Hey guys!!! It's been SUCH a long time. Life is pretty busy these days, but it's also crazy good! God is good and I'm grateful and that's all that matters!
So, lots of things have happened since the last time I wrote a blog back in September. First, we're in a whole new year now, so happy 2019 folks! I'm in my last semester of graduate school (PRAISE) and I went back to Honduras with GMMA this past January! This trip was very challenging for me (I will explain why in just a second), but it was also a huge blessing so praise God for that.
Here are three things that God taught me during my most recent mission trip to Honduras:
1. There IS a place for short-term missions in the Kingdom of God
Okay, so for some of you, this may sound like a big DUH. And for me for a long time, it was too. But recently, I've been doing a lot of research about short term missions (mission trips that are less than 2 years, but typically last 1-2 weeks) and what kind of long term impact this has on the communities being served, and honestly, I've been struggling with it. From a spiritual perspective, I get it. God says go into all the nations and make disciples, so we do. We hop on planes and fly to different countries all over the world in hopes of sharing the Gospel and making disciples and building up the Global Church. But from a public health perspective, this is a challenge for me. How can we properly pour into someone and see lasting fruit when we're only there for a week? Does visible change really happen that quickly? How is going into a community and offering short term solutions helping, or hurting, them in the long run? These are all questions I struggled with before I went on this trip, and these are the same questions I STILL struggle with currently. And even though this is a struggle for me, this is something I learned: God can use anybody, anywhere, for any period of time no matter how long or short.
I think I saw this the most clearly one day when we were doing clinic in Honduras. We were getting tons and tons of patients and our gracious leader and medical professionals were working to the best of their ability to see and treat each person that came in. During our time there, we were able to give medicine to individuals who otherwise had no way of getting it. We had people come in who couldn't afford the prescription their doctor wrote out for them, or they just ran out of their medicine and couldn't get anymore. So we provided it to them for free, and they were extremely grateful. This is just ONE example, but God really used this to show me that yes, we were only in this particular community for a few hours that one day and I more than likely will never see these people again in my life, but that one bottle of medicine helped, even if just a little bit. The one smile helped. The one prayer helped. The one reminder that they are seen and known and cared for by God, all of it somehow helped.
The fact of the matter is, God is there long before we ever arrive, and He is there long after we leave. He simply allows us to have just a glimpse and be a part of what He is already doing. We may not see drastic change in just a week, or ever, but the one moment where we choose to set ourselves aside and serve others with the love of Christ– it helps, God uses it, and He has a place for our lowly one week efforts in His Kingdom.
2. The power of prayer
This is also a big DUH for a lot of y'all I'm sure, and again, it is for me too. But that doesn't mean I always pray as much as I know I should. So even before we went to Honduras, our mission leader (Dr. Choi) made it VERY clear that we would be praying a lot during our preparation before the trip, during the trip, and we should continue to pray constantly after the trip. Our first day in Honduras, even before we got to formally meet one another (there were students & professionals from four schools on our team) we were told to find someone and just pray with them. We then spent the next several minutes praying with different people before we even had time for introductions. And even during our introductions, Dr. Choi received a worrisome text, and told us to stop right then and there and pray. He did this quite frequently throughout the trip. No matter what we were doing, where we were going, what the next plan was, if there was a need for prayer, he would stop us right then and there and tell us to pray. So we did.
This was a valuable lesson for me because a lot of times I'll make note of something and say, oh I'll pray about it later. Or I'll think something isn't really that big of a deal and therefore there isn't a need to pray about it. But this just reminded me that God cares about every single detail of our lives and we get to pray and bring our circumstances, both good and bad, to God and just rejoice knowing that He hears us and is working on our behalf.
My favorite example of this was on a bus ride we were taking. We were traveling about 2 hours to get to a school to do clinic and kid's ministry there. Just knowing that the ride would be two hours made me cautious because I knew with the amount of water I had been drinking, I would need a restroom break before two hours was up. So I prayed. It was a quick, simple "Jesus, this might be a silly request but please either do not let me have to use the restroom before we get there, or somehow provide a way for me to be able to use it if I do have to go. Thank You. Amen." And y'all, as silly as it sounds (I don't think I've ever prayed for a bathroom in my life), HE PROVIDED.
