The Mission

Peabody Library, John Hopkins University

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of 
the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

Matthew 25:40

Wednesday evenings I teach children’s choir in a program called Music and Missions.  After 35 minutes of choir rehearsal, the kids and I gather around a table to talk about a new area of missions.  We have studied missionaries in Ecuador, Peru, China, Russia, Alaska, and many other locations.  We have talked about translating the Bible and the difficulties of learning a new language.  We have discussed what it must be like to live as a missionary in some of these locations.

Last night, our mission area was India, and the missionary we studied was Mother Teresa.  As I was preparing the materials, my research sparked several conversations with fellow workers and volunteers.  The overwhelming consensus was – “I’m glad it was her and not me.”  That idea stayed with me through the evening, providing food for thought even after I arrived home.

The extent of filth, squalor and abject poverty in Calcutta, India is beyond anything I might ascertain from stories or pictures.  The thought of being trapped in that life of loneliness, illness, starvation and death is frightening.  That someone would volunteer to share their lot in order to care for them is almost incomprehensible.  Mother Teresa’s tiny body held the soul of a giant of faith – a daughter held close to the heart of her beloved Savior.

Here I am Lord.  Is it I, Lord?
I have heard You calling in the night.
I will go Lord, if You lead me.
I will hold Your people in my heart.