For this quarter (October to December) at church, Mission has been an area of focus. So we have been learning about different aspects of mission and our response to what we have accepted as the universal principle that we are to teach about Jesus Christ, His birth, His life and death, and what it means for all humanity. As a result of our response to become disciples of Christ, we too have a part to play in this mission field – we are therefore missionaries.

Generally speaking, a missionary is one who has left the comforts and familiarity of his/her own home to go to ‘a far off land’ to minister to the needs of people in another area. However, it is now widely accepted that one can be a missionary right at ‘home’. So we have accepted that we need to do our part in this great plan.

The plan came together nicely last week when we met with a family of Syrian immigrants. There are 5 children and mom and dad. We befriended them and learned that they do not have a social life at all. The kids do not even go into the back garden. The older ones go to school and then back home and that is it. They have no family or friends nearby and so we have decided to ‘adopt’ them. As it was half term break, we offered to take them for some much-needed recreation on Sunday.

It rained almost all day on Saturday and to be honest, I was worried that we would not be able to keep our promise to them on Sunday. However, thankfully the rain eased up and we were able to make it. We picked up the 3 older kids from home, they were ready, reserved but eager. We took them to Star City which is an entertainment centre in Birmingham. They were treated to a movie of their choice (The Escaper), which  I am sure they thought would be something else, however, it is a great recommendation to you reading this. They also had popcorn, sweets, and drinks and then they played in the arcade. Before we took them home, we ordered the family a large pizza, garlic bread and corn on the cob sides. I am glad they had a good time.

When we dropped them back home, they hurried inside, not to get away from us, but to tell their parents excitedly about their experience. It did something to our souls to know that we could give them this treat and we have told them that we would take them again during the next half term break.

Another Type of Mission

As avid amateur DIYers, we have planned to do our laundry room as our next project. Well, the plan got off to a rocky start when we discovered that the flooring of the room had to be changed! Some of the wood felt broken or had rotted. We were not expecting that at all! We had finally got someone to come in and do the plumbing for the washing machine and that in itself was a mission, but that is a story for another time.

We didn’t think we would be able to do the floor ourselves and so we resigned ourselves to the fact that we had better let the professionals do the whole thing. You see the ‘laundry’ room is an adjacent room to the conservatory which is accessed from the kitchen, however, there is no heating in the laundry room. I just know that working there in the cold would frustrate us terribly so, I think we have just accepted defeat. We will do the design, fine-tuning decor, etc but nothing more.

So the next mission was to get a competent man to do the work. I tell you this: it is a daunting process to get proper decent respectful men who are honourable and fair in quoting and actually doing work. We have had so many ‘not nice’ experiences with workmen which is why we have decided on being DIYers. We had phone numbers for various people to call other people but we have come to realize that when these men come, their quote is so exorbitant because we are female and because they have to give a ‘cut’ to the person who gave us their number. I really have anxiety whenever I am to call a workman!

We have decided to go with the services of a Jamaican Woodwork teacher who came here, like us to teach. He is a man of integrity and his work is impeccable. The only real issue is that he lives in Northampton and we live in Birmingham. So it was indeed a mission trek that he had to take on the journey in the afternoons after he had finished work in Northampton. It’s going well and we really appreciate his workmanship especially since he has to travel so far to do this work for us.

Mission Impossible

Well later on in the week as the work progressed, the gentleman advised us one afternoon that he was not able to make it to ours as there was an accident in Northampton which caused quite a traffic pile up and he was unable to leave his city to come to ours. So that day the mission proved impossible.

As the room is narrow, we now have a strong base for the dryer to sit on top of the washing machine. The floor has been fixed and the walls finished with cladding. We will also have some space beside each unit to store our laundry necessities. The ceiling needs painting but that’s minor right now. The gentleman even mounted our little retractable line and also our homemade laundry sign. We are pleased.

Mission Accomplished

To conclude, I think we can say that we have accomplished quite a few missions this week. The laundry room is done (other than the decorative bits), we have been back to see the Syrian family again with some welcomed delights for all the children, and we got a lot of work done this week too. So all in all, a very successful week. Thanks for joining us on the ‘mission field’ and we look forward again next week to joining in with this linkie organised by the lovely Anne.