Two people very close to me will be embarking on a “Missions” trip this weekend. Missions is a funny word, I notice a lot with Christian slang that we always seem to use military words. Maybe our forfathering Christian brothers went to war a lot. Oh that’s right, they did.
Nathan Colquhoun will be going to New Orleans. If you will recall, New Orleans was the city in the South that was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Thousands are still feeling the onslaught of that devastating storm. Nathan will be going with his good friend Pernell and others. They will be lending a hand in what ever it is they are put to do. I am sure there won’t be a shortage of work.
Rachel Parker is traveling to Bolivia in South America. She will be accompanied by Katlynn Jones. They will be living with a family while they are there and will be working with the local jail to take the kids out for games and some teaching.
In poorer countries like Bolivia, if a single parent gets sent to jail then the child(ren) must also go. It’s quite a shame but it saves them from the hard streets of prostitution and drugs.
To be honest, it scares me that two people so close to me will be leaving our “save” bubble life and heading to unknown and unsafe waters. But this is what these two people live for. It’s very admirable. It’s a trait that I wish more (and even myself) would adopt.
It’s amazing to see so many people do these types of things. It is, I believe one of the churches (and probably one of the only) positive things for them to do. As citizens, when tragedies or injustices occur we look to our governments for aid and support. True, it is their responsibility but their job is to represent a body of people. In times of need, citizens need to look to themselves and ask the question “what can I do?” And before you get eager to throw some money in an envelope (which isn’t a bad thing) you should really ask yourself if getting your hands dirty (a.k.a getting involved) would be the proper course of action.
I pray for their safe returns.