Missions Without a Passport
(A place called Clarkston)
A lost passport, every mission trip leader's nightmare... at least for this upcoming cross-cultural mission trip, no passport is needed. Church at Sandhurst is gearing up for a mission trip to the state of Georgia. Specifically, we are Clarkston bound. Clarkston is known as the most diverse square mile in the USA. Can you believe of the 20,000 residents, 14,000 are refugees from around the world? Representing over 50 countries, these legal immigrants are looking for a new life, safety and hope. We are partnering with Global Frontier Mission and our missionaries who serve there to bring the hope of Christ to a housing complex with a predominantly Malaysian community. When you pull into Clarkston from Highway 285 it is like entering another place on the planet. The storefronts, restaurants and little shops all indicate you are "not in Kansas" anymore. Pick a direction and watch the unintended pageantry unfold as adults and children from Colombia, Burma, Nepal, Iraq, Ethiopia and Sudan appear before you. Acts 1:8 still contains our marching orders as we go to the ends of the earth, from our Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth... what an age we live in when the ends of the earth come to us!
If you can't go to Clarkston, invest some time in finding the nations that live right where you do. No doubt, you have ample opportunity within 10 minutes of your home or less. Greet the people you meet, let them know you care and that you will pray for them. Invite them to your home, learn portions of their culture. Not sure how? Here are some examples that are personal to me and my family.
-The convenience store 3 blocks from our house is Indian owned. We learn a new Indian phrase almost every time we go in the store. It opens doors.
-We go to several Latin tiendas (stores) just down our street. We get to practice spanish every time we go, not to mention the tamales are great!
-We visit a hispanic church quite often where we get to know friends from Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras.
-At our local YMCA, we exercise and work out with several Chinese friends.
- We are blessed to have OM Ships (Operation Mobilization) in our community... at any given time there are young people and families from Germany, Switzerland, Peru, Indonesia and too many more to name. We get to invite them into our homes.
So see, you don't need a passport to be involved in International Missions. Pray that the Lord will put new friends in your so you can reach out. Please send me some other examples from your lives!
