The Harvest is Plenty, but the Laborers are Few

One of my favorite parts about the race is the locals who we get to serve alongside. The people on the ground working and serving in the ministries long before we arrive and those who stay long after we go. The men and women passionately serving their communities and their people.

I have made friends around the world who are actively serving in their communities. Who believe there is change, better, more for the next generations. Who are passionate about breaking cycles of poverty, violence, and hopelessness in the very places where they grew up.

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” Luke 10:2 While we may still need more laborers, there are men and women working whole-heartedly, laboring in their communities to bring change and making a difference.

And I am the most thankful that I am able to meet them, to hear their stories, to watch them love and serve the people of their communities. It is one of the highest privileges of this life I can travel the world and encourage the people already laboring.

And I want to use this space to tell you about just a few of them. But keep in mind, this is only a fraction of the people I have met who are serving around the world, and beyond who I have met I know there are many many more serving their communities, their people, doing the quiet and worthy work the Lord has called them to. 

I first want to tell you about Mariella, she cooked for us in Peru. Her job and title aside, she just radiated the joy of the Lord. She frequently shared what she was learning at church or what sermon she had listened to that morning. The words flowing from her mouth always contained the truth and encouragement of the Lord. She quietly went about her life serving the Lord in everything she did. That month, it happened to be preparing food for us with love and care. She would sit with us after dinner talking about how the Lord was working her life and in how she delighted in doing life with him. She cared deeply for her family, her community, and served her church faithfully despite having very little herself. 

Javier grew up in the very neighborhood where he now works for the ministry that once served him as a kid. His heart for his community and for the kids in his area is incredible. He gives all of himself to that place and to those kids. He is intentional to love his family well while above all doing what the Lord has called him to. While our team was there, he often went with us to adventure around the city. He shared his culture and city with us all while sharing the grace of God with everyone he meets. 

Ade was one of our hosts in Peru. He used to work as a tour guide on treks through the mountains, guiding tourists to the incredible views found on top of their snow-topped mountains. These are intense multi-day treks that go through really tough terrain and otherwise undiscovered towns. While trekking through, Ade thought, and who will ever come to tell these people about Jesus, they are widely unreached. And so, he set out to serve the Lord in this way. Taking the Bible to these otherwise unreached towns. They worked for years to translate the Bible into the local language to give them Bible in their own language for the first time ever. 

In Togo, we had a sweet crew of people who cooked our food and cleaned the house we lived in. This is the first place I experienced a language barrier as the primary languages were Ewe or French, so I did not get to know them quite as well as I had in other places. However, the joy they carried radiated beyond language barriers. They were incredibly hospitable and cared for us so well, always ready to serve us in anything we needed. They enjoyed spending time with us despite the language barrier and always always met us with smiles. They worked closely with their local church to support and serve their community in whatever way was needed. This looked like serving on the worship team and in child care for the church among other things. 

And here in Nicaragua, there is a crew of teachers here teaching the boys that attend this ministry. The three men that work and teach here deeply care about these boys. They are intentional in the way they meet needs and care for them all. They teach them by word and by action what a man of God should look like. They give all of their time and energy to these 40 boys. The other day I sat in during their devotional and was in awe of the way they serve these boys, intentionally breaking cycles of abuse and poverty and changing this little town called Ciudad Dario. 

These are a few of the many people who have shown me the character of Jesus as they serve their communities all around the world. I will speak of them fondly for years and years, and I will tell their stories, not so they may be known, but so that God will receive the Glory. 

With love,

Kayla