I made it. I finally made it to Colombia. Sure, only two days late with an unexpected tour of Coral Gables and Miami, but I made it...and my luggage, too! I had no choice but to bring our team leader Sam and his wife Vicki with me on the flight. I was afraid to leave them in Miami, for fear they would ditch the mission for the lively Miami Beach life. :-) God orchestrated every step today, and He gave us favor with Greta Bueno...yep, her name was Greta Good at the Avianca counter. Between the seats I held and her hard work, and of course God's providential plan, we were able to board the flight from Miami to Barranquilla, arriving at our hotel, Hotel Majestic, just as some of the teams were returning from working in the barrios. United with our team at last.
I had hoped my blog tonight would be about the amazing things I experienced today, witnessing to people, seeing them come to Christ...but instead, after the experience in Miami, I'm more reflective of my first international mission trip. You see, not only was the leader from my first trip the one who came to our rescue in Miami to drive us around, but as I spiritually prepared for this trip, God kept reminding me about the importance of unity on our team, which was a big issue on my first trip. Now, I have no reason to believe it's going to be a problem this week, but it's something that can divide a team and cause the movement of God to come to a complete halt. One passage I have read at least a dozen times in the last week was John 17:20-25, which focuses on unity.
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message. That all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me..."
That first mission trip to Australia was the summer after my freshman year of college. In total, we had thirteen students, a husband and wife couple and their two young boys. Like me at the time, most of them were new at this mission trip stuff, and that first trip to Australia was just a few days shy of a month. That's a long time to hang out with people you don't know very well. That's a long time to hang out with people you really don't like very well, either. And we didn't just hang out, we lived together, camped in the Outback, and aside from showering, did just about everything with each other.
Now with that many people and all different personalities, there are bound to be clashes. Before going any further, perhaps there's something you should know about me. Even to this day, I hate being told what to do. Just ask me, and I'll likely do it...but if you tell me, I likely won't. Perhaps you already figured this one out, too - I'm a bit stubborn. Let's be honest...if you know me, you already knew that little tidbit!
Well, in Australia, I was part of a children's ministry who did puppets. I remember very clearly getting more and more frustrated as this guy named Frank Banfill told me what to do, over and over (and over!) "Beth, help put the puppet stage together. You're not opening the puppet's mouth wide enough. The puppet is looking to the ceiling not the audience. You're not syncing the puppet's mouth with the music just right. Beth, quit goofing around and pay attention." Orders. On and on. If anyone ever told me I would married this guy three years later, I would have had them committed to the funny farm. I was impressed with his preaching, but as a person, he was rock bottom on my favorites list.
I wasn't the only one having problems with personalities and unity. Apparently, there were some other situations that went much deeper than my superficial hatred of Frank Banfill. About half way through our trip, our team leaders sat us all down and said something like this. "Listen, this has got to stop. We are a team. If you have a problem with someone, you need to go work it out. We are here to serve the Lord, and when we are complaining and bickering, we are not serving. We have to have unity."
That was a long time ago, and I don't remember the exact words they chose, but I do remember the power that they had in my life. This trip to Colombia is now my fifteenth international mission trip, and the unity problems from that first trip haunt me to this day. When there is no unity on a team or among believers, when our focus is on ourselves and our own whims, it's pretty hard to serve God and others whole heartedly. As I start each trip, I often think through how I am going to deal with the personality clashes that will inevitably arise.
In this passage in John 17:20-25, Jesus prays for me; He prays for future believers. He prays for those who are out telling people about Him, like what my team will do this week in Colombia. He prays for the people who are going to hear the Good News we have to share. The message is simple and clear, spoken directly from Jesus.
But as the passage goes on, I love how Jesus talks about unity. He says "(My prayer is...) that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in Me and I am in You." Think about it. In the same way there is no discord within the Trinity, Jesus wants us to be unified as a body of Christians. Then He says, "...may they be in Us so that the world may believe you have sent Me." I know I can't be unified as a team unless I'm first aligned with Christ.
I think we are most vulnerable for sin to enter our lives when we are about to do something for the Lord. I see it over and over, and I have personally struggled over and over. Nearly every year, I get put on a sub-team with the one person on the trip that I would rather be the farthest from. I have no idea about this year, so far so good, but after so many trips, I've come to expect it. That's why this passage is so key for me this week. Unity. One. If Jesus focused on it so much in this passage, I need to as well. So as I go into the barrios in Barranquilla, please pray for unity on our team, and for those who will believe in Jesus Christ through the Message we share.
And for you, if you are not actively sharing your faith, if you don't know how to even lead someone to the Lord, find someone in your church who can help you. Send me a message, and I can point you to some great tools to help you get started. Start with purchasing an eight dollar evangecube at www.e3resources.org. It's the simplest tool to share your faith that I've ever seen. I remember someone telling me, "It's not that hard. You just show up and breathe." Really, when you have some Good News to share, it's not as hard as you think. Get prepared. Start now.
Finally, perhaps you're reading this, but you don't understand all this mission trip stuff and why I go across the world to share about God. Maybe you don't understand what it means to have a free gift of eternal life through what Jesus Christ did on the cross. The Bible is very clear that you can't earn your way to heaven by being a good person. Religion means nothing. It's about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't let another day go by without considering this decision of committing your life to God and asking Jesus to come into your life, forgive you of your sins and save you. This verse also applies to you; Jesus was praying for you.
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message."
What's keeping you from being a messenger? What's keeping you from believing the Message? Let's experience unity in Christ together! So, tonight our team is finally unified, all in Colombia together. Please pray for continued unity, too!
I can't wait to see what God does tomorrow...
---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com