Missionary pilot story time: This was me 10 years ago, I was a working student in America, studying to be a medical missionary. I left Jamaica with $100 USD in my pocket. Took the wrong bus so I spent $80 on bus tickets.
With no sponsor or scholarship, I had 3 jobs on campus. I remember after couple months, students and teachers were talking about me on the campus, trying to figure out why I do the things I do. Some of my black friends on campus called me a slave. Why? I cut grass up to 9 pm. I baked vegan cakes really well. It was dirty work on campus, it’s not even a degree program. But I was there because God opened the doors for me to be a better missionary. I was working 11.5 hours shifts and 15 hours on Sundays.
During the week I went from working in the student cafeteria to laundry for the lifestyle center, then to cut the grass outside. I always wanted to give my best even if that’s just cutting grass. After my work hours was enough to pay my tuition, they had a hard time getting someone to replace me. I left a legacy for cutting grass. A number of faculty members told me, they have never seen the campus kept nicely mowed in all their years of being there. I remember lunch time I would show up abit late because I was smelling like fuel and grass and I didn’t want to offend the other people in the meal line.
It wasn’t easy being in America without any family to help me survive but God gave me the strength to make it to the end of my course. It was a journey of faith.
One day I was at work cutting the grass when the pastor of our student church came and asked me what is my motivation for the way I work. “My mother was a workaholic, and so am I” I told him. That day, he created a new word. Davinization.
Moral of this story is that, faithfulness in the little things is a good way to build our character and prepare us for the bigger things in life, as God sees it fit to bless us.
For me, I am still that guy cutting the grass. My faith in God enables me to live in the unseen as if it was reality. Being an SDA Christian is more than just going to church on Saturday or living a life of faith and religious acts. Knowing that there’s God in my life gives me a sense of will power and determination that, nothing is impossible if He wants me to have it.
When life gets tough, I know I am not alone. When others give me things, I praise God for the blessings and I always keep in my prayers, the people He uses to answer my prayers. During the COVID 19 lock down when all churches were closed, my faith grew way more. Why? My relationship with God was always beyond the church walls.
I am not a perfect person, I still have my faults and weaknesses but I’ll be honest, it’s my imperfections that helped me to realize how unconditional God’s love is. If I could give you something that means everything to me, it would be my relationship with God. But, as we all know it’s not transferable, but I would love to be God’s instrument to inspire you to be madly in love with Him too.
