Beginnings

Whether it’s a story, a town or a person, everything has a beginning. This week I witnessed a new beginning for myself and possibly for a few others. My new beginning is as a missionary and I hope and pray this week was a starting point for some new believers. 

I have never really thought of myself as a missionary, even though I know as followers of Christ, we all live in the mission field. Even when I chose to become a missionary, raised support and prepared to come here, the term ‘missionary’ didn’t really settle in. That changed this week when I shared the gospel for the first time. A team of us from OM Ireland went with some people from the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland to the National Ploughing Championships in Co. Wexford. The Ploughing is one of the largest agricultural trade shows in Europe and brings in about 189,000 visitors each year. We had a tent where we offered a place to sit and have free tea, coffee, and baked goods. Although we did want to be nice to people and give them a rest from the hullabaloo of the day, our main intention was to share the love of Jesus with whomever we encountered. We offered free CDs and tracts, but most importantly conversation.

Many team members went out into the aisles and shared the gospel with people walking around. I mainly stayed in the tent by the puzzles table. The dad of one of my housemates is an evangelist and he had a table of puzzles that got people thinking and helped start conversations. It was interesting to see new ways of approaching the gospel and see how different methods work for different people. I resisted the urge to stay in my comfort zone of serving people tea and coffee without really saying much and tried my hand at the table. I was nervous and a little overwhelmed, especially on the first day when I actually made it to the point of talking about something substantial with a man who proceeded to throw around philosophical ideas.

After the second day, I felt like I hadn’t done much good. I fumbled with words and let many people walk away without giving them a single word of hope or questioning. Looking back I know that even if I wasn’t able to talk to anyone about the Word of God, I did help plant seeds. I sat with three girls while they had their tea and they ended up coming back the next day with several of their friends. People more capable than I were able to talk to them and really get them thinking. I also passed out CDs and flyers that day and saw some of those people in the tent later on in the day.

Because of my discouragement on Wednesday however, I pushed myself to really go for it on Thursday. We were all tired and ready to go home, but I knew it was our last day there. It was our last chance to share hope with people we would probably never see again. That day I shared the gospel for the first time and I didn’t stop there. I was not as natural or eloquent as others on the team seemed to be, but that doesn’t even bother me anymore because I know that God spoke through me. I still have much to learn about being a missionary, but because of this week I know that I am a tool in His hands. 

Taste of Ireland: Rain boots are called Wellies and if you ever plan on going to the Ploughing, you will definitely need them for trekking in the muck (mud).