Reflections from Debrief

“Missions… is less about the transportation of God from one place to another, and more about the identification of a God who is already there. It is almost as if being a really good missionary means having really good eyesight. Or maybe it means teaching people to use their eyes to see things that have always been there, they just didn’t realize it. You see God where others don’t. And you point Him out…

Perhaps we ought to replace the word missionary with tour guide, because we cannot show people something we haven’t seen…Tour guides are people who see depth and texture and connection where others don’t…And when they point it out, it changes the way we see everything.”

-Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

Throughout this summer, I’ve been praying that God would change my vision. I read this quote from Velvet Elvis towards the end of my first full week at BayUP, and I felt really convicted. Already beginning to see the city of Berkeley with new eyes, I was struck by the truth and beauty in Rob Bell’s words:

Tour guides, not missionaries.
What a profound idea.

So I began to pray, that God would begin to change my eyes, to give me a new way of “seeing.” I prayed that God would show me more of Himself in the everyday, the ordinary; to see simple changes as divine miracles. I prayed that God would help me to have “spiritual eyes” to see beyond the physical and into the spiritual realm. I prayed to see depth and complexity where others didn’t. And I prayed that I could share these things with the people around me, that they might be led to God

I wanted to be a tour guide.

And after going through these past 6 weeks of BayUP, praying nearly every morning for a new way of seeing, I realize that God has answered my prayers.

Where I once saw missions as most needed somewhere halfway across the world, God has shown me the needs across the street, deepening my love for Berkeley in ways I could never have imagined.

Where I once thought that true mission required conversion and true evangelism required religious conversation, I have been reminded that you can often speak God’s truth, justice, and love more clearly with actions than with words.

Where I once thought that missions projects were defined by life-changing experiences and miracles, God has challenged me to see life itself as mission.

I have begun to see the extraordinary in the ordinary.
I have experienced the divine in the everyday.

And the funny thing about all this, is that I have not been the tour guide.
I have been the one on the “tour.”

For it has been the kids at BYA who have shown me the image of God in the midst of pain and brokenness. Through these kids, I have learned to see beyond misbehavior, tantrums, and defensiveness into the universal experiences that make us human. Pain. Rejection. Wonder. Joy. Love.

It has been the churches- CWOW and The Way- who have helped me to see the church as more than just a building. Through their faithfulness, I have seen backyards, community parks, and even household driveways transformed into sacred temples of the living God, where a diversity of people can come together and glimpse shalom, if only for a mere moment.

It has been the day laborers around the corner and the homeless man who lives in a bush down the street who have taught me to see poverty and injustice in the midst of a seemingly “normal” Berkeley neighborhood. Through them, I have been reminded that poverty has many different faces.

It has been the Crocker family upstairs who have taught me to see “home” not just as the building you live in, but a community of people. Through them, I have learned that neighbors don’t have to be faceless strangers on the other side of your walls, but dear friends you can choose to share life with.

It has been the graffitied walls and boarded up homes down the block that have taught me to see hope in the midst of destruction. Through their groanings, I have heard the city’s cry for restoration.

These tour guides have led me well.
They have shown me beauty, they have shown me complexity.
They have shown me that there’s always more than meets the eye.
They have changed the way that I see.

And for that, I am eternally grateful.