Open Eyes

How do you sum up a powerful week of ministry in several short sentences? How do you even begin to convey a miraculous week where God worked in the hearts of so many people?

My team and I have spent the last week in Shannon, working with a local church. We participated in door-to-door evangelism, vacation Bible school ministry, and the running of a youth drop in center in the evenings. Let me tell you, I started this trip expecting to bless others, share the gospel with the lost, and just pour myself into whatever ministry that was put in front of me. And yes, all of this was a big part of my week, but definitely not all of it. I believe that the biggest place God worked in the past ten days was in MY heart. I expected to bless others; God used others to bless me. I expected to share the gospel with the lost; the gospel was revealed to me in a new and powerful way.  I expected to pour myself in to every ministry put in front of me. What I was not prepared for was the way God would just overwhelm my heart by using a local church body to uplift and encourage me. Wow!

Sometimes we get caught up in trying to help people strangers in a foreign country and people we don't know. Often times we miss the mission field right in front of us. When we started in Shannon, I was so focused on the people on the street, that I did not appreciate the amazing individuals gathered right around me. Several days into the trip, God hit me with a realization; I had this amazing opportunity to walk alongside and support a church body that needed all the encouragement it could get, and I was brushing that off as unimportant compared to the lost souls on the streets. What a lie! After opening my eyes, I started spending more time with individuals in the church. I prayed with some, talked with others, and just offered an encouraging word where it was needed. I started noticing something special about these people. They were overflowing with so much passion that it just spilled over onto everyone around them! Others came first. Everyone needed to hear the message of the cross. Shannon is their mission field day-in and day-out, and they are fighting for the lives of every lost soul that walks the streets. Jesus is their strength and they are not afraid! If the people in this church can live in a country where almost 99% of people do not know Christ, where drug addicts and alcoholics walk the streets, and yet stand strong for Christ, then who am I to ignore them? 

I believe, with all of my heart, that God led me to Ireland to encourage this church. If I encouraged the heart of one person in this church to continue on this journey, to run this race, to fight this fight, then I have succeeded. God uses us all in different ways and in different areas. The lesson I learned on this trip? Open your eyes. Do not miss the people right around you. Sometimes, they need your effort just as much, if not more than the lost thousand of miles away. As our week in Shannon ends and our mission trip wraps up, I pray that God will continue to open my eyes to the mission field right before my eyes, that I often times cannot see. All the glory to Your name Jesus!