There have been a lot of conversations the past two months about how God is using our team here in S.E. Asia. When I was first moving abroad to be an M, I read stories about M’s in Africa and Asia who were seeing people saved everyday and adopting orphans. I thought my life was going to be similar to this, and to be honest I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I slowly learned that those stories were the exceptions.
As an M in S.E. Asia, I am being the light of Jesus in a very dark world. My mission field is my school. For me, I get to combine my love of Jesus with my love for teaching. I don’t get to share the gospel with my students and coworkers, but I do get to teach them about forgiveness and caring for others. I model Christ-like character and love for everyone. I am not perfect, and I often fail. However, the grace of God helps me to ask for forgiveness from students and coworkers and it blows their minds! Forgiveness is not part of their culture, but they are learning how to forgive. That is God working on their hearts! I also get to teach them English, which opens so many more opportunities for them to hear the gospel in the future. The school is transforming education in the region. Students learn to problem solve, think creatively & critically, and discover new things. This is a new concept for this culture. The students in my school will be equipped to be the leaders of this country. I am so excited for the impact they will make and the values they have. These students will change the world!
Recently, we had a team meeting and we were discussing 2 Timothy 2:22-26. We were focusing on the words “be kind”. Many of us shared about being kind with our students, coworkers, and friends. I pointed out this is how God is moving at the school. Sometimes I have to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of the school to see how God is moving. I look at my coworkers and how I can see a change in their demeanor and attitude. Four years ago you could never get someone to say something good about a school event. Now, we first point out the things that went well and acknowledge the growth before pointing out the areas of improvement. It’s small steps like this that make a big impact. It just takes time. You can see it in the students as they play with their friends and communicate with teachers. They are able to ask each other for forgiveness and accept apologies from one another. This is a huge step for a culture that blames others to avoid taking responsibility and dealing with emotions.
Another area is in the classroom. Recently, I had a couple of team members feel like they aren’t really doing M work, they are just teaching English. What makes them different than if they were doing this back home? Nothing except the calling to move to a new country, live in a different culture, where you don’t speak the language. But we are all called to make disciples of the nations. Home is a nation and some of us are called to the mission field at home, others are called to the mission field in other countries. But we are living life for the glory of God and praying that he uses our lives to reach others. We often get asked “how many people have you saved?” My answer “0”. I don’t save. Jesus saves! I just go where he leads and open myself up to be used to reach people. In the classroom students are watching teachers and they pick up so much more than what we say. They are watching our responses and our actions. They accept our apologies when we ask for forgiveness for yelling. They see this in us, and then we see it in their actions. Sometimes your actions speak more than your words.
Right now, I am called to live and work here. I don’t have the freedom to share Jesus in a formal classroom setting, but Jesus isn’t confined to 4 walls of a classroom. He lives in me and exudes from me. He’s in the character traits and values I teach our students. He’s in the loving discipline I show to students. The students know I care for them and that my discipline isn’t because I’m mad or angry at them, but because I want them to grow and mature to be respectable human beings. And we have to start somewhere. So no, I don’t use the Bible to teach them discipline or character. But one day, they will be reading the Bible (maybe while they are studying abroad in America) and they will understand because they were taught in primary and secondary school about Christ’s love through the actions of their teachers.
I think sometimes there is this misguided understanding of mission work: that you are defined by your number of converts. But I think that is just one step of the journey of salvation. The work we are doing here is planting the seeds for students to learn more about God and his son. The epic story. We might not get to see the fruit of the seed, but we can keep tending to the soil so that when the time comes that seed with grow and bloom and stand firm knowing the love and will of the Lord.
Being an M is not easy. It’s life. I’m not different than you. God calls us to different places at different seasons in our lives. To grow us and mold us to be more like Him. And in the midst of our growth He uses us to advance His kingdom. So whether you are living in your home country or abroad, God has a plan to use you to advance his kingdom. You might think you’re not qualified, but God didn’t call the qualified, He qualified the called.
Great spoken word!
