Glorified Babysitter

I recently was called a glorified babysitter. Yeah.

Apparently this person thought that working around the clock to help communities deal with their own orphan crisis was just babysitting. There are definitely no days off  and I don't get paid to be here - if I was babysitting, I'd be demanding payment!

Jadon & I catching up on our games

Let me back up a little bit & explain why this left me feeling a little shocked. I've always been a fan of missions and of missionaries. But I was also young & naive when I held romantic ideas of what the "mission field" should look like.

Our girls

My eyes have been opened over the last 13 years, since I first became interested in a life overseas. There ARE missionaries & nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) who do a lot of good. But we've also seen first hand the amount of time & resources wasted, and quite frankly, many of those working for these organizations don't have ANY training or developed skill sets to effect the change they so desperately want to see. Good intentions have become just that and many organizations are creating more dependency rather helping with long term, sustainable solutions. We've always wanted to help but our goal is NOT to create dependent communities.

I knew I needed solid skills & training in order to come back to Moz & help in a REAL way. I worked tirelessly for 4 years - and I'm not talking 2 little semesters of school and that's it. Nope - I worked year-round on my bachelors and then my masters in Clinical social work. Why? Because I knew I would need to be equipped with actual SKILLS to be able to effect change in the world, and Mozambique was always on the horizon in front of me.

Bible study & coloring time

Now that we live here and we are into this thing full time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the good, the bad and the ugly, I'm so thankful not only for the education I received, but for the people who continue to mentor & partner with us. I'm also thankful that so many people see the need for skilled, trained & prepared individuals to serve in missions & NGO capacities. Otherwise, honestly, one is just living like a professional vacationer & traveler.

As a church, we need to be more mindful of what we call a "mission" trip, and call these things what they are. If an orphanage or a school has to make sure their kids dirty the walls through out the year so a few untrained people who've never painted anything in their life can repaint those walls each year and call it a mission trip, we need to reevaluate what these trips look like.

Discovering the Island of Mozambique

A few short years of service won't change anything, so long term commitments are needed. And we're committed to be here for the long haul. Building relationships will change everything, along with letting God do the (heart) work. We have to be willing to meet people where they're at - in their grief, brokenness, pain, anger, skepticism, disbelief, fear, etc. When things get hard and we are uncomfortable, God will do more through us and in us.

Seriously, look at Peter - Jesus told him to get outta the boat and walk on WATER... Our faith grows more in difficult and uncomfortable circumstances than when we live a predictable, comfy life. But we can't just be willing to be uncomfortable - we have to use this nice brain God gave us & come as prepared as we can. Otherwise, we're wasting precious time, resources, and opportunities to help be an ambassador for change.

So while "glorified babysitter" wasn't exactly what I thought others would call what we do,  maybe we should SHOW you what our days look like instead. Anyone have a GoPro?!