Dear future volunteer,
Each time I revisit the
Ascension stories in the Gospels, I find numerous points that relate to mission
and service. Throughout my own time on mission in Jamaica, I see similarities
between these verses and my challenges and blessings in a daily life of
service. I hope to offer encouragement to you, future volunteer, as you
research and discern the many opportunities for service available to you.
“He rebuked them for their
unbelief and hardness of heart…” (Mark 16:14)
My strongest prompt to
mission came as I reflected on a painting of St. Francis gazing at the cross
and being told to rebuild the church. The question written with the painting
asked, “Am I willing to do God’s will?” For many years, I have read, heard, and
tried to practice in small ways, the example of Jesus doing the “will of my
Father,” and loving others as God loves me. Now I felt that God had put the
nudge toward mission into my heart. Two years of overseas mission service
seemed like a very big step into the unknown but I had the stories of
Francis and many others as examples, and I felt that if I said “Yes,” God would
enable me to shed my worries and, thus, soften my heart and make more room for
his Grace! Future volunteer, God will do the same for you.
Mission has taught me to
expect the unexpected and to trust in God’s plan. Though I was open to other
ministries, there was a pretty high expectation at my future mission site that
I would be helping in schools, and that is exactly where I found myself. My
first classroom was noisy, chaotic, cramped, and undersupplied, but I found
that I had the most difficulty countering the common teaching approaches, which
I perceived as overly physical and sometimes belligerent. During the first days
and weeks, it was very easy for me to get caught up in the prevalent
practice of shouting, derision, and physically putting someone into their chair
or the corner. I didn’t like myself doing that. Continually, readings in the
Franciscan prayer book kept telling me that Peace IS the path. One time, a
student told me that he didn’t like me putting him into his seat. The next day,
I got down to his eye level and apologized to him. He listened, we hugged, and
I felt that I was on my way toward a better practice. Future volunteer, are you
ready to be stretched and molded according to God’s will?
“The eleven disciples went
to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.” (Matthew
28:16)
I always notice the number
eleven here; it is a particular mention to the fact that someone is missing.
Dear future volunteer, are you worried about leaving your loved ones to do
service? There are times when I am missing someone familiar from my table. It
is different people at different times and my heart misses them. The last
phrase—”to which Jesus had ordered them”—strikes me as being particularly
relevant to mission and service. What are Jesus’ orders? Feed the hungry,
clothe the naked, go and make disciples of all nations. Mission is an
opportunity to do just that. My heart believes that God does and will take
care of me while on mission, and the Almighty and Universal God is also able to
care for my loved ones even when they are on a different continent!
“He led them out to
Bethany...They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy and
they were continually in the temple praising God.” (Luke 24:50-53)
Dear future volunteer, as
you discern your service, there is great help to be found in being “continually
in the temple praising God.” I couldn’t have made my decision for mission
without some serious prayer and reflection. The question of “Is this really
God’s will?” was a focus for my Lenten prayer before I began my time of service.
Contemplative silence and guidance from trusted friends helped me to find peace
in the answer to that prayer. This ending of Luke’s Gospel account shows the
disciples returning to the Temple, and I have reflected on how this seems to be
the strength they needed before departing to their ministries that are
recounted in Acts.
“Jesus came and stood in
their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” (John 20:19; 21:22)
Ahhh, my prayers were
voiced and answered; my heart found peace, and my decision for mission was
made. In John’s Gospel, Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. In
the next chapter, I see another of my tendencies: my desire to get a
quick summation of God’s plan. Peter wants to know about the future for
the Beloved disciple…(nudge, nudge, wink, wink) and he is gently reminded by
Jesus, “What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”
The disciples encounter the
resurrected Jesus in their everyday lives while fishing, walking, eating, and
interacting with others. As my mission time unfolds, I also see Jesus in
everyday life.
I see him in the faith
voiced in the locals that I meet and in new forms of singing and praise. I feel
discouragement at the discrepancy of incomes and lack of faith just as Jesus
felt while gazing at Jerusalem. I marvel to see God’s hand in creation as I walk
by household gardens or explore the hills. And, like the disciples, I see Jesus
working through me, giving me a stronger dependence on prayer as I realize that
I will not be able to fix systemic problems, and a stronger sense of humility
as I realize that I am an outsider here, but I truly have been sent by God.
Jesus ascended and asked
his disciples to go and teach all nations. Mission service makes us a viable
part of that eternal and mystical plan. Jesus may have disappeared into the
clouds, but we are able to make his presence real today.
I really think that He was
having a good chuckle as He ascended. He knew how much mission would change us!
Dear future volunteer, are you ready to be changed?
To learn more about service opportunities through Franciscan Mission Service, please click here.
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