What would move a college student from one of the most affluent and privileged nations the world has ever known to make missionary work the first entry on their resume?
Graduating students who take part in a year-long STINT – Cru’s acronym for short-term international – place their obedience to God’s call above every other ambition.
What they soon find is how much Americans take for granted the freedom to openly worship God. While serving overseas, many cannot worship in English or even out loud. In fact, many of these missionaries must speak and write in code when referring to Cru and God due to the closed nature of the countries where they are serving.
In January, two teams of Keynote musicians followed different flight paths to mid-year STINT retreats in Spain and Thailand for those serving across Europe and Asia. The praise and worship they provided for the young missionaries who had not openly worshipped God in months was not unlike cool water in a desert oasis. For one week, these missionaries were refreshed by the freedom to worship out loud in their own language. It was a privilege to send these teams to help provide this uninhibited atmosphere.
The Keynote teams also had the opportunity to teach conflict resolution classes, sharing practical, road-tested steps for dealing with conflict. Courtney, serving in East Asia, said the class “came at the best time” and the information had “further equipped me for future conflicts.”
Those attending the classes were reminded to take the opportunity to love others through God’s grace. Courtney was especially grateful for the reminder that God will sometimes use a conflict with someone else to reveal in her something that needs attention.
Probably the greatest compliment was from the conference leader in Thailand who said “I don’t know what we paid to have this team here, but it was worth it.” We are grateful that God used both musicianship and hard lessons learned on the road to bless those on the front lines of ministry.
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