Missions at an early age (#31DaysofMemories)

So growing up a preacher's kids I always knew about missions. I knew about the Great Commission in Matthew 28 and Acts 1. I knew the five major world religions by the time I was 8 (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism). I could explain in simple terms what the 10/40 Window was/is by the time I was 10. I understood what persecution was and what it means for the Church. Missions and the global church were just a part of life. And it's all thanks to my mama. 

My mama was on the board for a missions organization that sent and supports a missionary family in Africa. I remember going with her to meetings in the old barn that was remodeled into a church. I remember having the missionary family in our home whenever they were on furlough. But one of the things I remember most was that one year (I think maybe 1998 when Community Christian Church had just moved into the old grocery store) we had a huge task set before us.... We had to sort and pack medical supplies into these huge crate like boxes so that they could be shipped overseas and then transported into the village. 

It was a daunting task... or at least it was in the eyes of an almost 10 year old. We had piles of bandages and stacks of medicine bottles. We had boxes of Pepto and rolls of gauze. And the boxes they were to be packed in. We had them laying out throughout the small sanctuary based on what was going in them. We tried to sort everything fairly evenly so as to distribute weight and hopefully reduce any chance of it all being "lost" (read stolen) en route. 

I remember we spent our evenings at the church for what seemed like weeks (it was really probably only a week or so). My mama and I would turn our music on and just get to work (we work pretty well together if I may say so myself, but that's a post for another day). A couple of nights people from the church joined us. One of them was the mom of one of my friends. She was a nurse and a huge help in explaining to me what different needles were used for or why a certain medicine was better than another. No, I don't remember most of the details. I just know I was determined to not go into the medical field... Too complicated for me. Anyway... we got the boxes sorted and packed. Then we stacked them all up along the wall until we could arrange for the truck to pick them up and ship them out. 

Today, I have no idea what those supplies were used for. I have no idea if all of those boxes actually got to the village (I should ask my mom if she knows). I have no idea if anyone's life was saved because of the nights we spent packing those boxes. I just know that when I was not quite 10 years old, my mama gave me the opportunity to serve in a real and tangible way. My mama gave me the opportunity to see missions at work even at home. My mama gave me the chance to be the hands and feet of Jesus even though I was only 10 years old. And now, nearly 16 years later, I am still as in love and passionate about missions as I was then. I am still getting to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I am still getting to serve and support missionaries from my home in the Midwest. And I can't imagine my life any other way.