The Story of Moses, Aaron, and Hur

This was my third time working with my church, ROCKHARBOR, in South Africa. Every time I go, I learn something new, and every time, I walk away thankful for the opportunity to go and serve there again. This time, especially, I feel like the trip was refreshing. That's the word I find myself using when people ask me about it. I think it was refreshing because I had the opportunity to gain some new perspective on what it means to participate in a short-term mission trip.

While we were there, our small team of 4 leaders had the opportunity to spend time conversing with Chris and Maxie who recently joined the Bridges of Hope staff. (Bridges of Hope is the organization that we partner with in South Africa). They both played an important role in helping our team figure out next steps with the ministry both in and out of country and in gaining this new perspective that I mentioned earlier. This new perspective is found in the story of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, and it goes like this...

^{8-9 "}Amalek came and fought Israel at Rephidim. Moses ordered Joshua: “Select some men for us and go out and fight Amalek. Tomorrow I will take my stand on top of the hill holding God’s staff.”

^10-13 Joshua did what Moses ordered in order to fight Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. It turned out that whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel was winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek was winning. But Moses’ hands got tired. So they got a stone and set it under him. He sat on it and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands remained steady until the sun went down. Joshua defeated Amalek and its army in battle." Exodus 17:8-13, MSG

As with any job, there are going to be good days, and there are going to be days where we feel exhausted and don't know how much longer we can hold the "staff" up. That's where the role of short-terms missions comes into play. Short-term mission trips create an opportunity to support the long term missionaries and volunteers in their day to day efforts. We can be there to provide these people with a chance to sit down and rest while they're holding up that "staff" even if it's for a brief period of time. We're there to help them hold up that staff by encouraging them in their faith and the work they are doing with the people of South Africa.

(Attending a monthly Community Health Evangelist (CHE) meeting in the Sweet Home township to learn more about their role in the community and how ROCKHARBOR teams can support them when we come)

Although I think we've been able to come in the past and provide this support, our team really felt like this time we finally understood the true value behind why we come and do what we do on these trips. We desire to come and serve as Aaron and Hur did, by providing support in simple, every day ways. It often comes in the form of running after-school activities with the Bridges Academy students, so the staff can have a meeting or prep time (something they are rarely afforded because of the high needs of their student population). There is so much more to serving others than we realized. With a humble heart and eyes open, we came to see the value of becoming more like Aaron and Hur as the opportunities to serve presented themselves.

(Some of the students playing a game of elbow tag during after-school activity time) 

(Bridges Academy Staff Appreciation Luncheon)