Finding Meaning In Missionary Work
Simply Radiant Magazine
By Brittany Wallace
“Once I got settled in and asked God to allow me to experience Him in a way that I never have, every question floated away.”
The abundance of love, joy and laughter on the rancho is infectiousTraveling has always been a desire of mine, but I never gave missionary work much thought. Since the beginning of this year though, that desire began to beat louder and louder within my heart and this past week, I was able to visit an orphanage in Mexico called Rancho De Sus Niños. While I was there, I served with seven others from my church and 250 others from all over the world that had all come to experience God and take care of His children. When we arrived, I didn’t know what to expect and several questions swirled around in my head. Would I be homesick? Would I get sick? Would I enjoy it? Would I hate it? But once I got settled in, and asked God to allow me to experience Him in a way that I never have, every question floated away. I was able to clearly see the heart of the people who run the orphanage, and the hand of God in every activity that was offered.
Although we were only at RDSN for four short days, I recognize that I am forever changed. My team was given the opportunity to conquer fears, to come together as a team through physical labor, to spend time with the beautiful children at the orphanage, and to pray for perfect strangers. This trip showed me how fortunate we are in the states for having access to simplicities that would be considered luxuries in Mexico. Carpeted rooms, air conditioning, roofs, insulated homes, and drinkable tap water are expensive and unnecessary elements for the people of Tecate, Mexico. Many of us here in the U.S. cannot even imagine living in a home without any of these “basic amenities”, yet there are thousands of people who do so every day.
“The abundance of love, joy and laughter on the rancho is infectious.”
RDSN teaches their students about the love of the Lord, and engrains in them the truth that they can do anything though the power of Jesus Christ. These kids grow up knowing without any doubt that they are loved and cared for by God despite the fact that many of them were taken away from their biological families at very young ages. The abundance of love, joy and laughter on the rancho is infectious and I left feeling like a piece of me will always be there.
If you have an opportunity to serve in missionary work, I would urge you to ask God if it’s His will for you to do so. If He says yes, jump at the chance to do it! Giving to others and taking care of God’s children gives you a chance to be an extension of Him – it allows you to do exactly what Jesus told His disciples to do in Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations”. In serving others in another country (or even right in your own community), you make yourself available to God so that He can stretch you and allow you to grow in ways you never thought possible. By saying “yes” to Him in any capacity, you say “yes” to the adventure of your lifetime, the abundant life that He’s always wanted to give to His sons and daughters.
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