The mission adventure is in smallness.
Read time: 2:30Sa poked her head into my office on a Monday morning. “I got a call from the government. There will be an inspection tomorrow. They are sending eight officials to review everything, make sure we are honest, and have all the documents correct.”
She paused. “I will confirm they are for real because it might be a scam. People sometimes pretend to be official so they can get money. But we should prepare, in case it is real.”
Not a great start to the week.
Sometimes our lives must sound exotic and interesting to the average American. However, most of what we do is not “exciting,” and the red tape – the fine-print forms and documents; the tedious bureaucratic processes; the signatures, stamps, and seals – is one of those unglamorous parts of mission life.
Servantworks, was registered with the IRS red-tape machine to be a 501(c)3 non-profit. When Americans give to Servantworks, the gift is tax-deductible. We also have a Thai non-profit, a foundation called RCD. We’ve been working to get our tax deduction status for Thais who want to support our work by giving to RCD. The process is not as straightforward as the U.S. system, and we are submitting our last bits of paperwork with prayers and fingers crossed.
The day Sa popped by with her news, we had most of our paperwork in order but they wanted 3 years‘ of every type of record: financial of course, but also activities and case management. With one day to assemble everything, we canceled non-essential plans and went to work.
On Tuesday morning, we waited, as ready as could be, with stacks of paper ready to be pored over. I imagined eight officials sitting at a long table with their hot uniforms on, reviewing our documents and asking questions. At three o’clock they arrived; but only three people. Three officials finally arrived at three o’clock. They had already visited a few other foundations and were ready to be done. They glanced through the intro packs that Sa had carefully prepared and were quickly satisfied. They didn’t so much as glance at the waiting stacks of paper. They asked a few friendly questions, took a picture with Jim and our consultant, and were on their way in less than 30 minutes.
Why share this? Transparency is one of our communication values for Servantworks. It would be easy to tell shocking stories or pull on heartstrings to get attention. We hear distressing and emotional stories often. But we want to give you a well-rounded picture of all it takes to be present and do the work God calls us to.
We do very little, if anything, that one might consider glamorous. Volunteers from the U.S. have asked, “Are these women from the bars?” almost disappointed that they look like regular people.
Doing God’s work includes cleaning out desks, filling out paperwork, providing financial counsel, babysitting a 2-year-old, or caring for people in whatever way is necessary. It might include helping a woman move garbage bags full of her stuff across town, returning a phone call when someone wants help getting into a psychiatric ward, or coaxing conversations from a kid who wants to stay alone in her room too much.
There is little glamor in loving people. Mission life, wherever we live it, is about training our ears and eyes to notice what God is doing, including the small things. We might wish for glamorous or exotic adventures or complain and fuss about what feels menial. Yet we are called together to be in this world and do this work – to watch and see what the Creator of the Universe has planned.
Even when it interrupts our Monday morning.
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