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Leadership Development

Ministering to Others

More than service—it's servanthood

A wonderful way to celebrate the gift of life

I wept as I sat on the ancient three-tiered boat, watching the sun rise over the murky water of the Amazon. My tears had nothing to do with sadness. Instead, I was thankful. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer I could not imagine I would celebrate my 10th year of survival on a rugged missions trip in Brazil.

I was a young wife and mother, 32 years old, when I found out I had cancer which had metastasized to my lymph nodes. After a year of intense chemotherapy and radiation the doctors said I had a 40 percent chance of surviving five years.

Life suddenly seemed fragile. I had promised to do so many things "one day." When five years passed, I realized I had been given a second chance.

Since that time, I have swum in deep craters nestled in the shadow of volcanoes. I have eaten goat's head soup and fish with eyes. I have held children whose hair is crawling with lice and whose hearts are hungry for the touch of compassion. I have played cricket with school children on the cliffs of Jamaica and soccer in the streets of El Salvador. I have slept on boats and traveled on rickety buses and bathed in frigid water.

I have loved every minute of it!

When people find out that I travel each year on short-term missions, they ask if these trips have any effect. After all, what can you do in one week?

The answer is pasted in my scrapbooks, but the stories remain in my soul. I'll never forget the young woman who paddled a canoe for over 12 hours to reach us. Her vision was 200/200 and she had never owned a pair of glasses. She leaped for joy when her world came into view. I'll always remember the man who came with a swollen jaw from an infected tooth and how our dental team relieved his agony. I've watched hundreds wait in line outside small courtyards and schoolhouses to receive care. I can tell you the names of many who knelt to embrace the love of the Savior.

Though each trip only lasted seven days, lives were impacted every time.

Short-term missions has changed me as well. Each trip has offered new challenges, but my life is richer for it. I've met new friends of all ages and nationalities. I've learned to appreciate my health and the small things I used to take for granted. I now understand the true meaning of the word poverty and how often it has very little to do with material goods.

Every moment, every memory since my diagnosis has been a gift. Watching the sun rise over the Amazon that morning was a reminder that ministering to others has been a wonderful way to celebrate that gift of life.

T. SUZANNE ELLER author of Real Teens, Real Stories, Real Life, has had over 300 articles, short stories, and columns published in numerous magazines. She resides in Muskogee, Oklahoma and is active in her church, Muskogee First Assembly of God.