The Christians Are Coming!!

After spending a whole day hopping from airport to airport trying to get to Nicaragua, I realized 3 things.  

1.) I am not a fan of anything “airport”.  They are frustrating and inconvenient and I don’t enjoy being rushed from one counter to another trying to make sure that everything is as it should be.  And I hate being told when I can and can’t pee.

2.) Starbucks is everywhere…which is amazing when you’re traveling.

3.) When a Christian group is taking a missions trip, you can spot them from a hundred miles away.  Why? Bright colored t-shirts exclaiming that these are the “First Baptist Church Crusaders” on “Mission Nicaragua 2010”.  Hard to miss alongside the socks with sandals, girls in skirts (because that’s what Christian girls wear), and pleated Dockers.  And I understand the use of similar shirts or hats when traveling.  Groups are easier to keep together and locate.

Don’t take my sarcasm the wrong way.  I think that missions trips are important and that at some time or another, everyone (not just the Christians) should go on one.  They will change your life if you let them.  I have been on them, and I love going out and serving.  The problem is that we make an entrance that screams “I’m here to save the day!!”, and the “We came to love you” part gets lost behind tracks and graphic tees that are all the same.  We get wrapped up in making sure that we look the part of the good, American Christian, that we forget how little it means to those you are going to serve.  They see your agenda.

My husband joked that the Christians in the airport that were heading out to other countries were similar to the British who marched up the Eastern Coast at the start of the Revolutionary War.  They are marching right down the avenue wearing their bright red outfits, weapons in hand, giant crosses on their uniforms.  Easy to spot and know what they’re here for.  And then there’s Paul Revere riding as fast as he can to announce to the sleeping world that “The British are coming! The British are coming!!”  Not exactly the entrance the British were hoping for, I would guess. 

Is that how we look to those we are trying to serve?  A bunch of soldiers in uniform marching in with our Bibles and quick answers, ready for battle and wanting everyone to know it?  Sometimes all that’s missing is Paul Revere riding ahead to warn everyone so that they can brace for impact.  Again, don’t take my words wrong.  I’m not saying this is a representation of everyone who goes on a missions trip.  And I’m not saying that we are interested in marching in like soldiers ready for battle.  Many people go on missions trips to serve and love and take care of orphans.  Some go because they’ve never been out of the country and Mexico sounds like they have good beaches.  There are those that go out of obligation.  And there are those that go because the rest of the world is “lost” and they have to convert the masses.  To say that no one has an agenda when they are on a mission trip is both naïve and incorrect.  Everyone has an agenda.  The question is what is it and can the people see it coming.

I think the question I beg to ask is why must Christians (specifically the American ones) present themselves in a way that screams “You’re lost and I have all the answers”?  Why can’t we come in and defy the norm.  Instead of standing out because we look like a parade, why can’t we let our actions and our love speak for us?  What’s with the need to compensate?  I find it hard to believe that someone like Jesus was going around and telling people about his Father with a group of followers dressed in uniform.  He simply loved them.  He met them where they were at and never looked down on anyone.  He just was. 

So instead of heading out to other countries looking like a cheesy church group, why not try just being yourself and being the Church.  If being yourself includes black socks with sandals, then so be it. Just don’t go looking like an actor playing a role.  People want relationships.  They want you to get to know who they are and what their struggles are.  They want to be loved and prayed for.  And if you love your neighbor, as God commanded, it will speak volumes more than your cross necklaces worn as identification.

Jesus commands us to do two things: Love God. Love people.  Everything else falls into place around those 2 commands.  Don’t try to overcompensate. 

The Perspective of Reality.

My husband and I are taking off to Nicaragua to perform for the next couple of days.  It was a last-minute opportunity that we were thrilled about taking.  Though we have both spent time in Central America, Nicaragua has yet to be one of the places that we've visited.  And despite the threat of hurricane-type weather, we are stoked!

Ever since we first went out of the country together to El Salvador in 2005, my husband and I try to take the time for at least 6-8 weeks outside of the States serving and relaxing.  We have realized that it's necessary for us to leave the States to keep our focus and to balance our lives.  

