Saturday & Sunday Brief: The mission trip is not over

The Basics:
We drove late into the night on Friday to set ourselves up for a spectacular Fourth of July. When we realized we'd be traveling over the weekend of the fourth, we search the eastern United States for a city celebrate Independence Day. Nashville ranks one of the best in fireworks, so we decided to spend the holiday in Music City.

This was an excellent decision. Nashville was a very nice rest day before driving twelve more hours home. The city was on fire with Fourth of July activities; live music, vendors, inflatables, and mechanical bulls. We all had a blast. Even though the fireworks were stunted because of torrential downpour, we loved the excitement of it. It just gave us another opportunity to take whatever comes at us in stride.

A Realization:
The break from NOLA temperatures and work plus the fun of BBQ, saloons, and country music moved me to say, "Mission trip is over." I felt guilty saying we were on a mission trip while leisurely strolling the streets of Nashville. I needed to bifurcate the trip to keep the guilt at bay. In New Orleans we were on a mission, and in Nashville we were on a break.

So when homeless people come up to you on the street in Nashville, how do you respond?

My first impulse was to tell them I didn't have any cash or change, which was technically true, and move on. I really wanted to grab some Tennessee BBQ and listen to music downtown with my friends. I didn't want the hassle of taking care of these panhandlers. We just spent the week working, and I wanted to relax and have fun with the group.

I looked up and saw the group looking at me wondering how I'd respond. In a flash, I felt the Holy Spirit say, "The mission trip is NOT over." We ended up inviting the couple to lunch with us. We chatted with them and listened to their story. We prayed with them and then parted ways.

How easy would it have been to say sorry and walk on by? How easy would it have been to only think about what I wanted? How easy it is for me to not want to show the love of Jesus to people?!

The mission trip is only over when Jesus comes back. Until then, Satan is still at work and people are still in need of the love of Jesus. While walking from our hotel room into downtown Nashville, the first people we encountered were a homeless man and women looking for some change. Change was definitely what they wanted. I'm the one who needed it. I'm glad CJ stopped me and gave me some change.