Not Just Another Stamp

May I come back different - determined and driven to invest the rest of my time here on earth for an eternal, heavenly purpose.

These were the words I penned before arriving in Honduras this past week. I truly wanted God to work in my heart. My prayer was that this wouldn't be just another trip. Sure, I was excited to experience new food, see new sights, embrace a new culture. But I didn't want that to be it. I didn't want to come back simply adding another stamp to my passport.

The Lord answered my prayer.

I didn't have some 'burning bush' experience like Moses or actually see the 'handwriting on the wall' mentioned in the book of Daniel. But in little ways throughout our trip, God spoke to my heart. And it turns out that, in wanting God to change me, He showed me it really wasn't about me at all. It was about Him, using us, to encourage others.

To help you understand, I feel I need to give you a quick background story on the missionary we visited, Arvil Smith. 

He has been faithfully serving the Lord on the mission field since 1977. Starting out in Costa Rica, and now in Honduras, Brother Smith has given his life to sharing the Gospel with the people in Central America. In fact, a statement he made on the trip pretty much sums up his heart:

'Whether I die or Christ comes back, He's going to find me serving Him. That's job security!'

Wow! How this world could be turned upside down for the glory of Jesus Christ if every Christian, me included, woke up each morning realizing that that's our true job while we're here on earth.

But God used another statement Brother Arvil made on the trip to grip my heart and show me He was answering my prayer to be changed, but in a way I wasn't thinking about.

He simply said this in reference to our group coming to visit him:

'This is one of the biggest blessings I've had since being on the mission field.'

I began to think.

And then the thought began to sink in even more. 

You mean to tell me that this man, who has been on the mission field for over 35 years, was blessed that much simply by having our group come down to visit him for a week?

I didn't feel that we were doing anything special. In fact, hanging out with the students was a privilege and honor for me. I looked forward to that more than I did seeing the sights of Comayagua, the town we were staying in. (I may have wanted to bring the kids back home to the United States with me as well!)

And then I began to be heart broken. To go that long serving the Lord, away from your native country and family, and to not have someone from your home church come to visit.

I wonder how many other missionaries there are lacking this same type of support? This same type of encouragement?

That's when I began to view this mission trip in a different light. This trip served a purpose I had never thought about. If one week can encourage someone to keep serving the Lord, then my time and money was not in vain.

I want to be an encourager.

I want to motivate those who are faithfully serving to keep going. Your service to the Lord is making a difference. Lives are being affected and changed and reward day is coming, if not now, then definitely in Heaven.

And if you've never taken a mission trip before, I would highly recommend it. You will be changed and, in the process, you will be a blessing to those you visit.

Right now, my passport only has three different country's stamps in it. (And I'm not counting one because it was a personal trip that wasn't ministry-related.) If it's the Lord's will, I'm asking for that book to be covered in stamps before my time here on earth is over. 

But those stamps are no longer just a check mark on a list of travel destinations. May they represent stewards who need to be encouraged and, more importantly, souls who need to hear about the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ!