Reflections on the mission trip

This mission trip was the first time I have been involved with a dental clinic. I learned that I am not squeamish, given the number of things that I saw that would make most people faint or at least not feel very good! My role was to do everything I could to make life easier for our dentists and volunteers and to help make the overall dental clinic run efficiently, thus freeing Pastor Kevin to concentrate on bigger picture issues, since he was the leader of the entire mission. This included jumping in to help with traffic control, making sure our hygienist always had patients at the ready as she completed cleanings, resupplying the cleaning station with fresh water, dumping the inevitable large bottles of blood that some of the cleanings produced, supplying our volunteers with needed bottles of water, especially in the heat of the sunny afternoons, helping to decide with Dr. Zoch and Pastor Kevin when the opportune time was to quit accepting any more patients for the day, aiding with setting up and tearing down the clinic both daily and at the beginning and end of the mission, and anything else that would promote the sharing of the Gospel through this vehicle.

My respect for the great job Salem has done mentoring Redeemer during the seven mission trips we have partnered with them on has grown with each journey. The number of details that have to all come together to sponsor both a vision and a dental clinic is pretty staggering and it took a lot of effort on the part of our Redeemer mission leadership, key team members, Gus Jacob, Kevin Pieper and Paul Althoff of Salem and Terry Councill (our Houston based dentist) to make this mission trip the most successful one we have done yet. With each passing mission, our Redeemer team has been given and has accepted more and more responsibility, both financially and logistically. We are at the point now where we supply both the vision and dental clinic with inventories of instruments, consumables and medications. While we still have a little ways to go before we can independently field teams of our own, handling travel details, dealing with the local Kenyan church and governmental authorities and many other matters that Salem still helps us with, I’m sure the day will come when we are in an even more equal partnering relationship with Salem. The inclusion of the Good Shepherd team and their invaluable contributions to the success of this mission show that our efforts at mentoring and partnering with other local congregations are beginning to bear good fruit. Like all excellent mentors, the Salem team is most satisfied when we pay it forward, doing for other new congregations what they have done for us, which, when you think about it, is the putting of Christian principles into practice.

What’s next?
The team will get together soon to celebrate our very successful mission and will review what went well and what could use some improvement. Most of us will begin immediately to concentrate on planning and preparing for our next trip to Kenya, scheduled for May 12-22, 2011. There will be a vision clinic at the Springs of Life Lutheran Church in the Nairobi slum of Kibera at that time. We will be looking with a critical eye at whether we can field a dental team there also or possibly at Kawangware again. Our ideal plan would be to have a dental team at one church and a vision clinic at the other and then alternate them every 6 months. This would help us avoid saturating a mature market for one service or the other and would mean we would have a steady, long-term presence at both of the churches we are committed to. These are only some of my ideas and Pastor Kevin and others on the team will certainly have different perspectives as well. That’s one reason working with this team has been so gratifying. We all have a single purpose, fulfilling the Great Commission. But we are also able to brainstorm and tweak the process to make it more effective than it already is. And once we have agreement, everyone gives it their all, even if their particular idea was rejected or put on hold. What a wonderful group of sharing, caring saints to work with!

Each of us comes back from Kenya every single time recharged and renewed by the spiritual experiences that God had in store for us there. I can’t name one member of the team who is not very involved both at Redeemer or their home congregation and/or in our local community. Rather than becoming fanatical or single-minded and only worrying about serving our brothers and sisters in Kenya, instead we are all the more energized to use our gifts and the growth in faith that these trips produce to the betterment of the ministries each of us has at church, at work, in school or wherever our daily lives place us. I always have to ask myself if I am continuing to serve in Kenya for all the right reasons, the main one being that we all feel called by God to minister in this way, or do I do it because of selfishly wanting the awesome spiritual growth and gifts that result each time from “getting out of the boat”? I have concluded that it is a little of each, and if we continue to do these good things, always remembering and submitting to Him who sent us, it is not only OK to continue this work and other ministries that take us outside of our comfort zone, it is also just fine to accept the gifts that God showers on us for obeying his call. He is like all good fathers and wants to give good gifts to His obedient children.

A call to service
Please seriously consider this advice if you are one who has never done work in the mission field. It comes from one who was a prodigal son for over 25 years before returning to the Good Shepherd’s flock. I was broken beyond repair and He put me back together in a way that gave me a heart for Him and others. There is nothing more worthwhile than seeking and discovering God’s purpose for your unique personality and talents and then finding a way to fulfill His will in some way that serves others and glorifies Him in the process. He will bless you beyond your wildest dreams. I’m living proof. It doesn’t have to be a mission halfway around the world, although getting out of your everyday context is a great way to cut through all the clutter and “busyness” that make His call nearly impossible to hear over the din of our culture. It can be as simple as serving in a soup kitchen for the homeless, taking special needs kids bowling, building a ramp with the Texas Ramp Project for one of your neighbors who is imprisoned by his front steps, taking meals to those who need them with Meals on Wheels or maybe volunteering at the hospital. We have opportunities to do these kinds of things and many, many more at Redeemer or there are plenty more out in the community at large, if you are uncomfortable at first at the thought of being branded as some kind of do-gooder Christian. It’s all the same however you decide to serve and is valued highly in His sight. Trust me. The rewards outweigh the effort you will expend by at least a hundredfold. Again, if you are not already involved in some sort of service to others, just do it! What do you have to lose? A little time you might spend watching TV? Just try it! I’m not saying to go looking for ways to serve others because of the rewards that I know you will receive, just that if you serve others with the right motives, God's blessings will certainly follow. What are you waiting for?

Keep an eye on this blog for the next few weeks, since I am still gathering the pictures from other team members and I want to get photos of their perpectives available for all to see as well. I will also continue to post more reflections on the meaning of this trip and begin to chronicle the preparation for our next African evangelism effort.

To God be the Glory!