Always a Pelican

What an incredibly great privilege I've had to serve with Praying Pelican Missions. It's not every day you get to be a part of life changing moments, unless of course, you're a Pelican. One of my favorite parts of being a full-time missionary has been meeting new people week after week and getting to share life with them. I know that the week they are about to experience is going to change them forever, and it's amazing to see it begin to unfold right before their eyes. What's more is, they are playing a part in changing someone else's life too. I have met so many people who I otherwise may never have crossed paths with since serving with PPM that I can't imagine life without now. Each team I have served with has changed me in some way and helped me to grow as a person and as a follower of Christ. It's through these groups I have begun to see what the body of Christ is really all about: unity and love. 

Serving with PPM has stretched me in my walk with Christ by taking me outside of my comfort zone and allowing Christ to shine through my weaknesses. I had this idea before becoming a full-time missionary, that it was going to be awesome fun and I'd have lots of friends and I would see God moving in miraculous ways, and I did see those things. But there was also hard work, loneliness, and spiritual struggles. I have a renewed respect and desire to support full-time missionaries, having experienced these things first hand. 

The truth is though, that we are all missionaries full-time. We may not have the label or job title "missionary," but our lives should be a continuous pursuit of proclaiming Christ and His coming and that is essentially what a missionary is and does. We don't have to leave the country to do that, it's simply a matter of going to school or work each day. Christian and missionary are synonymous terms. If you are a Christian, then you are a missionary. If we are all missionaries, then we should all be supporting and lifting each other up because there are going to be miraculous times, as well as lonely times. And lifting each other up produces unity and love in the body of Christ.

If you are a Christian, I hope that you know you are a missionary. Our lives are to be reflections of Him no matter where or what we find ourselves doing. As such, it makes sense then that missions starts at home, right in your own neighborhood with the people you interact with every day. It's great to go internationally and tell people about Christ, but it's equally important to live it out daily with those around us. 

Although I am no longer serving as a full-time missionary through Praying Pelican Missions, I am always a Pelican.  I'm not sure what form my job will take yet, but I am still a missionary. I will always cherish the time I have spent helping others serve in Jamaica through PPM, but I am excited for my new adventure being a missionary right at home. Once a Pelican, always a Pelican!!