Eric is Thinking About Missions Too
My good friend Eric (from “A Pilgrim’s Progress“) has published a post called “Thoughts on Mission.” Apparently, while I was in Ethiopia, Eric was in Rochester, NY.
Reading Eric’s post about what he learned during his trip, I realized that I’ve learned many of the same lessons. Apparently we were doing very similar work (helping churches) on opposite sides of the world.
Here are the main points that Eric learned on his trip:
Unity in Christ bridges all gaps…
Ethnic diversity is beautiful…
Churches need to help churches…
Unstructured Christian fellowship is sweet…
Trips help you get to know one another…
Soil is different in different places…
Like I said, I noticed many of these same things while in Ethiopia.
I can’t help but wonder though… why do we easily notice these things when we spend times away from home, when the same lessons are obviously right under our noses at home as well?
Thanks for the question at the end of your post. From time to time, when I read or hear about others’ “mission trips” I start feeling left out.
Your question reminded me again that right here where I am, the mission field is ripe and ready for harvest – if I only open my eyes to see it (if I open my heart to see it through God’s eyes!).
Oh yes… and soil is different in many different spots in my own community 🙂
BTW, Eric’s main points read like poetry – and I am going to post them where I’ll see them often (my fridge door? or maybe my laptop case? lol)
Norma,
I agree 100%. You might enjoy Danny’s short post called “Missions is Life.” Danny and I went to Ethiopia together, and on the way we talked about how our purpose in Ethiopia will be the same as our purpose here at home: proclaiming the gospel and making disciples.
-Alan