Go God

Short-term mission trips are one of the most common types of missions done throughout the world, and in my opinion do so many valuable things. At times it seems as though they are overlooked or perhaps overshadowed because of all the other things churches do. However, they are imperative to spreading the gospel to others around the world. And these mission trips don't have to be out of the country. There are many places, such as th Marie Sandvick Center in Minneapolis, or Nett Lake or other Indian Reservations. It just seems as though we all want to help, but everyone thinks that someone else will take care of it, so why should we bother? Every year, millions of dollars are spent on entertainment. I spend way more than I should on clothes and other entertainment. If we all tried a little harder to save our money and put it towards something really useful, we could help so many people, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Every 3 minutes someone is martyred for their faith, according to the Voice of the Martyr's website. We could help that number go down. We could bring the faith of Jesus to so many if we just stopped and really thought about what we were doing. We need to step up. Every year when my team goes to Nett Lake, we all give up a week of working, of making money. Not to mention all the meetings and planning sessions that go into it beforehand. But we all do it willingly because of what that place means to us. I would do anything for those children at that reservation. I have never experienced anything like Nett Lake, nor have I been anywhere before or since where I fel so used by God and so genuinely happy. I hope and pray that one day everyone will have a place they can say that about.

Support or no?

According to the BGC website, of the 72 missionaries and missionary couples that they have sent out all over the world, 36 of them need more support money, over 10 of them needing over $1,000 more a month. This doesn't even include the short tem mission funds that are needed for the thousands of churches that go out every year. I have been thinking a lot about this lately because of the new ministry starting at the Northwest Angle. The pastor Kenny Danielson is speaking at a church in Stanchfield this weekend, and is going to continue to speak at other area churches until he gets the support that he needs. There are so many churches giving all they can, however so many are small and cannot give a ton of money. Then there are other mega churches who give practically nothing to support missionaries. My grandpa knows people on leadership boards at two mega churches around here, and they spend more money on their pretty buildings and building more campuses of their church than they do on supporting the hundreds of missionaries all over the world. This is really sad to me, especially considering just how much money that they seem to have. It's up to us to help those who are going out to share about Christ, and if our churches don't do that, then what are we doing?

Maggie's trust

In chapel at Bethel this morning, we talked about giving of ourselves, and how much we are prepared to give to the Lord. I've been thinking about that all day, and it seems so weird how much I take for granted. There was an article in the New York Times this week that I read that talked about how much we as Americans consume and use compared to the rest of the world. It would take two worlds to support us if everyone lived the way Americans do, which is crazy! I mean, do we really need all the stuff we have? Do we really need buffets and 5 cars per family? I don't know, it all seems so trivial to me. It is so important for us as Christians that God gave us everything, and we need to give a little back. We need to be willing to do what God calls us to. For many, that may include short term missions trips, which have wonderful effects for the people involved. But we as the church body need to recognize that, because so many times I feel we let it go, and think that someone else will care about it, or someone else will help. But WE need to, it's up to us.

Today, I found out that Maggie Lasley, the daughter of the pastor at Nett Lake, has received bad news about her cancer. The tumor has grown, quite a bit, and it doesn't look like the radiation that they were hoping to do will help her. She has to have stem-cell extraction and premium chemo, all things the doctors didn't want to have to do. This family needs help now more than ever, not just in prayer, but financially as well. It just doesn't seem like whatever they do is enough. This is one of those times that we need to care. We need to care about Maggie, about her situation, about her family, and about the future. This is not going away, no matter how much we wish it would. Her dad always says, "It's in God's hands now," and I guess he's right.

Easter and beyond

Easter is coming, and I love it. I love this Holiday. My grandpa always used to tell me that without Easter, Christmas wouldn't mean anything, and this is so true. Even though Christmas is much more favored by people, Easter seems almost more special because of what happened. One thing that kind of bugs me though is how many people go to the Good Friday service, or the Easter Sunday service, but don't go any other time of the year. It just doesn't seem right, like they think they're being good church-goers if they go only twice a year. This also got me thinking about the number of people who do go to church throughout the year, and say the are followers of Jesus, but they don't really want to get involved. They want to sit in the pew, but not really be noticed. I feel like I see a lot of people like that at my own church, the people who never help at funerals or for special events. Then my thoughts went to Nett Lake and the number of people in that church. Of the faithful members who go every week, or most of the time, almost all of them volunteer and help in a significant way. That to me means so much more than just going. And it's not that it doesn't happen down here, but it seems different. Natives are looked down upon by many people, even though they live in many more places than on reservations. There are over 10,000 Indians who live in Minneapolis alone. There are problems there definitely, but there is hope also. Hope that something will touch those Natives, that something will catch their attention. It's starting to happen at Nett Lake, things are heating up, and I'm excited to see where it goes.