You Said Goodbye and We Learned How to Say Hello

We couldn't begin to retell you each of the goodbyes we both had to say before we came on this trip and the myriad of ways that people said "Bye! Have a good summer!" There was one salutation, though, that permeated through to the heart of our experience.
Many people offer advice and words of wisdom to someone embarking on an extended trip or overseas endeavor, but this particular one was a command. It was spoken with such sincerity and intensity that it captured Rachel's attention so much so that she couldn't get it off her mind. When she shared it with Betsy, we decided to make it the theme of our summer and soon after God brought our attention to a set of verses in Colossians to partner with that theme and solidify it in a Biblical basis.

The command was, "Go be Jesus to people,"
The verses are Colossians 3:12-17:
"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

This idea of (metaphorically) clothing ourselves with the same attributes that Jesus demonstrated is vital to a ministry where people will only see Jesus if they see Him in us. Our time on this Island is spent interacting with kids, staff, teams, and even Jamaican people on the street who may or may not know Jesus personally but who are looking for Him in us. As Christians, we are never "off-duty." We should be constantly looking at people through Jesus' eyes and be such a light for Him that they can't help but look heavenward. No matter where we are or how difficult the situation is, we will always be called to be Jesus to those He came to save.
By taking these verses to heart and remembering the command of that special goodbye, our gaze has been focused and we are striving to daily live the love that He has shown us to every person we encounter and through all situations. If we aren't here for anything else, we are here to be Jesus to people.

It was a simple goodbye with a lasting lesson. Now we have learned how to say hello to our summer, to our work, to our teams, to our kids, to our neighbors, to our elders, to our strangers, to our ministry, to our Christian purpose, and to the entire world.

Join us as we make this our prayer for the summer. We obviously aren't saying "goodbye" because our summer just began, but we are saying a different kind of "hello."
Go be Jesus to people.