Road to Rwanda---So What's the Point?

 

This is a post by Joel Corbin. We taught him during our time in Senegal (2002-2010).  He is a missionary kid, born and bred on the African mission field. He and his wife and two little bitty sons serve in Gambia in a remote village to the Mandinka tribe. Recently he posted this on FB:

    Since I started working overseas in 2017, I’ve noticed that actually being a missionary on the             ground is a ton different than what people in the US realize. Part of the fault of this is on the             missionary’s end. We are so driven to present the best parts of our work overseas as the “fruit” of      the investment of churches and inviduals that we often leave out the hard parts, the mundane         parts, the “real life” parts that make up most of our day- in and day-out grind as a cross-cultural         worker. I only wonder how much of the Book of Acts was highlights of God’s work, whereas the         day to day lives of the first Christians was pretty ordinary as well. I guess that’s what incarnation is      all about- really just human, everyday people, being used by an Almighty God to reveal His love         to the world.

I find this oh so very true. We live lives just like everyone else, albeit in some pretty far flung places. I believe one of our greatest ministries is to try to present the "here" to you "there" in as honest a way as we can. This results in more understanding, less prejudice, and maybe most importantly, stronger prayer support for those of us "over here". We need help with our daily lives just like you do.

And then again in the midst of the mundane we are blessed with seeing our Lord being worked out in the lives of those we serve. I posted this during Teacher Appreciation Week (last week) on our staff WhatsApp:

    I am assuming that all of you who teach grade 6 have been blessed by them? As soon as class         started, Anaella told me they wanted to "appreciate me". They each said kind words and then         had me sit in the middle of the room as Cressa prayed for me What a special special tribute from      such special special kids.