It was a 20 minutes past 7pm, the sun was setting while leaving behind a milky blue color in the sky, and I was getting a little nervous that no one was going to show up. I felt a big hint of disappointment run through my thoughts as I remembered how many hours I spent hand-painting invitations, hanging them up all around the neighbourhood, and personally passing them out to the people I passed on the sidewalks. And to boot, I had just watched my whole squad perfect all sorts of dances and acts the entire week, including myself.
“I’ve learned that everyone is so late in this country.”
Vicki, our host mom who lives in the Dominican but is originally from the states, came up behind me as she saw me staring at the gate. I thought, “This is worst than Tico time,” thinking of all the times I got frustrated with people not showing up on time in Costa Rica. If there’s one thing that all of Latin America has in common, it’s their timing.
After 40 minutes past 7pm (lol) we finally started the talent show! Our host, Miguel, came up to the front, and using the microphone he prayed us into the first act. We started the show with some ukulele and cajon led songs, went into a mashup of Tik Tok dances, and followed that with lots more dancing acts. By intermission we had a full house of people!
By the end of the show, we had share Bible story skits, solo and group dances, and random funny acts. When all the acts were done, we brought all of our contestants up to the front and let the audience choose a winner with their applause. My squamate, Alex Paige, ended up being the crowd favourite with her solo dance to a worship song (ironically in English).
Last Saturday, my squad was busy putting on a neighbourhood talent show! The two daughters of the base host’s family had the idea because they had done it in years prior, but never with the whole neighbourhood. They thought it would be the perfect event to bring some fun to a neighbourhood that is walking through a lot of hurt right now.
A few weekends ago, two boys a few houses down the road got killed from what I understand as an unexpected accident. The entire Dominican has been grieving the losses of these two sons as well as rushing to find answers to what happened. In the midst of the entirety of grief and heaviness that had been floating around, we wanted to bring some Jesus and fun to the table.
We ended up praying together! Eating popcorn and drinking soda! Making new friends! And sharing the Gospel!
And it was ministry.
Ministry is not just feeding the hungry and going on prayer walks; ministry is bringing the joy of the Gospel into everyday life. Ministry is uniting a divided neighbourhood, dancing in the midst of loss, bringing people (safely) back together after months of a pandemic, the heart of authenticity behind an awkward conversation in Spanish.
I want to end this blog by challenging the church, and that includes you and me alike, to love our neighbours outside the boxes of “ministry” we like construct. We cannot continue to limit a radical God to a limited definition of love, or else we are going to misrepresent the vast scope of His goodness.
