Serving the Lord at Home

A couple days ago I blogged about how I was working at planning a trip to Japan with Samaritan's Purse to help with the rebuilding going on there.  I also mentioned that I wasn't sure if I would be able to go because the page said they were looking for experienced carpenters.  As it turns out, I'm not going to be able to go because I don't have the experience needed, which on the one hand is disappointing, but I'm also really glad because just knowing about it got me really interested in working with Samaritan's Purse period.

So I definitely won't be going to Japan this year, but I am looking at going down to Ruidoso in the near future to help out cleaning up after the fires down there.  From the sounds of it, it wouldn't be so much building as it would be clearing debris and helping the homeowners find any valuables that might have survived the fire.  Despite the tragedy of it, I'm really excited to have the opportunity to be a part of helping the people down there rebuild their houses or at least move in that direction while also being able to show them the love of God.

Having this opportunity so close to home really reminded me that I don't have to go to a foreign country like Japan to share the gospel and work in missions.  There are opportunities all around me at every moment.  I just have to take advantage of those opportunities and be alert to them as well.  And its just exciting to see all the opportunities there are close to home.  So often we do think that being a missionary requires that we go somewhere where the people can't speak English, where they have a whole different religion.  Some people are called to that kind of mission work.  My former pastor and his wife and kids moved to Africa to be missionaries to the people in Cameroon.  That's what God called them to.

I think there are times too when people don't want to have anything to do with mission work because they think that it does require them to go to a foreign country.  Again, its just a matter of reminding ourselves that their are opportunities for us to be missionaries in our every day lives.  Just look for the opportunities and let God lead you where He will.