And here is to you, my reader…may you journey with me and discover the heart of Jesus as I do, too.
