A Day in the Life

A firsthand glimpse into ministry lifeBy Darlene DickeyWhat is a day in the life of a Global Encounters team member like? Well, it's never boring! Though each day and trip varies, join me for a typical day in Lima, Peru.The alarm goes off. Welcome to morning on the mission field! I reluctantly abandon a bed so hard it bounces when I sit on it. I don't want to miss a single moment of the day ahead. While most of the hotel's complementary breakfast spread is unidentifiable, I enjoy bread and grapes, snatch a few moments in the Word, and enjoy the relative silence that will not last long.Soon the team assembles and we are riding through the streets of Lima on our bus. We open our Bibles and quiet our hearts as Jacob leads team devotions. The words of Jesus that once seemed dull are sparkling with life and meaning as we find ourselves facing the personal, spiritual and emotional challenges of intense ministry. I am challenged to seek God's approval instead of living to impress the people around me. "God, use me to glorify and please you. Mold my heart to seek your approval and yours alone."As we leave the center of Lima, the homes and businesses, painted the most outlandish and brightest of hues, gradually drain of color. The street pavement ends. We find ourselves amid a monochromatic sea of tiny houses. Each the same color as the dirt and roughly the size of a queen bed, these structures cover the endless hillsides for miles until they disappear from view. Along with the pervasive need here is the jolting lack of beauty. Having never ministered to the poverty stricken before, I step off the bus unsure, but ready to launch into the adventure.We greet the assembled children and begin teaching them songs and telling them stories inside their meeting room. As we teach, children and adults continue to stream into the building. Eventually, there is no possible way to fit more humans inside an inelastic space. Or is there? Sitting atop a table in the corner of the room, pressed between children so tightly that we are holding each other up, my heart is filled with love for these precious souls.When the teaching ends and some of the children move outside, I begin making balloon parrots, swords, and turtles for the children. They press all around me: a sea of darling faces, outstretched hands, and softly begging voices. Holding the balloon over my head so I can finish each creation before a hand snatches it, a translator and I team up to share the Gospel with the group of children around me. We finish our time by passing out food and soda. Waving goodbye is hard. These children need so much. They need fathers in their lives. They need Christ. They need better houses. They need food. I have done so little, and yet walked away so blessed. My heart is challenged by the faithfulness of the local pastor and his wife who have been ministering to these people, alone, for 15 years. Would Jesus find me as faithful?We don't smell great after our day's activities. After a late lunch of chicken, French fries, and Inca Cola at a restaurant, we hit the hotel for some very anticipated showers. Serving overseas, one expects to eat odd things occasionally, but tonight's dinner is one of the delightful aspects of ministry food - eating things we'd never get away with in the States. Tonight we enjoy a team favorite: dulce de leche (thick caramel sauce) and banana sandwiches!Our bus ride to the convention center where we are teaching a week-long children's program is uncharacteristically quiet: each team member is studying the material he or she will teach tonight. Amidst the hurry and bustle of preparing my team station, I work on focusing my thoughts and heart on Jesus Christ. I want the children to walk away transformed by Jesus, and if they're going to see Him in me, I know I need to be in right fellowship with Him.The children arrive and greet me in typical Peruvian manner: a peck on the cheek. Tonight we're teaching truthfulness, and that means the Mrs. Hockingstock skit! The children watch on the edge of their seats as the completely nutty Americans, dressed in outlandish costumes, act out a story demonstrating the consequences of both truthfulness and untruthfulness. We have so much fun we wonder if the children got the point, until Jacob asks them to bow their heads and respond. Little hands raise all across the room, and small voices follow Jacob's lead; "Dear God, I want to be truthful..."The children all gone home, we file onto the bus and find seats. We talk about the day's activities. We are forging friendships that will last for years. "But wait, where are we? This isn't our hotel!""Everybody out!"Though mystified, we follow our team leaders obediently and are soon ushered into a sea-side ice cream parlor! The array of ice cream flavors is dizzying and wonderful. Cones in hand, we step outside to enjoy the beautiful night breeze and watch the waves break on shore. That insanely hard bed is going to feel like a cloud tonight. It has been one incredible day.Want to find out more about life on the short-term mission field? Read about the conditions in each country where Global Encounters works or check out blogs from previous teams.