A Missionary’s Mission

A Missionary’s Mission

The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.

Genesis 2:15

I heard about a couple, Mark and Kim, who decided to move to South Africa as missionaries. The decision to leave their beautiful home in Texas was not an easy one, but the couple went out of love for the Lord.

One of the other missionaries had purchased a small farm for Mark and Kim before their arrival, so they were excited to get moved in and settled. But they were dismayed by their first look at the dilapidated farm.

The old farmhouse was shabby. The fields were full of boulders, fallen trees, and head-high weeds. Old, rusted-out farm tools and machinery lay scattered about. The whole place was a mess.

Looking at each other with sighs of resignation, followed by smiles of determination, Mark and Kim went to work. During their spare time they began hauling away all the old junk and machinery. They repaired the barn and made it livable for their horse and two cows. They fixed the chicken house, repaired the fence around the corral, and stacked the hay in the barn loft.

Next, they refurbished the house with new doors, new windows, a new roof, and a paint job. Then Kim planted a garden and built a walkway from the house to the garden. As the final touch, Mark repaired and painted the sign that hung over the entrance to their little farm.

Just as Mark completed his work on the sign, a neighbor across the road, who had been watching their progress, walked over and said, “Well, Mark, it looks like you and the Lord have done a pretty fine job on your farm.”

Mark looked up at the neighbor, smiled, and said, “Yes, I guess so, but do you remember how it looked when the Lord had it all to himself?”

Dear God, thank you for giving us meaningful work to do and for allowing us to help you take care of the earth. We love your world, Father. Amen.