I will be the first person to say that I love America.  I love the rights we are allowed to exercise daily that so many other nations can’t, and I love that we are a nation that embraces uniqueness and freedom.  However, as an American, it's easy to lack perspective on reality.  There are millions of people all over the world who live on less than 1% of what we do.  There are millions of displaced children because of war, famine, AIDS, and other manageable illnesses who sleep and live in fear daily.  There are millions of people imprisoned because of faith and lack of faith everywhere.  There are millions of women and children trafficked every year to labor camps, sweat shops, and into sex slavery.  Poverty, lack of freedoms, hunger, and fear is a daily reality for most of the world.  Yet here in America, we get upset that we don't have enough money for that 2000 square foot home in suburbia; that we can't get financing for that BMW; and that we have to pay for our own healthcare.  We, the people of the wealthiest country in the world, are busy whining for handouts and payouts because that's what we deserve, all the while forgetting about the reality of everyone else.  And you wonder why Americans have a bad rap in other countries?

When you leave America for another country, you have the ability to gain immeasurable amounts of perspective if you are paying attention.  If you realize all of the freedoms that you have, you are less likely to whine about the small things and instead be thankful.  For me, every time I head to another location outside of the States, I take the time to listen and see the things around me.  I ask questions about culture, food, and customs in an attempt to understand the people better.  And I try (though sometimes failing miserably) to learn a little bit of the language. You would be surprised at how valued the locals feel when you sample their crazy food and try to communicate with them in their own language.  You are showing both honor and respect, as well as that it's not all about you and your preferences.  And ultimately, people will open their lives and homes to you, more often than not, helping you learn and become a better person.  

You can gain the perspective of reality anywhere in the world.  You don't have to be in a third world country to see how the rest of the world operates.  I would challenge anyone to put yourself out there and open up your mind and heart to all of the things that this world both offers and needs.  And I would challenge anyone to take a trip, with that open mind and heart, to anywhere else in the world and take in the culture and the people.  You will realize so much about yourself and what's really important in life.  It will force you to slow down and take time to smell the proverbial roses. There’s a reason why in Latin America, people take a siesta in the middle of the day and don’t stress out about being on time….anywhere. (even though it still drives me batty!) There’s a reason why in Eastern Asia people socialize and eat food together in open markets all day and night.  They love company and see it as a healthy part of everyday life.  And just like those in Latin America…they don’t mind taking their time.  (maybe we should see the trend?)

Just for the record, I haven’t always had perspective.  Instead, I had done a great job of building a bubble around my life and filling it with the things that mattered to no one else but  me.  They were selfish and self-serving, mattering very little at the end of the day.  I had made my life about my own comfort, worrying regularly that I didn’t have what it took, that I would never have enough, and that no one could possibly like me unless I had all of those things that “matter” to the world.  How wrong was I.  After spending those 10 days in El Salvador, I realized that there is huge world out there full of people who love deeply, work hard, and don’t drive a white Mini convertible.  But they did have one thing that I didn’t: Joy.  I had all of the things that I could have wanted at the time, yet I was empty and unhappy.  I wanted the joy that they had.  The joy that was genuine and found in the simplest of things. 

Over time, I have traveled to 10 more countries, and have gained valuable perspective on things that matter to the world and that here in America we have a tendency to overlook and understate because they are not our reality.  The statistics are staggering and you can find the numbers anywhere, but when you look in the eyes of a child bought and sold for sex, in the eyes of a poor mother trying to keep her children fed and clothed, felt the touch of a blind orphan, and seen the smiles of the forgotten, the nice cars and clothes and vacations will melt away and become nothing more than a vapor. 

Jesus commanded us to take care of the widows and the orphans.  And more importantly to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Just because they don’t live next door or are part of our immediate group of friends does not mean that they are not our neighbors.  If they are human, they are our neighbors and loved by God.

So what is your perspective of reality, and what will you do about it?