Your Heart Has To Be Right

Missions trips are fun, and exciting, they are eye opening and life changing, they inspire you, and they break your heart in ways you never thought possible.   But ultimately none of that matters if your heart isn't in the right place.  You can't go into the missions field, and be focused on yourself or your issues, or who said what.  Because when you enter the missions field, life automatically becomes about everyone else, your problems get set aside for the time being.  Life becomes about serving, and bettering the lives of others.

You see I would love to venture over to Africa at some point in my life, I truly would!  But right now I don't feel it's where God wants me.  When I jumped into the thought of Africa, I did it with the wrong heart. I had just gotten back from a missions trip to Mexico with my youth group that hadn't gone to well.  I convinced my self that since that one trip to Mexico didn't go well that, that was not where God wanted me.  Which wasn't the case at all.  I told myself that God wanted me Africa, and I tried to find all the reasons why I knew this was right.  But ultimately things with my health just didn't add up, neither did the money situation. I knew that this wasn't where God wanted me but I refused to acknowledge that.  I continued to pray and ask God to show me that it was right, and He continued to turn my heart back to Mexico.  He continued to remind me of just how in love I am with the language, people, food, the kids, and just the country in general.  I knew where God needed me but it took me a while to realize that.

When I went to Mexico in March, I had the wrong heart.  There were issues going on between myself and others that I let consume my heart and attention.  Because I let myself become consumed with those issues, I wasn't able to give my all  and serve those people, the churches, the kids at the orphanage, and the ones at VBS.  I realize now my  mistakes and my faults, and that I let myself get consumed and forgot the reason that I was down there.  God has since renewed my heart, as well as my mind.  He has shown me clearly where I am needed, and has re-lit the fire in my heart, for the country of Mexico that had gone dim.  

So please, oh please make sure your heart is in the right place before you jump into the missions field.  Because if we aren't 110%  focused on the people God has sent us to witness to and benefit, those people will be neglected.  They wont experience the unconditional and wonderful love of Christ.  We can't give our all if we are concerned with, and focused on ourselves.