Reality is not always my friend. I know what I want to do, but I can’t always do it.
At the end of our seminary years, my husband and I felt the call to consider mission work. We attended a few informational meetings–and then backed out. At the time, our children were 6 months, 18 months, and 3 years old. The project seemed overwhelming.
Through the years, increasingly I have become convinced that clergy are not the only ones who wonder about the call to be a missionary. I’m sure that lots of church members have felt this tug and wondered if God wanted them to serve as a missionary–like we did so many years ago.
Today, as ever, the important thing is, that we are the people God wants us to be. In today’s world, however, we struggle with this because of the many opportunities available to us as we consider the call to be a blessing to others in our church, our communities, and in our world.
Home swaps are an amazing opportunity for good stewardship of our God-given resources. I am reminded of this, over and over again. Most people seem able to appreciate this. But I am not sure that others see how doing a home exchange creates a wonderful opportunity to be a missionary for Christ.
That is why I like to refer to a Christian Home Exchange as a “Vacation With A Mission.” When we do a home swap, we can be more than just another tourist during our vacation travels. As “a local,” rather than just another tourist, we can tell the shopkeeper how we came to live in the community–that we swapped homes with another Christian. Such a simple comment can have profound and far-reaching impact.
So, I believe that during my travels, it makes a difference to undertake a home exchange “as a Christian.” By approaching the home exchange “as a Christian,” we open ourselves up in special ways to serve as missionaries for Christ. That’s right. We can witness anytime and anywhere during our daily walk–and our travels–when we remember that we are walking (traveling) with the Lord.
Photo: Islands in the stream 2010 by Bill Strain is licensed under CC by 2.0.
