When I first considered becoming a missionary with World Impact back in 2009, I remember one of my first worries was leaving my family and living approximately 2,000 miles away from them. My second worry was, “How am I going to manage being in ministry and having to be ‘on’ 24/7? What is that going to be like?” And I have to admit, it has not always been easy. However, it has been beautiful and stretching and an opportunity to see my life poured out as an offering.
I believe the most important thing as a missionary is not being a super holy person carrying your Bible around all the time. The most important thing for a missionary is simply being available. As you are available, opportunities for growth – in yourself and the ones you’re ministering to – spring up without even trying. The best ministry opportunities are not necessarily Bible studies or within the church walls. It’s everyday life.
In the past few months, just being available has yielded some amazing chances for building relationships and simply doing life together. Let me share a few of those with you.
We were able to have two separate “Empanadas Days” for the girls and then the boys in my class. My husband Felipe (who is pretty much a celebrity to my kindergarteners) was able to bring all the ingredients to the school and taught the students how to make cheese empanadas, fry them, and obviously eat them! I’m not sure what they were more excited about – hanging out with me and “Mr. Felipe” together, being at the school after hours, or eating piles upon piles of empanadas. It was truly a delicious day.
All year, my kindergarten kids hear about the long awaited sleepover at the end of the year. They were thrilled when it finally came around after graduation! We ate pizza, celebrated summer birthdays with cupcakes, played on the playground, made a Father’s Day craft, watched a movie, and went to sleep with no problems at all. What a great (and exhausting) way to spend a Friday night!
I couldn’t possibly leave out my middle school discipleship group! They had been begging me to make a date with them to go see the newest movie “Finding Dory.” The day proved to be full of laughter and silly mischief (typical of middle school outings)!
We also had the blessing of a Zumba trainer coming to our WI Teen Center throughout the week to offer Zumba classes. As one of my students’ moms came along with me, it was full of fun and fitness! We got to sweat together, look silly together, push the limits together, and laugh together. Merely searching for opportunities to do life together has created a culture of love and trust here in World Impact Los Angeles.