When preparing to travel abroad with serve teams, I am not terribly passionate about packing bags for my trip. All too often, the final days prior to departure end up feeling frantic and exhausting. There never seems to be enough time to wrap up tasks at work, finalize communication with overseas partners, and enjoy some unhurried time with my wife. Time seems to accelerate as I edge toward the day when I catch a ride to the airport.
In the flurry of activity leading up to my departure date, it is easy to neglect taking the appropriate time to thoughtfully pack my luggage.
While preparing for a short-term serve trip, packing well is vitally important. "What should I bring?" "Do I have enough mosquito repellent?" "Do I actually need the repellant?" "How many pair of pants should I bring?" "What clothing works in the particular culture where we will be serving?" "Should I bring any items I can leave for somebody who might need them?" Of course, there's the dreaded last minute question we never want to hear uttered from our own lips, "Dang…where is my passport?". There are so many things to consider in the process.
That said, no matter how well you pack and organize, there are 3 crucial items you cannot afford to forget. Nor should they be thrown into your bag at the last minute. The reality is that these most precious items are not first for you, but for others. . . and it is imperative you make room for them.
Prior to leaving on a serve trip, we work with our teams for months ahead of time to assure, to the best of our ability, that each team member has time to pack these crucial goods. One can forget many other things and still get along OK, but missing anyone of these can be disastrous...for the individual, the team...and even those we plan to serve.
These all important items are: Flexibility, Humility and Grace.
If any number of these items is missing from your travel bag, you will not be able to engage in a purely selfless manner on your trip, and you will serve and return as a disappointed and disillusioned human being.
So, let's look at these 3 items on your packing list.
Item # 01: Flexibility
James 4:13-16 - Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance."
You and your leaders will plan and pray. And plan and pray. And plan and pray. I have news for you: Plans WILL change. Perhaps weeks prior to your departure. Perhaps a day or 2 prior. Perhaps in the midst of your trip. One things is for sure - plans WILL change at one point or another. More than once.
Guaranteed. (Oh, and did I mention that plans will change?)
You may have planned for months for a day serving impoverished children. Lists of games, crafts, and lessons to be taught are neatly resting in their columns of your excel spread sheet. You have boxes and bags of supplies sorted according to the day which they will be opened and utilized. Guess what? It's not going to go as planned. You'll had planned to serve 75 kids and 120 show up. You practiced your 30 minutes teaching class and your in-country host informs you that it needs to be done in 15 minutes. You had not thought of, or even time to planned on preaching a sermon, or sharing your personal story...and a church leader asks you to preach, or a ministry partner asks you to share in front of a group of people you don't even know. Be prepared to feel that things are out of control and "not going right". It's gonna be OK. You will see God move in amazing ways that yield results far greater than you had expected.
Expect surprises. Your work projects will be delayed, cancelled or supplies will be late...or perhaps not even show up. Your accommodations may change. Travels plans may shift. Hosts with very little means will graciously offer up food and drink you are not used to. You'll be asked to participate in things that test your skills, patience and comfort. Stay humble. Remain flexible. Expect surprises. Expect and embrace what is uncomfortable.
Jesus did so for you.
Now, it is extremely important to plan.
Plan well. But, know that this trip is not about your plans and preferences being unfolded in all of their glory. It is about God unfolding His plans through your prepared hearts and willingness to go. . . and let go.
Aside from the fact that all bets are off for your preferences, staying on task and schedule while serving overseas, God's word makes it clear we need to hold our plans loosely. As a matter of fact, it says in James 4:16, any other mindset is "arrogance" on our part. He will have some surprises for you. Plan on it. Enjoy it. Embrace it.
Pack your flexibility within easy reach at the top of your travel bag and get ready to grab it!
Item # 02: Humility
Philippians 2:5-8 - "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross."
This scripture is pretty straight up. It's a nice way of saying, "Get over yourself and put others first."
After being about Jesus, your trip is first about serving the people in-country, and second about serving your teammates. Your name is at the bottom of the "what this is all about" list.
As followers of Jesus, we have not only an amazing example of humility in Christ, but His power IN us to live-out that humility. This power is not to puff us up, but to bring us to a place of servanthood as imperfect people serving in a broken world.
