The Kids I Serve

I remember some of the conversations I had with people when I first decided to become a missionary and move to the other side of the world. Because where I come from, doing something so different comes off as crazy. And even more so when I said, "No, it's not me on the front line of missions, reaching the people in the bush that have never heard the Gospel or building an orphanage or planting a church or (fill in the blank with some super spiritual thing here). Instead I will be assisting those missionaries with their work indirectly by teaching their children." And although I believed this work was important, I also believed that it was nothing compared to what those "real" missionaries were doing on the front lines. I was just happy to help and happy to learn to serve by doing the behind the scenes work. 

But now I've gotten to know the kids I moved halfway across the world for. And as recently I've been thinking about them a lot, I've come to realize how much my job is not behind the scenes but is on the front lines fighting for Jesus. And if you're not sure that you agree with me yet, let me tell you just a little about the kids I serve. 

There's a few middle school boys and girls that I teach Bible to every day but don't know Christ yet. They're convinced that if there is a heaven and hell, if they just buckle up and work to be a good enough person, they'll get to heaven. I can't even imagine how exhausting that way of thinking must be. And it's such a privilege because I get to teach them the Bible everyday. And I get to build those relationships with them out of class whether at the lunch table, on the court, or in the hallway where I can model for them what hope, what joy, what peace a Christian life has to offer. My prayer is these little homies come to know Christ because they're the lost that I get to preach to.

Then there's the middle school boys and girls that do know and love Jesus, but are still trying to figure out what that means for their lives (because after all, which of us isn't doing this still?) This last semester, we've been going through the book of Proverbs, aka God's will for my everyday interactions, and I've been challenging them daily to think critically about the things God asks of us. To think critically about the arguments of the Bible and the arguments of the world and see what make sense. To apply their knowledge to situations going on in the world around us (we've spent the last few weeks talking about the Syrian refugee crisis and the Paris terrorist attacks). My prayer is that these kids become warriors for Christ who go out and offer hope and peace to those around them. My prayer is that they wouldn't be the Christians who sit in the pews Sunday but live their life however they want Monday, but live their entire life in view of who God is and what He has called us to. 

There's the juniors and seniors in high school that soon will venture out in the real world. They're about to leave their Christian bubble and hit a total culture and spiritual shock. Without an identity rooted in Christ, their faiths may very well sink. And some of them just don't know. Their faith hasn't been tested, it hasn't been tried, and they need to figure out what they believe. Or it has been tested, and though we would never speak of it in public, through all of the tests they don't know how there could be a God, or a God that loves them at least. Some of them feel forgotten by God. I've sat down and had the conversations. Some of them I meet with regularly as we're trying to sort out what they believe. My prayer is that these young friends of mine also come to find that God is real, God is with them and God wants to offer them an abundant, full and exciting relationship with Him. 

There's the girls I coach that I get to speak confidence into. That I get to tell regularly that they're not defined by their performance, but by who they are in Christ. That I'll love them whether they make or miss that buzzer beater, but I'll still challenge them to be better. My prayer God would be using these relationships to teach these girls about who they are and who they can grow into being someday. 

There's the students that I teach that are totally misguided. And sometimes I have to sit down and have the hard conversations with them about cheating or maintaining their integrity as a Christian. Who I sometimes have to work hard to extend my forgiveness to, but at the same time teach them to do what is right. My prayer is these students would grow up to be men and women of integrity who not only do what is right, but stand up for what is right and just and fair in this world. 

So am I on the front line of missions? Yeah, I would say I'm building up the church and preaching to the lost. I would say the work I do every day is important work that the Lord has asked of me. Whether I expected it or not, these little friends of mine needed Christ more than I ever could have known or imagined, but the more I get to know them the more I see that. And my guess, my reader, is that the more you get to know those around you, the more you'll see that God wants you to be fighting for their hearts, working to bring justice, peace and hope to those around you too. 

As for me, keep praying for me and those crazy kids I serve.