Why would anyone want to be a volunteer missionary??  

I mean, you have to have shots, even if you are only staying a couple of weeks.  You sleep on beds that are harder than the floor (especially by the end of the night).  You eat food that is totally outside of your comfort zone, and you can’t even pronounce it!  If you shake hands with the wrong hand, you might be embarrassed.

Ohhhh, maybe that last one is close to the truth.  We humans have a lot of pride in us.  I don’t know anyone who enjoys being made a fool of, and if you are a volunteer, you may make a potentially embarrassing mistake.

Or, you might have an experience that will forever change someone’s life, at the same time it changes yours.

You might share a sandwich with someone who has had no food for several days.  You might help build a building for a community that was washed away.  You might be surprised to feel God speaking to you during a worship in a language you don’t know. You might dance and sing with women who never had a childhood.  You might help a child to see, for the first time.  You might show someone how to grow the best tomatoes, EVER! You might help build an outside (or inside) toilet. You might tell someone they are pretty, and watch their face light up.  You might help someone get to a doctor, or help bring a doctor to them.  You might teach English as a second language.  You might sing “Jesus Loves You” with some children and their parents, under a Banyan tree.  You might decorate cheap shoes with balloons and paint.  You might visit with children in an orphanage for the blind.  You might play some pick-up basketball.   You might watch children playing in water up to their hips, in the middle of a flooded street.  You might….. you might……you might……..

You see, when we say “Yes” to God, and allow Him to choose our path, we just might say “Yes” to being a volunteer missionary.  And then things that we can not even imagine may happen to us.  All of the above, or none of the above.  The one sure thing is that your life will be changed.

Just one more………You might just say the words that help another accept God.  And then ..You might just go out to look for someone else.

But this Volunteer Missionary stuff is not just good for the volunteer and the people.

I grew up in the 50’s, and my favorite TV show was anything-with-a-dog-or-horses.  So, I watched lots of westerns, like Gunsmoke, Rin Tin Tin, Flika, Fury, The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid, Roy Rogers…. You know the ones.   The program would start out slow, a normal day, not much happening, but, suddenly, someone got mad at someone else, or stole their cattle, or whatever.  Tension grew until you were caught up in the drama and you wondered how this would be solved.  Then, just as suddenly, relief came in the form of a parent, or a side-kick, or the Calvary, or Tonto, or, even Chester.  You knew then that everything would be fine.

That is exactly how it feels to have a work team visit your ministry.

Some people may think missionaries have everything under control, that problems are quickly solved, that everyone loves and works harmoniously together ( I mean, they ARE all Christians, aren’t they?) But that is not life, on the mission field or anywhere else that I am aware of.  Personalities clash, projects don’t meet up to expectations, and sometimes, people walk out on us, and on God.  Sometimes it really hurts.

When a work team comes, we know that help is on its way.  These people can make the most depressing day better, just by being with us.  We are encouraged by their activity, even if it is just helping to clean a cupboard, because we recognize all that they have walked away from, just to be with this mission.  We know that there are more like them at home, wherever they came from, who are praying TODAY for the ministry, the people and for us.  That is powerful knowledge.

It’s not that they tell us anything NEW, but they put a face to TRUTH.  The truth that we are each given jobs to do for the furtherance of the Kingdom.  A volunteer helps to remind us that you have not forgotten us, and neither has God.