Note the word, "attitude" near the beginning of the verse 5 above. Is your attitude like that of Jesus? Do you have a Christ-like attitude toward: Those you are serving? Your in-country hosts? Your partners? Your fellow team mates? Your team leaders?
Don't forget to pack an attitude of humility.
Item #03: Grace
Look up the Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor in Matthew 18:21-33 (go to your bible and read the whole story).
Verse 21-22: "Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, but seventy times seven!"
Verse 33 asked a very difficult question - "Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?"
This HUGE. You WILL get frustrated with team members and leaders. That is a guarantee. You may even get offended or hurt. There are, of course rare times when team members or leaders are flat-out abusive…but that is clearly not the norm.
More than just an item in your carry-on, Grace is more of a jacket - a covering we ought to have ON ourselves...all the time. When we lack grace for others, it is often because we are overly concerned about our own feelings and preferences. We are more susceptible to lacking grace as we serve overseas because everything is so unfamiliar and sometimes overwhelming to us.
It is easy to forget that other team members may be feeling out of place as well…and may also be struggling with extending grace. Extend a lot of grace to fellow team members. They need it as much as you need it.
Be watchful of developing a critical heart toward leaders (of our team, or those in our host country). Understand that there are pressures and situations you will be unaware of which leaders are dealing with in order to keep the team on track with the mission. Often times, leaders are working behind the scenes to protect the team from (non-essential)details and situations that could distract them from what God has in store.
Grace allows us to accept differences without being offended. It protects us from pride and actually helps hold our humility in place. How can we get frustrated, puffed-up, angry or offended when we are truly clothed in grace and humility? The answer is: We can't.
Team leaders: You must allow grace to rule as you guide team members through what is often all very new and uncomfortable. You have the extremely difficult task of giving enough room for team members to go through what they must while, at the same time, protecting the integrity of the overall serve trip.
Team members: Grant your leaders excessive grace as well. They are working with more moving parts and hearts than you can imagine as they try to keep the team on task for the greatest amount of Kingdom impact.
ASSUME THE BEST!
When we assume the best motives from the heart of another imperfect human being(whether on our team, or a national), we are less apt to judge, and instead we grant grace.
Remeber, leaders and team members are 100% human and they WILL make mistakes. And you fall into that category as well. Ministry is messy because we humans are involved. Period.
Whether a team leader, co-leader, or team member, if you recognize the grace you receive on a daily basis from a perfect and holy God, you cannot help but grant grace to others from your imperfect and human self.
As followers of Jesus, we are COVERED with grace. We ought to drip of it!
Pack and wear your grace!
Your Carry-on Bag: An "Eternal mindset".
Colossians 3:2 - "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."
Finally, travel items need to be carried/packed in something.
An Eternal mindset is the carry-on bag that will hold your Flexibility, Humility and Grace.
Without our minds set on "eternal things", our own desires, preferences and tendency to cave-in to self will rob us of joy and of being used by God to our full potential.
Remember that the purpose of this serve trip is not to make you feel like you have accomplished something. Not to earn bragging rights. It's not to share great pictures on Instagram and Facebook(although, do so!). It's not to critique the country, it's people, your team mates or leaders. The purpose of you going on a serve trip is to humbly pour yourself out to others in the same way Jesus poured Himself out to you. You are stepping into a culture as a conduit to an eternal, loving, humble and gracious God. You represent Jesus - The Eternal King. Not your personal ideologies. Not your country. Not your political or social preferences. You represent the King of Glory who, by his Spirit, dwells inside of you in order that you might point others to him by how you love others with a love rooted in the eternal depths of the very heart of God.
Set your mind and heart on Christ. Be purposeful about having your thoughts, attitudes and actions "filter" through the eternal Spirit of God that dwells in you.
Without a bag packed with Flexibility, Humility and Grace, we end up being one of the many overseas servants who miss what God wants to show and teach us as we were doing His work.
Most importantly, we will miss out on Him working through us to touch those we serve because we have become the center piece of our own universe. We get stuck on and in ourselves. Sadly, we will never know what we missed.
