Something on the Road...

How does a person begin to make sense of all they have experienced? How does one recognize what is truly important and what is just filler? How does a person respond to all they see in the world around them? After returning recently from my third missionary trek of the year, these are just a few of the daunting questions I'm trying to wrap my mind around.

You would be hard pressed to find more diverse experiences than these trips...

Las Vegas was a picture of extravagance. Our team spent several days handing out fliers for a church in a community littered with homes that cost as much as (or more than) $1.5 million each. However, their expensive fortresses couldn't hide their need and desire for real community.


Costa Rica was almost the polar opposite of Las Vegas. There was no room for extravagance, and in some places I was amazed that the houses could even stand the way they were built. Many communities there are experiencing major health problems because they are without clean water. We were able to install two water purification systems, but there is much left to be done. Despite sometimes rough living conditions, the people were still joyful and genuinely thankful for what they did have.


Poland was much different from the other two trips in that we did not have a specific task that we came to do. Our primary goal was to build relationships with people we met, in particular, with orphans. Never before have I so strongly understood the importance of family. Many of the kids were unruly and rough around the edges, but they have never had anyone to show them right and wrong, to discipline them, to love them. It is amazing how much a little love can change a person's life.

As different as each trip was, it is their similarities that seem to show what is truly important. Two things in particular stood out to me:

1. Everyone has their own unique needs that they cannot meet on their own, but someone has to help them...
   
2. Rich or poor, healthy or sick, with family or orphaned, everyone needs to know the love of God and the forgiveness he offers through His son Jesus, but someone has to tell them...

So, what do you do with that? The more I am exposed to the needs of the world around me, near or far, the more I become painfully aware that I cannot possibly solve all of the world's problems. However, the more I am exposed to the needs of the world around me, the less I am able to sit idle. I may not be able to solve all of the world's problems, but I can help solve one. I can also educate others on how they can get involved.

I am still wrestling with how to choose that one thing to really invest my life in. I've been blessed with so many passions and talents that the possibilities can seem endless at times. Still, I believe that the God who placed the desire in me to help others will continue to teach me what that looks like as I continue to serve Him.

~~
This song by Sara Groves ("I Saw What I Saw") was sort of our theme song for our Poland trip. I thought the lyrics were very applicable to this post:

I saw what I saw and I can't forget it
I heard what I heard and I can't go back
I know what I know and I can't deny it

Something on the road, cut me to the soul

Your pain has changed me, your dreams inspire
your face a memory, your hope a fire
your courage asks me what I'm afraid of
and what I know of love

we've done what we've done and we can't erase it
we are what we are and it's more than enough
we have what we have but it's no substitution

Something on the road, touched my very soul

I say what I say with no hesitation
I have what I have and I'm giving it up
I do what I do with deep conviction

Something on the road, changed my world