Seeing Our Work with New Eyes

“Bear one another’s burdens.” Gal 6:2
Whenever we host visitors from the US, we see our work with new eyes. The mundane seems new and even exotic again. Our stumbling attempts at language adequately communicate, and may even sound polished (not a Polish joke) to untrained ears. Our daily struggles are really not that different from those who seek to do kingdom work anywhere, and challenges facing the Body of Christ resonate from sea to sea.

“Bear one another’s burdens.” Gal 6:2

Whenever we host visitors from the US, we see our work with new eyes.  The mundane seems new and even exotic again. Our stumbling attempts at language adequately communicate, and may even sound polished (not a Polish joke) to untrained ears.  Our daily struggles are really not that different from those who seek to do kingdom work anywhere, and challenges facing the Body of Christ resonate from sea to sea.

August 15, missioncrossroads.org published: “Hit the brakes! Moving away from a problem-solving approach to mission,” by Dennis Smith.  Dennis Smith observes that “Americans fix things,” and that walking with international partners means walking with and not leading the way.  This missiological caution bears frequent rehearsal, especially at a time when “many of our mission partners would respectfully ask why, if we are so good at fixing things, so many parts of U.S. society remain broken?”

September 2, our partner, Kosciol Ewangelicko-Reformowany—The Evangelical-Reformed Church in Poland, welcomed 15 pastors and lay leaders from Iowa for a working mission trip. For two weeks the group will . . . ehm . . . fix things—paint and repair and build new.  But they will fix things under the direction of the local congregation, as requested by the partner.  In that way we will “bear one another’s burdens.” During that time, the group will no doubt have needs, and our partner will be ready to serve them. Each side will try to “walk with.” Sometimes that means a time of stumbling about and tripping over each other’s feet; and sometimes that means un-choreographed and reverential dancing in the spirit—the dance of faith.

As we serve in Poland, we admit that we sometimes become frustrated and want more—we’re from a “give me more” society, after all.  We want more vision, or more lay participation, or more outreach, or more . . . something. We have come, full of energy and dreams, ready to be put to work. We’re the ones who said: “Here I am, Lord. Send me!”

But cultures run deep, changes come slowly—almost imperceptibly, centuries of domination and oppression have taken their toll, and thriving congregations germinate and gestate from within.  We are called faithfully to experience God, ministry, and congregational life in a new way and not to impose our own ways, whether they seem tried and true or shiny and new.  That’s a lesson we need to re-learn day by day as we walk with our partners.

And that’s a lesson our working group will learn as they travel, learn and work in Poland.

Thank God for these opportunities for each and all of us!

Liz and Doug Searles in Lodz, PL

Doug and Elizabeth Searles serve with the Evangelical Reformed Church in Poland.  They serve as mission workers for church growth and outreach.