Prior to leaving on a short-term serve trip, get all your vaccinations, be well prepared, get to know your team and leaders, learn about the culture in which you will serve…and don't forget to pack well.
Flexibility. Humility. Grace. . . Carried by an Eternal Mindset.
In the flurry of activity leading up to my departure date, it is easy to neglect taking the appropriate time to thoughtfully pack my luggage.
While preparing for a short-term serve trip, packing well is vitally important. "What should I bring?" "Do I have enough mosquito repellent?" "Do I actually need the repellant?" "How many pair of pants should I bring?" "What clothing works in the particular culture where we will be serving?" "Should I bring any items I can leave for somebody who might need them?" Of course, there's the dreaded last minute question we never want to hear uttered from our own lips, "Dang…where is my passport?". There are so many things to consider in the process.
That said, no matter how well you pack and organize, there are 3 crucial items you cannot afford to forget. Nor should they be thrown into your bag at the last minute. The reality is that these most precious items are not first for you, but for others. . . and it is imperative you make room for them.
Prior to leaving on a serve trip, we work with our teams for months ahead of time to assure, to the best of our ability, that each team member has time to pack these crucial goods. One can forget many other things and still get along OK, but missing anyone of these can be disastrous...for the individual, the team...and even those we plan to serve.
These all important items are: Flexibility, Humility and Grace.
If any number of these items is missing from your travel bag, you will not be able to engage in a purely selfless manner on your trip, and you will serve and return as a disappointed and disillusioned human being.
So, let's look at these 3 items on your packing list.
Item # 01: Flexibility
James 4:13-16 - Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance."
You and your leaders will plan and pray. And plan and pray. And plan and pray. I have news for you: Plans WILL change. Perhaps weeks prior to your departure. Perhaps a day or 2 prior. Perhaps in the midst of your trip. One things is for sure - plans WILL change at one point or another. More than once.
Guaranteed. (Oh, and did I mention that plans will change?)
You may have planned for months for a day serving impoverished children. Lists of games, crafts, and lessons to be taught are neatly resting in their columns of your excel spread sheet. You have boxes and bags of supplies sorted according to the day which they will be opened and utilized. Guess what? It's not going to go as planned. You'll had planned to serve 75 kids and 120 show up. You practiced your 30 minutes teaching class and your in-country host informs you that it needs to be done in 15 minutes. You had not thought of, or even time to planned on preaching a sermon, or sharing your personal story...and a church leader asks you to preach, or a ministry partner asks you to share in front of a group of people you don't even know. Be prepared to feel that things are out of control and "not going right". It's gonna be OK. You will see God move in amazing ways that yield results far greater than you had expected.
Expect surprises. Your work projects will be delayed, cancelled or supplies will be late...or perhaps not even show up. Your accommodations may change. Travels plans may shift. Hosts with very little means will graciously offer up food and drink you are not used to. You'll be asked to participate in things that test your skills, patience and comfort. Stay humble. Remain flexible. Expect surprises. Expect and embrace what is uncomfortable.
Jesus did so for you.
Now, it is extremely important to plan.
Plan well. But, know that this trip is not about your plans and preferences being unfolded in all of their glory. It is about God unfolding His plans through your prepared hearts and willingness to go. . . and let go.
Aside from the fact that all bets are off for your preferences, staying on task and schedule while serving overseas, God's word makes it clear we need to hold our plans loosely. As a matter of fact, it says in James 4:16, any other mindset is "arrogance" on our part. He will have some surprises for you. Plan on it. Enjoy it. Embrace it.
Pack your flexibility within easy reach at the top of your travel bag and get ready to grab it!
Item # 02: Humility
Philippians 2:5-8 - "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross."
This scripture is pretty straight up. It's a nice way of saying, "Get over yourself and put others first."
After being about Jesus, your trip is first about serving the people in-country, and second about serving your teammates. Your name is at the bottom of the "what this is all about" list.
As followers of Jesus, we have not only an amazing example of humility in Christ, but His power IN us to live-out that humility. This power is not to puff us up, but to bring us to a place of servanthood as imperfect people serving in a broken world.
Note the word, "attitude" near the beginning of the verse 5 above. Is your attitude like that of Jesus? Do you have a Christ-like attitude toward: Those you are serving? Your in-country hosts? Your partners? Your fellow team mates? Your team leaders?
