Be a Missionary Day 8

Shawn sent me a text message that they returned to their hotel around 3 a.m. after another great day. I can't wait to hear about the trip. I was planning to leave town on Sunday to attend the National Worship Leader Conference in Kansas City, but Shawn asked me to wait until Monday so that he could tell me all the stories about the trip. I am so excited that he and Grace got to share this opportunity. It will be something special they will share for the rest of their lives.

The team begins the long trek home today. They are stopping in Victoria to do some prison ministry, so it may be a late night before they are back across the border. Pray for their protection as they drive. Pray for the drivers to be alert after an exhausting week.

Day 8

The trip home has begun. Now you are finally sitting still, able to begin processing all that you have seen God do this week. In John 10:4-5, Jesus talks about Himself as a shepherd leading His sheep “After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they recognize his voice.”

God walked in front of you every step of the way this week. He prepared the way for you, maybe even through some steep, rough terrain, just like a shepherd. He guided every event that occurred.

Take some time today to remember how God walked ahead of you. How did he prepare you for this journey? How did he lead you this week? What did you see him do? Give Him some praise for all that you saw this week.

Remember the story earlier this week of Joshua setting up the 12 stones as a reminder of what God had done for the Israelites? Share with others about how you saw God at work. It is only as you share with each other that you will grasp a full picture of all the great things God did this week.

Be a Missionary day 7

Today is our Mexico team's last day in Tula. They will begin the journey back home tomorrow. I know that it has been an absolutely amazing and incredible trip. I can't wait to hear the stories about how God has been at work!

Here's their Bible study for today. Please pray that God will speak to them in a fresh way today.

Day 7

There is always more to do on mission trips than can possibly be completed in one week. On the last day, it is common to ache for the work that still needs to be done. It is normal to feel your heart torn apart with hopeful desperation for people you have come to love.

Jesus felt the same way during His ministry. Matthew 9:36-38, “He felt great pity for the crowds that come, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.’”

On every mission trip you will find that the need for more missionaries is unimaginable. In one week, much is accomplished, but at the same time, much is left undone. Pray today that God will raise up many more workers to share the Good News of Jesus with the billions of people who have still never heard. Pray that God will teach you to live every day as if you are a missionary.

Be a MIssionary day 6

I had the opportunity to actually talk to Shawn for a few brief minutes today. He is loving what God is doing through the mission team. They are ministering in a beautiful, remote village 26 miles from Tula. It's a 2 hour trip through the mountains! The villagers have long prayed that God would send them a teacher. Our team is the first white visitors to the village.

Shawn said that he is doing Bible studies with the men and preaching in the evening while the ladies are doing VBS with the kids and some of the men are also doing construction work. Several of the villagers have accepted Christ, and they are so excited about God finally sending them teachers that they are butchering one of their cows and hosting a BBQ for the mission team.

Shawn is very broken at how God is working through him and the rest of the team this week. I can't wait to hear it all. Let's continue to pray for the team as they finish up in Tula tomorrow and start home on Friday. Here's the Bible study for the mission team today.

Day 6

You’ve been away from home for many days. The trip is nearing the end. You have made many new friends. You have seen God at work in incredible ways. While you are exhausted and looking forward to sleeping in your own bed, you are probably also experiencing sadness at leaving Mexico behind. Today you need strength - both physical and spiritual.

This is my prayer for you today.

Colossians 1:9-14, “So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins.”

Be a Missionary day 5

Shawn sent me a text late last night. The mission team worked in a remote village up in the mountains yesterday, doing VBS and other ministry. Shawn said it was one of the most beautiful places he had ever walked. 5 people accepted Christ. Please continue praying for the team as they are working today.

Day 5

Glory is often found in small places. A cup of cold water, a kiss for a hurt child, a meal shared with a friend. Today you may find a way to share tiny glimpses of God’s love with others. Sometimes we feel insignificant because we are not making big changes in the world around us. Be encouraged that even a small gesture can have large kingdom impact.

Matthew 13:31-32, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter in its branches.”

Whatever God shows you to do today, no matter how small or how insignificant it may seem, He is using it for kingdom purposes. Every single time that you share God’s love on this trip, no matter how big or how small it may seem, you are planting a seed. Some of the seeds you plant will have results you can not even fathom.

God needs gardeners - people who are willing to plant the seeds of the Good News, water them with love, pull up the weeds of sin, and harvest the crops. Ask God to use you as His gardener today.

Be a Missionary day 4

I know it's pretty late in the day, but I just returned home from visiting the inlaws. Here's day 4 of the Mexico Bible Study. Please keep praying for the team. I know they are doing a VBS, but I haven't heard any more details tonight. I can't wait to hear how God is at work!

Day 4

God’s heart for people is strong. He delights when we demonstrate love and compassion to others. Isaiah 58:6-7; 10 outlines the type of love God wants us to show to those around us. “No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day.”

It is when we practically apply God’s plan for loving others that our life impacts them. When we minister out of love, the darkness around us recedes. Listen for God to speak to you about how He wants to use you to be Jesus to the people you meet today. Look for ways to apply this verse today. Then begin thinking about ways to apply this verse when you come back home. How can you help the hungry and the homeless see Jesus?