By Constance, USA

Why travel 11,976 kilometers (7,442 miles) across the world to volunteer two weeks of my life to teach children, distribute food and clothes, lay prayerful hands on the needy, paint walls, love the disabled, and meet with local believers who dedicate their lives serving their community?

To go such great lengths, literally, is unnecessary: costs are high, environment is foreign - probably uncomfortable, time too short to establish anything. This is not your country and surely someone closer can go instead: someone who speaks the local tongue, is of the same culture, or who can do better.

Admittedly, this has been one of Satan’s lies

I have been tempted to believe. Gratefully, the Holy Spirit has helped guard my mind against such discouragement. I go to serve Jesus. When we walk in obedience to Christ, I have been reminded to do so for the joy that comes with being with Him! And in the process He sanctifies us.

As my international team of nine ministered to Sudanese refugees and impoverished locals in North Africa these last two weeks, we can testify to the transforming power and goodness of the almighty God of creation and all the saints before us.

Despite the language barrier

His love knew no bounds. How we learned to follow the charge of 1 John 3:18 - to love in action! Words are not necessary to hug, laugh, hold a hand, and freely give sustenance for living. And how dire the circumstances of those fleeing a war-torn Sudan. Some sojourn for days by bus seeking asylum in a foreign land. Many come with nothing, all will face discrimination. And yet we encountered these people often smiling, laughing, and simply asking for “peace” when offered to be prayed over.

These people know God

He truly is their hope for survival! Despite a barrenness many of us will never know, they are still able to find happiness and know that peace does not come from pristine living conditions. What a poignant reminder of our abundant blessings, to value character over material, cherish what we easily take for granted, and to have a spirit of gratitude rather than a spirit of grumbling.

You can imagine how different we are from each other! And yet, as the body of Christ, we were unified and each humbly offered their unique skill set and talents to complete as one the work set before us. I have been so blessed by their servant hearts, their spiritual nurturing, and support. I leaned many times on their strengths when I felt weak. How beautiful it has been to see Christ’s body at work in North Africa!

The openness of the local culture

By this specific ministry, we also discovered the openness and eagerness of the local culture. What better way to shatter preconceived notions than to discover the real thing for yourself!

With the Holy Spirit’s power, when I return to the daily rhythms of life back home, I am resolved to maintain a servant heart and the same reliance on God that I dearly held as I ministered to the foreigners and hungry in North Africa.

For while my community back home may contain more wealth, spiritual poverty abounds. May I be sensitive not only to physical needs, but to the spiritual hunger and thirst of my friends, coworkers, and the strangers in my midst.

When one of us held the small hands of the young students at the Center of Hope refugee school, she imagined Jesus sitting beside her and was reminded of the words of Christ, “anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’”