Living in Mission: "It'll Break Your Heart"

Got back late Friday night from my Human Trafficking Awareness Trip to Mexico and my heart is still grieving. I saw things I never could have imagined even in my worst of dreams: a line-up of girls forced into prostitution; stories of children whose bodies were harvested for organs; a farm to take the taken and hook them on drugs so that they'd be willing to anything for the next fix; an onslaught of violence from the cartels that is taking up all of law enforcement's attention; and yet the breaking in of God's grace and light in the midst of what seems like such a dark place. I sat in the living room of a battered women's shelter and heard their stories, involving both the violence of men and God's saving provision. I have never heard such beautiful testimonies; let alone coming from such horrific of circumstances. What will you let break your heart? The church has never been more vital than when it's in mission to the worst of human need. The believers that I met abounded in love, and joy, and passion for ministry, much, much more than what I sometimes see here. Maybe we as leaders need to go even deeper into Jesus' mission. Instead of talking about parishioners needing to get off the fence, maybe it's we who need to lead even further than what we thought we do.