If you’ve been following my blogs, you’ve probably noticed by now that I really enjoy serving the Lord through mission work. Though a sweet blessing, traveling to whatever host country He allows me to go is rarely easy. It requires time away from my job as a freelance writer, time away from my family, and of course, some cash. But honestly, I’m typically so excited about going that I’m nearly oblivious to the struggle. Instead, I see myself as a participant in an exhilarating, joyous journey of faith as I watch God move in ways which are always over, abundantly, above anything I could think or even imagine. He never ceases to surprise me as I walk into opportunities to witness, and encourage my siblings in the Lord – and even experience their encouragement. It’s amazing to me that a team and I will travel with the intent of serving and encouraging; and the whole team typically ends up getting encouraged and served by our Christian siblings in the host country!
On one particular mission to Latvia, a lovely Christian lady name Maudina (a member of one of the churches with whom we were partnered for that mission) graciously opened her home to us as a place to stay while we were there. Though her home was roughly the size of a small two bedroom apartment, it was beautiful with all of it’s wood accents, and her face glowed with delight when she met us at the door.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, moving toward the kitchen where a homemade apple coffeecake and several different beverages awaited us. Then she added, "Sorry I was not sure what you really like. And sorry about my English. Is not so good. Is everything else good?"
"Yes ma’am. It’s wonderful. Thank you so much! And your English is much better than our Latvian." I smiled, feeling humbled.
Our hostess giggled and we hugged each other. I knew that all she’d done was a sacrifice because Latvia is a second world country. Maudina reminded me a little of Lydia in the 16th chapter of Acts.
A Heart that’s Filled
Just like this precious lady in Latvia, Lydia had a heart of love - faithful to serve others. Lydia, a Jewish business lady from Thyatira (present day Turkey) loved God. She and other women met regularly to pray together (Acts 16:13). One day, Paul and his missionary team showed up at the prayer meeting and told everyone about Jesus. Lydia was so excited to hear that the Messiah had some and would fill her life with purpose, hope, and victory, that she immediately became a disciple. Then she offered Paul and the team a place to stay in the midst of their travels so that she could hear more testimonies from them.
And speaking of purpose, hope and victory, it didn’t take long for our little team to discover that these things were sadly absent from the lives of many inmates in a Latvian prison where we did some ministry. In fact, those things were lacking in their lives long before they ever wound up in prison. Many of them were taught as children (under the Russian rulers) that there wasn’t a God and that they were here "by chance". A simple product of evolution. But as the Lord imparted his vision and purpose to them through our ministry outreach, they’d go and witness to their cellmates and invite them to the chapel services that we held. What an incredible blessing to see God working in their hearts!
A Servant’s Heart
A willingness to serve sets us apart from today’s business world mentality. Worldly industries have a mindset of out-doing one another. Jesus’ apostles originally had a hard time understanding that Jesus had not come to out-do the Roman Empire. He wasn’t even making an effort to compete with it, much less impress anyone or gain men’s approval. Seems like a contradiction to a servant’s heart until we remember that Jesus set an example for us to obey the Father first, and then serve Christ’s body. It is written that obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). It took obedience for Jesus Christ to sacrifice His life for us. And all we need to do is ask Him to come into our heart and lives and save us. When we do that, He shares with us His power to cause us to overcome in every difficult circumstance that we’ll ever face. He has given us gifts and talents to encourage and build up one another. One isn’t better than another, but they all work together to strengthen us, His Bride, and bring glory to God. And what a beautiful Bride we are when we are all about loving Jesus and one another, willing to support one another emotionally, in prayer, and in ministry – with a heart of love.
