I'm really excited because tomorrow, a group of us is going to a place 5 hours away to some hot springs... located in the Andes. I love mountains and am really excited about going to a place IN the mountains! We leave tomorrow afternoon, are driving there and spending the night and then coming back thursday afternoon/night some time. Woohoo!
A few things that have been significant the past few days.
A. The musical went well! With only two weeks of practice, we were able to pull it off and some people made decisions to follow Christ!
B. I went to downtown Lima a few nights ago and loved seeing parts of the city at night. The coast was lit up, the waves were crashing... beautiful
C. I helped successfully transported 8 kids on public transportation without losing any (thus what made it successful). And considering public transportation here, I thought it was a feat.
D. I am not sick!! This is quite a praise! I started eating some fruits the other day, so I'm still waiting for those results. But Mrs. Eva is feeding me well and carefully!
One thing I've been thinking about lately is what it would look like to be an "unofficial missionary." We Christians generally toss around the word missionary to specifically refer to a person who is supported by churches, generally living in a foreign country (other than their home country) and frequently does things that most people wouldn't do.( Eats strange food, does strange things... etc). Hah part of this is a little sarcastic, but you get the point.
But the great commission is for everyone right? We are all to go out and make disciples right? We are all living a foreign place (our citizenship is in heaven, not here) and as Christians... we do strange things, different from most people. So, that makes us all missionaries.
Okay yes, I've known that fact for a while, but i've been thinking about it a lot the past few months. In Thailand, God was especially pressing the fact that If my ultimate goal was to "proclaim His excellencies" (1 peter) then it wouldn't matter where I was, what I was doing, or who I was with. Basically, that if my passion is proclaiming his excellencies, then I will be overjoyed at any opportunity to do that, regardless of my surroundings.
I went to a part of downtown Lima that was very nice. I stared out the car windows in amazement as I saw nicely cut, green, trash free grass, really nice parks, clean buildings etc. The mall we went to was one of the nicest malls I've ever been to. It overlooked a beautiful view of the ocean, city lights, waves crashing etc. It was a completely different face of the country, reminded me of a place someone would go for vacation, honeymoon etc.
I say all of this because it made me think about the fact that, "I could be a "missionary" in Peru, and still live the way I do in the United States." That was a strange thought to me because normally when I think missions, I think of something a little more rogue. But reality is, the people in upper class society, the people in lower class society, PEOPLE everywhere need Jesus. I'm not sure if I'm conveying my ideas correctly. But I guess, the trip to that nice part of Lima (and some places we went to in Thailand), a nice country club I went to in Colombia etc, reminded me that living in another country provides the exact same opportunities that living in home countries does (work, eating, sleeping, proclaiming His excellencies). My mission doesn't change. Are we faithful to be missionaries where we are?
Moving to another country just to "do your life" there? Sounds like a good idea to me!
God is faithful and teaching me!
