Last night, I watched the movie Other Side of Heaven, on Netflix. It's a true story of a young Mormon missionary sent on to spread the Good News with Tongo people in an island near Fiji. Young as he was and had to leave his girlfriend, love of his life and his family back home and sail to an unknown destination and to live among people whom he had never seen even in a picture, never knew to speak a word of his language nor tasted their food nor slept in a thatched hut like them brought tremendous anxiety and concerns.
Yet, in faith he stepped out of his house bading farewell to his loved ones and boarded the train in anticipation that someone from the mission would meet him at the ship yard to travel with him to his destination. To his horror, no one showed up at the harbor, even worse, he was not permitted to board the ship saying his name was not on the travellors list. When he tried to enter, despite the refusal, he was thrown overboard by a mean captain. Luckily he landed unhurt on the harbor, but was arrested for trying to enter the boat without permission and put into a room with pigs and chicken were kept. Instead of sitting and wallowing in self-pity, the young missionary took out his trombone and started playing. Shortly, the man who supposed to meet him showed up, gave him a young Tongo man as his help and companion to escort him to the land he was assigned to serve.
Getting adapted to the new surroundings with entirely different culture, language, customs and dwelling was a challenge beyond his expectation and imagination. He suffered many sleepless nights with vicious mosquitoes sucking out his blood all over his body, threw up most of the food he ingested for his body couldn't handle the taste of it, the people made fun of his speech when he tried to say something to them. Instead of taking back a boat to the comfort of his land, he stayed at the shore on his knees praying and studying the native's language and little by little gained the trust and respect of the Tongo people.
The people began to trust him, not because of his preaching, but because he was there beside them praying and caring for a child almost at the brim of death, helped them in the rescue mission when a monstrous hurricane swept the island, stood shoulder to shoulder in lending a hand in builiding back their broken huts and joined them in their celebration and mourned with them when their loved ones died. Until the director from his mission came and asked him to give him an account of the number of people he had led to Christ and the list of the names of people whom he had baptized, he had never thought of having an account of them. Such thing mattered little in his view compared to the number of people he had come to love and serve and gained the trust to lead to Christ. That's all mattered to him and that's all need to matter to anyone who goes onto the mission field to serve the Lord.
Yes, he longed to be near his girl friend, missed his family, home food and all the facilities he enjoyed living in his home country. Yet, he stood by his vision to serve the Lord and people well and even asked for an extension of six months to overstay. When his request was denied, but told he was promoted to be a deputy diirector to serve back home or in another country, instead of being thrilled, he was heart broken, grieve stricken to leave the Tongo people whom he had come to love so dearly within the last four year.
As promised, once he got home, he got married to his girlfriend and started raising a family. However, he and his wife visited many a times the Tongo people and served on short missionary assignments. This was based on a true story and it happened in the 1950s.
Oh what a difference how mission work is done now and in those days. The ones now I hear are those that last averaging from two weeks to three months or little longer. The reason may be that other unChrstianed countries are no more open to mission work as they used to do those days or mission work has not been as effective as those in earlier times. as in Dr. Livingstone's days.
Today, we see our church taking youngsters on two weeks missionary trips spending so much money on air flights and lodgings only to go and mingle with children there, how to play games, tell stories, entertain them in whatever way they could, handover some of the gifts they took along with them and return happy in the contentment thay had seen a new place, experienced a new culture, given the kids there a good time. True, I've no right to judge them for I've never been on any of mission trips. But knowing people who had gone on such mission trips I wonder whether it's truly worth of the effort and the trip in the name of mission work.
I've a friend, who used to put away some hard earn money to take a mission trip flight all the way up to Uganda, travel there for two weeks, to work at the orphanage and to meet the two orphans she's sponsoring. When asked what work she did there, she told me that she helped to organize and shelf the books she took for the children and gave a helping hand to the medical personnel in the clinics. My question was, does she need to spend $3000 US dollars to organize a library and to help at the clinic? Couldn't any local there capable of doing such work? Wouldn't the money spent on the flight be given to the orphanage so that they could spend it in stocking their pantry, buying school books, or toward some building projecs or any other project?
In my opinion, now a days mission trips from this part of the country serves those who go rather than whom they serve. The ones who go get the satisfaction of going on a mission trip,and feeling good about it. And there's no wrong on that . But when you compare such trips to the one I saw on the film The Other Side of Heaven, what a vast difference. When it comes to purpose, sacrifice and in the transformation of life both in those who serve and those who were served, the missionaries of the old times stand high to gain my awe and admiration.
The missionary this film potrayed was a Mormon one. We, Christians in the evangelical and traditional circles consider Mormons as outcastes and false teaching followers. They may be right in their saying and have the reason to caution us not to have anything to do with Mormonism. I've no clue of their message nor has not come across anyone belonging to their belief , except an old woman I come across during my walk.
I'm not here to discuss about their belief or reason out what's wrong with their message. I've no knowledge to debate on that line. My only reason, I brought up the subject is that the main character of the movie happens to be Mormon missionary who potrayed what a true Christian missionary needs to be. His life was almost like Pauls, when it comes to facing shipwrecks, living in starvation, faith and intergrity.
Today, if we have Christians, not only missionaries, but the ordinaryl ones live who chooses to live by faith, sincerity and in love, we don't need to go to foreign land to do mission. Mission will come searching to our doorstep to hear the Good News. As it is, we are from living the life, Jesus, Paul and Peter preached. We hear enough preachings to make even the rocky mountains speak, we attend Bible studies week after week, follow teachers around at seminars on Marriage, Family, purpose driven life and so forth. Yet, the world around looks at us as someone with Judgment label stuck to our forehead, feel judged,not loved, pretentious not genuine.
Would we ever change to reflect your genuine love and act of grace, Lord? Only then can we truly say we're following in the foot steps of Christ. Until then, our mission work may look and sound worth speaking of on the serface, but deeper, the roots may not run to make a life lasting change. Books are wonderful to write and share the message, pulpits and crusades are great stage to energize a crowd, but giving the keys to live a victorious life cannot be taught, but be caught, be observed. Have I got it? Have you got it? If not, let's humbly ask the One who gives it, to change us first so that we could change the world for Him.
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