"missionary" musings...

I've been thinking lately about the idea of a "missionary"...because, of course, I am a missionary appointee with the LAM. But I don't really think that being a missionary in Tijuana should be all that different from being a nurse in Minneapolis or a mom in Burnsville or a grad student in St Paul, etc...

At church last Sunday, Derek (our fabulous Bethel Seminary intern) talked about how all Christians are called to full-time ministry. This is something that I really do believe to be true. As followers of Jesus, we are ALL called: 1) to love each other, 2) to tell our faith story, and 3) to share the good news of the Gospel. This is what a missionary is to me. And we are called to do this wherever we are and whatever our official career might be. For me, this just means that God is now calling me to do this as a nurse in Tijuana, Mexico (and that I must raise support to do so)!

I believe that my most important ministry in Tijuana will not be bringing my professional nursing skills, but rather simply offering my presence to the people there and sharing life with them. I believe that my most important ministry will be to love my Mexican hermanos and receive their love for me, to listen to their stories and tell my own, to share with them the good news of the Gospel and let them remind me of the same... This might mean caring for the sick or it could simply mean laughing together...

Just a few examples of me being a "missionary"!