How To Love When You’d Rather Yell
“STOP pushing the desk! How many times have I told you the SAME thing! Sit up straight and don’t lean against the table!” The plump, untidy little six-year-old gave me a shame-faced grin as she did every single time I corrected her which was probably every other minute of the thirty minutes I sat with her.
Soaked In Lime Juice
In our Pueblo, there is a group of middle aged/older women who are always blessing us with gifts and taking care of us—Miguel and I call them our “moms.” As they were coming in to the room, I quickly covered myself with a sheet (I had close to nothing on as I was burning up with fever). They took their turns reprimanding me for…
When Jesus Speaks
As I proceeded to describe why we have a prayer station at our clinic I said, “Jesús le importa sobre nuestras vidas y quiere ayudar.” Which means, “Jesus cares about our lives and he wants to help.” I could tell something flashed in her eyes, like a small little flicker of hope rose up for a moment.
Taking a Risk
As the week began, I wondered: is my faith deep enough to live the life of a missionary? Do I love the poor enough? Do I love Jesus enough to lay it all down: my career, house, activities, stuff for Him? Would I be willing to answer the door whenever someone knocks? Can I take having dirty feet all the time? Can I learn another language well enough to give people comfort and hope? Can I tolerate cold missionary showers… forever?!
General Cepeda Encounter
María de Jesús introduced us to Cipriano, the ninety-something man who was taken in from an early age by the family across the street. They had hired him as their farm-hand and he apparently did that for the rest of his life. I was somewhat disturbed by how disproportionately large his hands were in relation to his body, as well as his unkempt, thick, inch-long fingernails.
Parasites and Paradise
We came out of the airport to be greeted by the whole missionary community already present in Perú. As we loaded into the back of Taylor Schmidt’s truck, we began our laundry list of questions regarding what to expect in missions. I’ll never forget what one of our missionaries, Karen said: “Get ready to discover what your relationship with parasites is going to look like.”
Risk Your Kids for the Kingdom?
[Editor’s Note: John Piper is a Christian pastor and author who often writes about missions. We found this article published on his website and thought it worth sharing. Piper addresses the serious issue of children in missions, a topic of supreme interest to any involved with Family Missions Company. His article is reprinted here with permission.]
Should a Christian couple take their children into danger as part of their mission to take the gospel to the unreached peoples of the world? Short answer: Yes.
That Others May Be Praised, And I Unnoticed
he day after Christmas, I, along with a group of about 24 people, left the United States to go on a medical mission trip to Trinidad. I would be lying if I said that this trip was an easy one for me. Leading up to the trip I had so much anxiety about going, but I could not figure out why. Now, I think that it was because I knew deep down that God was going to use this time in Trinidad to move my heart to welcome Him in and love Him more. It had been two and a half years since my last mission trip, and in that time I had gotten busy.
Update: Team Peru and the Mudslide
It has been three weeks since the awful disaster of mudslides and flooding that struck Tres Unidos and Shamboyacu. These have been weeks of hard work and more rain has fallen on already beaten down communities.
The first few days following November 2nd were long and exhausting. Taylor left early every morning and returned home after dark each evening. His goal each day was to bring hope to the people who had lost everything. He did this by bringing the love of Christ with him. He took the time to listen teach person’s story and prayed with them. He also brought in things that were desperately needed: water, food, clothes, and even a tent for a family who lost their home.
