Day 10 | Staff Missionaries

As missionaries with Casas por Cristo, we are often complimented on the radical way we have chosen to live our lives. I think the first time I received a compliment like that I had no idea how to react. Sure, doing this can be difficult, but the difficulties that come with being a full time missionary don’t seem to be that big of an issue. When you write down the sacrifices on paper, it seems like a lot. We have all moved away from our families and put everything we know behind us. We sleep in Mexican churches for half the year. We lead construction in some of the worst conditions with untrained volunteers. We even have to fundraise our salaries to work here. But to me, these difficulties don’t seem that bad.

It’s like when you were a kid and the doctor gave you a lollipop to distract you from the shot. Jesus Christ and all that He is doing melts away the difficulty. When I see a single mom receive the key to her home and then give thanks to God through tears, difficulty might as well not exist. God has given us such a vision of His love that it’s all worth it. I think of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:15-18:

For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

I don’t write all of that to brag or boast in us, but rather to boast in the Lord for what He accomplishes through ordinary men and women. We receive compliments all the time for being extraordinary, but we know that we are supernaturally sustained and blessed. All glory, honor, and praise go to our God who uses us to do wonderful things. I don’t think anyone here at Casas saw themselves doing this. God shaped us, moved us, and worked to assemble the team we have here. And the sight of Him as he works through us creates such a profound peace and satisfaction that picking up a cross to come after Him is truly a joy.

Pray for us today that God would continue to give us a vision of eternity. That everyday would be a joy to lay down our lives for the sake of others. Pray that as we come to know Jesus so deeply, so would the teams and families that we serve. Pray for the Holy Spirit to empower us and embolden us to make a large impact for the Kingdom. We need your prayers, it is God who sustains us.
-Justin