Who's on First

I heard the most humbling words this morning during the Rock Group Sunday School class. One of our members just returned from a week-long mission trip to Haiti. The team had just got home about 1:30 this morning, so there had been no real time to process what he had seen or felt.

We were eager, however, to get some impressions from off the top of his head and to hear a few of his experiences. He told of the extreme poverty in much of what he saw and described many differences he had noted. Language was one crucial differences and this did not make for easy communication.

The humbling words came when he told of their church services which were several hours long. Much of the service was dedicated to praise and worship, and all of the people in attendance participated actively and loudly, much differently that what we are used to. Half jokingly, he indicated that no one was watching the time to make sure they got to the restaurant before the other church down the street. They had come to worship the Lord, certainly not to play church.

The team will present their thoughts, their testimonies, and pictures at a later time, and that will be most interesting and informative. The group, for the most part, did hard physical labor while they were there in order to leave it better than when they arrived. I’m sure those who live and serve there on a more permanent basis appreciate so much the work that was accomplished.

But I have to wonder—which group should send missionaries to the other group? Looking down from heaven, which group is more pleasing to the Father? We, the land of plenty, have clean water to drink, clothes to wear, medical care, and too many conveniences to mention. However, do our hearts put worship of our God ahead of everything? Are we eager to sit for hours to praise and learn of God’s Word? Do we need to learn from them? I think we might be the mission field that needs their help.