So we were on the bus for maybe an hour and all of a sudden we stopped moving. There had been an accident further ahead (which, by the way, Dr. Choi had us pray for everyone involved as soon as he found out) and so we were stuck and just couldn't move for close to an hour. At this time, I didn't really have to go (which I thanked Jesus for repeatedly), but the longer we sat there, the more I felt like I needed to (but I was still thanking God because I know it could have been a LOT worse by this point). And then, y'all, the craziest thing happened. The missionary we were staying with (Missionary Lee) got off the bus (which was just in the middle of the road), went to a RANDOM house, and asked them if they had a restroom we could use. He came back and announced to us that they did, so we got off and got to use this wonderful stranger's bathroom. Y'all. My mind was BLOWN. I literally couldn't believe that Jesus provided a restroom for me right there in the middle of our supposed to be 2 hour (but turned a lot longer) journey. He truly goes before us and provides exactly what we need even before we know we need it, can I get an AMEN?!
In the grand scheme of things in life, this is something small and I get that, but in that moment, this was HUGE. God was showing me that yes, He does hear my prayers and not only does He listen but HE ACTS. I literally had no idea how He would do it - but He did. I honestly wasn't even sure if He would - but He did. It's been almost two months since that incident and I still think about it and am absolutely speechless because what?? God literally cares about the absolute SMALLEST (and silliest) things, and y'all, it is GREAT.
3. It's not "random" to God
So, like I said, I've been to Honduras before on a mission trip. And during my research about mission trips that I mentioned earlier, and especially medical mission trips, Honduras is often one of the top locations that people travel to. But why? I couldn't get over this during our time there, and I was just thinking why God would send us and so many others to Honduras of all places. I mean, praise God because I loved it! But I just didn't quite understand why.
While we were there, I mentioned we were staying with one missionary. Well, we actually met and heard from a few other missionaries who have moved from the U.S. & Korea to go live and serve and share the Gospel in Honduras full time. And these people have been there for several years simply because God convicted them to go and they went. So after one of them was sharing their stories with us, about how God called him to move to Honduras, I was asking God why He chose people to come to Honduras of all places. It just seemed so random to me, especially with people coming from Korea because Honduras is so far from there. That just doesn't make sense in my human understanding. But then God spoke and I got it. I asked Him why He sends missionaries to this seemingly random country, and He let me know that Honduras is not random, but He is invested in this country.
God's understanding goes far beyond mine (and yours), and though I may not fully get why He chooses to send people to Honduras and why He is invested in this country, I am glad that He is. These are His people, He has chosen them, and He chooses to make Himself known among them by first using His disciples that are already in this nation, but also by sending His disciples from far away nations like Korea to preach His Word and make His Name known.
It doesn't make sense to me (still, honestly haha) but when does a perfect God ever make sense to imperfect humans? His love goes the farthest distance to bring us to Him and that's all that matters. I mean think about it - not only does He send missionaries from Korea to Honduras, but He sent Jesus from Heaven to Earth to die for our sins. THAT doesn't make sense to me, lol! But we praise Him anyhow! God is good, and it just goes to show us how much He truly truly loves and cherishes His people and desires to be in union with us. Whether we're in the U.S., Honduras, Korea, or anywhere else on this earth - God saw fit to send Jesus to us just so that we could be with Him, and that is something worth celebrating.
His love doesn't make sense, but it sure isn't random. It is who He is, and He invites us to dwell in it and be refreshed by it daily. How amazing is that?! God is good and I am ever grateful.
Photo Credits: lots of wonderful people on our team :)
So there ya have it folks, three things I learned in Honduras. So much more happened throughout this week (which I'd love to talk to you about if you're curious!) and I surely learned a LOT more than three things, but these are the most simple yet profound, and I wanted to share them with you. I hope it blesses you in some way! 🖤
In His unending love,
Elisha