“So are you both still full-time now?”
At a talk recently where Cliff and I had been invited to speak at on the subject of “Missions”, a parent had asked us directly.
“Full-time?” I asked.
“Yea, like do you guys hold a job or something?”
A little taken aback by the abrupt start of the conversation just before we were about to deliver our talk, I smiled and replied, “We’ll talk about that very soon.”
Full-time. Now exactly, what does that mean?
Since returning to Singapore from Africa, the stark contrasts in life have amazed and appalled us, compelling and convicting us to live differently. Having lived in Uganda for a year, Africa has changed us forever. Yet, one of the most significant ways it has transformed me is never seeing my life here the same way again.
Once, I saw my life here as routine, mundane and boring. Everything else outside home was adventurous, bold and exciting. I couldn’t wait to be called a “missionary”.
But beyond developing a deep gratitude for staying in Singapore, it has made me realize, that absolutely everything we do and how we live our lives, must be as God-centred, no matter which continent we are on, who we serve, what we do, and whether we are paid or not. If everything we do is for God, then why should our work and lives here be less meaningful than that elsewhere?
The number of statements I have heard, implying the grandeur of what we did in Africa and the mundaneness of life here, has been a little unnerving:
“Wow life here must be pretty boring huh, after living in Africa.”
“Oh so it’s back to the grind for you?”
“So now you have a job right? ”
“What? You are teaching at the university and doing research stuff? Not seeing patients? Why?!”
It almost makes me want to go into an-hour long discourse to close the gulf between how “missions” is perceived as, and what it really is.
No, life here is not boring. Yes, I see meaning in my current work in impacting our next generation and carrying our purposeful research with the potential to impact the underprivileged, right here at our doorstep. No, I don’t think it’s a lesser job than working at a hospital, thank you very much. Yes, I am paid now and I have a “job”, but back in Africa, we “worked” too. No, I don’t define my “employment” by how much I am being paid or whether I am or not. No, it’s not a relief to receive a regular paycheck again because God never, at any point, left us dry financially in Africa or in Singapore- there really is no difference.
But the question which burdens me the most has to be, “When are you guys going to be missionaries again?”
It makes me wonder- so what is a missionary and why does it matter what I’m being called?
At a recent talk at a youth camp, I challenged to audience to think about this carefully: What makes a “missionary” one? A foreign visa, being in a different land, not earning a regular paycheck?
Why are there glamorous implications and pitiful connotations behind being labelled one? Does being back home here mean my job is lesser, and my being “in the field” more heroic?
Why do people respond differently to us yet again when they find out I’m a “medical missionary”? Is being a social worker, a kindergarten teacher or a musician less than a doctor? Does a doctor in a foreign land necessarily make more profound impact than any of those respectable professions?
I want to ask these questions. And I want young people to think about them too.
“Then what’s the point of going overseas? What’s the point of serving the poor in Vietnam or Bhutan if there are poor and suffering people here?”
Brace yourself- there’s no point.
The fact is this- living a God-centred life is a lifestyle. It does not change with geographical location, a passport visa or the certainty of one’s salary. If I cannot respond to or serve the poor meaningfully in my own country, there is no way I can expect my attitudes to change when I transplant myself to Cambodia, Thailand or Peru. I may have my eyes opened to more opportunities to serve and dire circumstances, but it will not suddenly unleash a hidden store of cultural-sensitivity, relational intelligence, and adjustment resilience which has never been nurtured or grown in my own home.
Serving God is a lifestyle, and yes, it is full-time.
Back in Africa, life started at 7am and ended at 6pm on weekdays. There, I was called “full-time”.
Here, those timings only cover conventional office hours. Preparing for and giving talks, doing research and serving the needy, come after work at nights and on weekends. If this isn’t full-time, I don’t know what is.
Who comes up with these labels anyway?
So my point is this- “Missions” is a word which has been butchered, compartmentalized, and stripped of relevant meaning in today’s world.
Serving God doesn’t happen in Africa more meaningfully than back home in Singapore, Australia or America. In fact, more than ever, serving a year in Africa has helped me see how my life in Singapore has equipped me in certain ways better than others, and given me far deeper purpose and drive to live life purposefully, meaningfully here, to better equip myself for the next time God calls us overseas again. A Masters in Public Health is no longer a title I want to pursue to add to my Resume- it is a body of knowledge and skill I hope to learn, because I now understand how I can use it to give more of myself and contribute more meaningfully to communities, on a wider scale, in the longer run.
“So it’s OK to just serve here back home where it’s comfortable right?”
Yes, if God (not just your heart) calls you to.
“But how do you shake off this laziness? I mean, it’s so comfortable here in Singapore. I feel I can contribute here too. I mean, I could go overseas too, but I feel lazy.”
This was a question a young person had asked me, to which I replied point-blank, “As Cliff would tell me plainly- if God is calling you to do otherwise, it’s not laziness. It’s… Disobedience.”
The truth is this, not many of us are willing to ask God what He intends for us, because today’s message to young people is perpetually, “Follow your heart. (Even if it’s against what God is calling you to do, follow your heart.)” And that’s how people end up in the most disastrous of relationships and fall short of their calling in life.
So no, coming back to Singapore doesn’t make me any less of a “missionary”, because the concept of missions, which really is simply loving God’s people, rich or poor, in and outside one’s home, is in our hearts. Missions has to be an outflow of everything we do in life.
Yes, I do see meaning in my work as a medical doctor here. Africa gave us a season where I could contribute medically in Uganda itself, and this new season presents new opportunities to continue distance-learning partnerships between Singapore and Uganda, to train community workers in Africa in healthcare.
Our first distance-learning session set up between Singapore and Uganda,
with 61 attendants!
No, I don’t think earning a salary should change our lifestyle- more money doesn’t mean more spending to buy things we don’t need to impress people whose opinions should not matter to us.
Yes, I enjoyed Africa, and I enjoy Singapore. Neither is better. God gave and gives us the grace to stay in both countries. Both have perks and challenges. Both are breathtakingly beautiful and ugly in their own ways. Yes, we look forward to returning to Africa when God calls us to again.
No, I longer see “leisure” or “rest” time as an appendix. It is a crucial part of our lives which God uses too. It boggles my mind to think that it was triathlon which brought Cliff and I together, and continues to maintain us in good health to serve God wherever we are.
Yes, I work just as hard here as I did in Africa. I just have more challenges saying “No” here, but I am learning to stay firm.
No, children should not be an excuse for “laziness” when disobedience is the answer. Because one can also be equally disobedient by leaving for overseas when God wants us to stay put.
And yes, Cliff and I are still “full-time”.
Aren’t you?