Don't forget to pack an attitude of humility.
Item #03: Grace
Look up the Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor in Matthew 18:21-33 (go to your bible and read the whole story).
Verse 21-22: "Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, but seventy times seven!"
Verse 33 asked a very difficult question - "Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?"
This HUGE. You WILL get frustrated with team members and leaders. That is a guarantee. You may even get offended or hurt. There are, of course rare times when team members or leaders are flat-out abusive…but that is clearly not the norm.
More than just an item in your carry-on, Grace is more of a jacket - a covering we ought to have ON ourselves...all the time. When we lack grace for others, it is often because we are overly concerned about our own feelings and preferences. We are more susceptible to lacking grace as we serve overseas because everything is so unfamiliar and sometimes overwhelming to us.
It is easy to forget that other team members may be feeling out of place as well…and may also be struggling with extending grace. Extend a lot of grace to fellow team members. They need it as much as you need it.
Be watchful of developing a critical heart toward leaders (of our team, or those in our host country). Understand that there are pressures and situations you will be unaware of which leaders are dealing with in order to keep the team on track with the mission. Often times, leaders are working behind the scenes to protect the team from (non-essential)details and situations that could distract them from what God has in store.
Grace allows us to accept differences without being offended. It protects us from pride and actually helps hold our humility in place. How can we get frustrated, puffed-up, angry or offended when we are truly clothed in grace and humility? The answer is: We can't.
Team leaders: You must allow grace to rule as you guide team members through what is often all very new and uncomfortable. You have the extremely difficult task of giving enough room for team members to go through what they must while, at the same time, protecting the integrity of the overall serve trip.
Team members: Grant your leaders excessive grace as well. They are working with more moving parts and hearts than you can imagine as they try to keep the team on task for the greatest amount of Kingdom impact.
ASSUME THE BEST!
When we assume the best motives from the heart of another imperfect human being(whether on our team, or a national), we are less apt to judge, and instead we grant grace.
Remeber, leaders and team members are 100% human and they WILL make mistakes. And you fall into that category as well. Ministry is messy because we humans are involved. Period.
Whether a team leader, co-leader, or team member, if you recognize the grace you receive on a daily basis from a perfect and holy God, you cannot help but grant grace to others from your imperfect and human self.
As followers of Jesus, we are COVERED with grace. We ought to drip of it!
Pack and wear your grace!
Your Carry-on Bag: An "Eternal mindset".
Colossians 3:2 - "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."
Finally, travel items need to be carried/packed in something.
An Eternal mindset is the carry-on bag that will hold your Flexibility, Humility and Grace.
Without our minds set on "eternal things", our own desires, preferences and tendency to cave-in to self will rob us of joy and of being used by God to our full potential.
Remember that the purpose of this serve trip is not to make you feel like you have accomplished something. Not to earn bragging rights. It's not to share great pictures on Instagram and Facebook(although, do so!). It's not to critique the country, it's people, your team mates or leaders. The purpose of you going on a serve trip is to humbly pour yourself out to others in the same way Jesus poured Himself out to you. You are stepping into a culture as a conduit to an eternal, loving, humble and gracious God. You represent Jesus - The Eternal King. Not your personal ideologies. Not your country. Not your political or social preferences. You represent the King of Glory who, by his Spirit, dwells inside of you in order that you might point others to him by how you love others with a love rooted in the eternal depths of the very heart of God.
Set your mind and heart on Christ. Be purposeful about having your thoughts, attitudes and actions "filter" through the eternal Spirit of God that dwells in you.
Without a bag packed with Flexibility, Humility and Grace, we end up being one of the many overseas servants who miss what God wants to show and teach us as we were doing His work.
Most importantly, we will miss out on Him working through us to touch those we serve because we have become the center piece of our own universe. We get stuck on and in ourselves. Sadly, we will never know what we missed.
Prior to leaving on a short-term serve trip, get all your vaccinations, be well prepared, get to know your team and leaders, learn about the culture in which you will serve…and don't forget to pack well.
Flexibility. Humility. Grace. . . Carried by an Eternal Mindset.
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