Everyone has one memory or another that sticks with them forever, but many people find strange what MK’s think is exciting. My Mom and her siblings used to look forward to when the “Peanut Butter Preacher” would visit them in Mexico and bring jars of peanut butter. Only MK’s will ever know the joy of owning even just one can of real peanut butter, not an extremely poor attempt at a replica (if you’re lucky). We treat that one jar like gold, “You each get one teaspoon a week, so use it wisely”.  My sisters and I still cherish the memories of when Mr. Michael Duff, whom we call the “rubber band ball guy”, would take us into his office at the Mission Office and teach us how to make bouncy balls out his extra rubber bands while our parents were at meetings. We always had a blast making a mess with all the rubber bands and bouncing the balls through the hallways! When we are in Portugal, we practically kiss the feet of anyone who brings us Pop Tarts or Fruit Loops.

While none of these things have any kind of eternal value, they can help us to better understand and appreciate the hunger for God that is present on our mission fields. While we are all waiting for the “Peanut Butter Preacher”, they are waiting for any preacher to bring them the real gospel, the real word of God, not man’s extremely poor attempt at a substitute. While we treasure the time that someone took to teach us how to make a toy out of office supplies, they hope and pray for the day when someone will take the time to teach them how to use the tools God has given them to live a Christ-centered life.

Whenever we get discouraged and feel dejected because of all the things we are “missing out on” on the mission field, we have to remember that the impact we are having around the world is much more important than superficial commodities.

-by Alyssa Smith, MK to Portugal