Momma is Going on a Mission

UPDATE JUNE 2018: Due to the violent and uncertain situation in Nicaragua, our trip for July 2018 has been postponed.  We are considering January 2019, but it all depends on the state of the country and how safe it is to travel there.  I would encourage you to lift up prayers for the people of Nicaragua, the relief groups assisting their country, the chain reaction of economic downfall and hungry bellies and people no longer feeling safe in their home country… it is a difficult situation to say the least.  Nicaragua is not in a safe space right now, and its people are hurting.  I will keep you posted as further developments come about for the trip in 2019.

 

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I grew up in a church that was super awesome at youth missions.  As a freshman in high school, I got to experience Chicago for the first time with a gaggle of youth, a handful of mentors that led the way, and an eye-opening adventure of faith, of street realities, and of a better understanding of the world outside my West Michigander Bubble.

 

And then there was the mission trip to Philadelphia, which exposed me to more stories, more culture, and also more about the pieces in my perspective that were tight, closed, and unaware of the vibrant and complex world just at the other end of our shared time zone.  I had recently graduated high school and it was the summer before college, but also the summer I lost a friend to a tragic car accident and a grandparent to an aggressive cancer.  When our group began our caravan of vehicles across state lines, I was playing discs on a handheld CD player, combing through memories and trying to sift and sort through feelings of loss.  I remember wandering around a gated garden near where we were staying in the city, processing life, faith, and that teetering between the two that grief can enhance.  It was a strange juxtaposition of new city sounds, a plethora of memories from years passed, and trying to let the new and the old blend.

 

In between Chicago and Philadelphia, I met the beauty and unrealness of Costa Rica.  Wow.  At a mere fifteen years old, I traveled with a large group of youth and mentors (many of whom I had grown up in the church for a number of years), and it was incredible.  I learned that I had a lot to learn in the Spanish language,  that my hair could be far curlier than I imagined when tropical humidity was applied, that its blondness was a striking feature in Latin America, that songs of praise were much more powerful when spoken in new cadences of language, and that whether on the same continent or not, a shared faith was a way to connect, and that God has created a beautiful world both in its lands and in its people.  I’ll have you know that I sent my very first letter to Brad from Costa Rica.  You could say it was the moment our courtship first took root, the teenager I met at church camp who would later become my boyfriend, and then my husband, and here we are seventeen years after that first letter was sent.

 

You’ll find that on trips like these you will think before you leave that you will do so much for the people you are going to meet.  And yet… it is actually so much that they will apply to your heart, and your faith, and your understanding of the world and you will be the one receiving so much from your travels.

 

I don’t have photos of Philly or Chicago, but here are a few of Costa Rica.

 

 

So why take a trip down memory lane?  Why dig through printed photographs buried in a tub I haven’t thought about in more than a decade?  THIS time, I’m a mother.  THIS time, I’m most likely the eldest member attending the trip.  THIS time, I’m going in knowing a few more words of Spanish.  THIS time, I will know that missional work is about shaping your own heart and learning from the new people you meet.

 

Here’s what I’m doing:  I am hoping to travel to Nicaragua in early July with a small team from my church.  Our church supports a missionary in the area, where she is doing great things with an organization called CEPAD.  You can read all about their work on their Facebook and Website, but their main programs are sustainable farming, youth leadership, education, pastoral training, and economic development for women.  And a big piece of all of that?  Bonding communities together.  You may have seen a trend in some of my posts that I talk a lot about my mom tribe, or the people that have supported my family, or lifted me up in prayer, or just been there through the thick, thin and varying levels of viscous life-living.  Farming doesn’t work without community.  Education doesn’t work without community.  Pastors can’t serve or grow or learn without community.  Women can’t build economic stability without community.  It is with this bonding of community that our trip is focused.

 

Have you ever passed through the halls of a church and noticed a photograph, or a case of mementos, or a listed biography of someone living abroad as a missionary in a far off land doing good deeds?  Maybe the case is a little dusty.  Maybe the photograph looks to be of another era, and yet they are actively in that country.  THIS is where our trip comes into play.  Our missionary in a far off land is continuing doing good deeds, and our church body is supporting those efforts… but are we supporting them in community?  Our little band of travelers will be doing just that.  We aren’t going there to fix things.  We are going to encourage the bond between Christ followers in Holland, Michigan, and Christ followers in Mangua, Nicaragua.  We are going to see their good works, see the beauty of God’s land in a new place, in a new culture, in a new language, and we are to bring our faith points together, we are to shake hands, we are to learn from them, we are to be in community with them.

 

I hope that I am describing it properly.  It’s easy to say “we’ll build ten houses” and that seems more of a substantial reason for going on a mission trip, but this trip has a different purpose.  We are building lasting relationships.  We are seeing what God is doing in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are figuratively dusting off the frames of the biography and the dated photos, and we are saying, “We are with you; your work is not forgotten.”

 

One last thing I’d like to say that is important as a mom, and I’m certain their may be others out their that share this sentiment.  I have been a stay-at-home-mom now for over six years.  Most of my time now is spent caring for littles, making sure the peanut butter jar doesn’t run too low, and that backpacks are stocked with the demands of the day.  I’m sure my day-to-day tasks aren’t very exciting from that perspective.  But I see this trip as an opportunity for my three children to see that mom can do big things, too.  That her faith can propel her to do brave things, hard things, exciting things, and to build community with people that may not share the same food, or clothing, or language, or lifestyle we’re accustomed to here.  I want them to see faith in the daily routine of life with mom, but also that faith can be transferred into new places.  From the perspective of my children, they see mom’s God Life as a 15 mile radius from our house – caring for our family, caring for our friends, loving others as Christ loves us.  But I want them to see mom’s God Life can also mean being in community with farmers in Nicaragua, and missionaries working in the cities, and understanding that God’s community is much grander and more vibrant than our singular community where we live.

 

If you want to be a part of this community building trip, I would love your support.  Here are three ways:

 

PRAYERS.  I would love prayers from all angles of this trip… that Quincy, Eloise, and Cormac are okay with mom traveling and that things go smoothly at home for Brad, prayers for vaccinations, travel details, financials, packing, language, local Nicaraguan dynamics, and that it can be a faith building trip for all involved.

FINANCES.  The trip cost $1,350 and I’ll be honest when I say that is a big limiting factor for my attendance.  If you’re willing, you can donate funds for the trip, or you can purchase these crocheted baskets made by me and all funds will go to the trip.

BE IN COMMUNITY WITH ME.  Sign up to receive email updates from me about the trip, and keep the dialogue going.  I promise I won’t spam you or over email.  Nobody likes that!  I’d love whatever kind of encouragement you can send as I prepare for this journey.  You can fill out the form below with your name and email address:

 

 

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This momma is going on a mission, but there are many pieces that go into the trip:  Can you lift up those pieces with me?  Can you be a part of this shared community?

 

~M