Written by: Dr. Greg Blackmon
Why the mission field? A question to consider. My life was quite comfortable and satisfying. I had everything I dreamed of - a growing practice, a beautiful wife, and 4 healthy children. All of which kept me plenty busy. Yet, somewhere between there and here, I find myself with a passport full of stamps and a heart full of stories. Stories of love. Stories of laughter. Stories of tears. Stories of sharing. Stories of worrying, of arguing, of being fed and feeding others. Through all of this I find myself years older, but at the same time many years younger at heart.
Each morning I greet the day with a prayer of thanks, good coffee and a few moments of quiet reflection. What does this look like in different worlds? I’ve enjoyed beautiful Costa Rican coffee beans freshly ground and steeped with boiling water patiently prepared (three minutes is the idea time.) I’ve also shared a velvety blend of Haitian coffee and sugar while watching eucalyptus growing by the minute. The rich green of the eucalyptus shadowed by grown coffee, sorted and prepared in the most simple fashion. The process? The black of the beans are removed and then spread on a sliced rice sack. Next - roasting. Placed in a hollowed tree stump the smoking beans are pulverized with wooden sticks to a fine texture wherein they are combined with sugar and water to boil. This mixture is poured out and left in the sun to cure. After another round of exhaustive, rhythmic tamping the coffee is ready to be enjoyed. The day has begun.
I’ve conveniently pushed the button to grind beans. I’ve laboriously tamped their Haitian relatives. Both proved a satisfying way to start the day. Always - joy to be found. Thus the nature of mission work. I wasn’t meant to be a “missionary.”
