One of the things I love about going on mission trips with Overseas Missions is that we just don’t do what is expected of us. Most short term mission trips seem to involve preaching at churches, building something for people, and/or feeding the poor. All of these are good and have their place, but they’re sort of the norm. Instead, while there are definitely some specific plans, there is also a lot of freedom with OM for us to be ourselves and just do what we feel led to do. This means that in Peru one of the guys paid for over 1,700 ice cream cones over two days to give free ice cream to the people of Belen. It was unplanned, but when he talked about it on social media, a bunch of his rich not-saved-yet friends decided they want to do that in the future when they go traveling overseas as well—which they do yearly. Expanding the Kingdom can look like church meetings and salvations, but sometimes it looks like we don’t expect it to. Which is why we took a bunch of drug addicts and homeless men and women to dinner.
When the plan was first shared with the locals, we invited a number of people who our local contact there would regularly minister to in a drug hole—a place where the locals would come and buy and use drugs, eventually passing out, having their stuff stolen, and all kinds of other unseemly acts while under the influence. Normally the later the night got the more of this would occur. After finishing up with a medical clinic, we began making the invitations and walking to the restaurant, a good twelve blocks from where we had done the clinic. While at first there were about 15 people going with us, by the time we arrived that turned into about 30 people. And keep in mind, this wasn’t the kind of thing that is easy to budget for—not because Overseas Missions lacks the ability to plan, but because God is into radical generosity and if Jesus didn’t turn away 5,000 men (not including women and children) after he preached to them, we’re not going to turn away a few extra people at a restaurant, even if we aren’t sure we have the money for it (and when all was said and done, a number of generous people saw about it on social media and paid for the whole meal).
One of the things that made this such a big deal is that some of these people have never eaten in a restaurant like this. And keep in mind we aren’t talking some kind of 20-star American restaurant that charges $1000 a plate. We’re talking about the kinds of places you and I might eat at with our family or friends without really even batting an eye at the price. As a kid I used to think that Red Lobster and Olive Garden were these majorly upscale establishments and when I got older I realized they’re literally just normal restaurants. Well, imagine visiting the Peruvian equivalent of a normal American restaurant, but this time you’re a homeless drug addict with no money and you’ve never eaten at one before. For some of our guests, this was a big deal—and that was our goal.
You see, one of the things about carrying the labels that we give people, even some of the ones I’m using in this article—“homeless” and “drug addict”—is that in our minds it devalues people so we offer them less respect and mentally we remove value from them. By inviting these men and women to be our guests, we are giving people honor who receive none. Just being seen walking with us and the restaurant being unable to turn them away because they are with us gives them a huge boost in confidence and respect. And that was a big part of our goal. We wanted these men and women to understand that they, as sons and daughters of the King, have value and are worthy of dignity, honor, and respect.
So, as we sat down to the meal, we told them exactly that. We ate in “family-style” dining where we have large plates of food we serve off of instead of individually-ordered meals, and we explained that we were doing this because each one of us, whether American or Peruvian, is a son or daughter of God. That regardless of whether someone decides they want to know God more after this meal or if they simply want to enjoy a free meal that they can know that we are celebrating them and honoring them as God’s children. And that as the one worldwide family of the One True God that we are eating the way families do. Finally, we thanked them for honoring us with their presence by joining us, then we prayed over the food, and we all ate together.
One of the really cool things I got to personally observe is the way the culture of the Kingdom spreads little by little. Jesus once explained to the disciples that they were to beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod because yeast is the sort of thing that once it gets into bread begins to spread throughout the entire loaf without someone even always recognizing it. Well, our Father’s Kingdom is much the same, and where His Kingdom begins to be made manifest, it spreads. One example of this I saw during the meal is that the man next to me had his face continually down to his plate and he was practically inhaling his food. The guy was clearly quite hungry and was committed to eating, which was cool because we wanted them to be well-fed. The man sitting across from me noticed his water glass was empty, so he took it upon himself to fill my neighbor’s water glass. This sounds like such a little thing but we have to keep in mind that these men and women are used to a certain level of “every man for himself.” When they are able to feel secure, knowing there is more than enough, they become free to serve one another freely, and this was simple evidence of that.
Sometimes we are looking for the big flashy miracles and the massive meetings where we can show our friends that thousands of people said a prayer to follow Jesus. But big and flashy isn’t always what God is after. Jesus sometimes went out of his way to offend people so those who were just waiting for flashy stuff to happen and weren’t serious would stop following him. Spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom sometimes looks like big meetings and flashy miracles. But sometimes it looks like taking a homeless addict to dinner—one who very well may be high as a kite while he’s eating. But that’s okay. Because Jesus didn’t come to those who have no need of Him, but to those who were desperately in need of His goodness, kindness, and love. And we, the Body of Christ, are His hands and feet.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:31-40)
