So, I just returned from spending a week in Memphis, TN working with S.O.S. (service over self) ministries. This trip followed in a pattern I expect to continue for as long as I continue to travel to various places helping the less fortunate and sharing God's word; I was impacted more than the people I went to help. On this trip God really worked with me about being open and willing to share my life with others. God showed me that part of sharing him with others is allowing myself to be vulnerable and to constantly step out of my comfort zone as I share what He has done in my own life. WOW, is that a hard thing to do. The first step I took in taking on this challenge was to get to know the family we were working with. It was only through God that I found the courage to knock on their door every morning along with one or two other people in my group and just sit and build a relationship with the family. I am a naturally shy person and it was definitely a challenge to carry on a conversation with the family. But, by turning the situation over to God, I found peace and comfort in the situation. The family shared so much of their history with us and showed us pictures that dated back to over 50 years before I was born. It was a blessing to get to know them and to watch God slowly but deliberately chip away my apprehension at getting to know new people and sharing with them.
I'm sure many of you reading this will want to know what I did on this mission and I will try to post that at a later date, but in my opinion what I did, is much less important than what I learned and the relationships I built. Don't misunderstand me, the work my team did while we were in Memphis is extremely important, but I don't want to down play the other side of missions work.
Remember faith without works is dead -James 2:17 But what good are your works if you aren't demonstrating true compassion to those you are helping?
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