What is a Missionary? An Article by Jonah Bailey, Page 2

Boys Town: Hope Among Ruins 

Kelly Greene dreams of a Boiler Room community in the midst of the brothels of Reynosa, Mexico.  She's even raised money and bought a plot of land where she hopes to one day build a community house that will be a safe place for women looking for a way out of the vicious cycles of poverty, drugs and prostitution. 

Kelly,  who was once a high school cheerleader, reminds me of the "little-engine-that-could" from my childhood bed-time stories.  Against all odds, she believes that Boys Town can change.  She's short, petite and full of energy.  Until recently, she'd been working on her own in Reynosa for almost 3 years.  Life was (and continues to be) very hard for her.  Trying to help prostitutes and drug addicts find another way in life is no small task.  But it never occurred to her to give up or stop.  It seems like this is what she was born to do.

A 24-7 mission team was recently in Reynosa (better known to us as Boys Town) in support of Kelly and Jo Wells (who left her native England to partner with Kelly in her work in Boys Town... that story is for another time) in their current missionary activities among pimps and prostitutes.  Here are a few of their journal entries:

June 29:

The last three nights have been spent out at "the land" (the plot that Kelly has purchased in Boys Town) with the 24-7 team.  We've played soccer, jump rope, the hokey pokey, and any other crazy game we could think of with the precious kids and families of my new neighborhood.  We've grilled food to feed the whole street, given cookies and juice to every child within a two-mile radius, and generally made a party any way we could.  Then, after spending our nights with the neighborhood crew, we've gone back to the prayer room to take turns praying through the night.

On Wednesday night, several girls from Boys Town joined us.  Emily and Jo went to pick up the girls while I waited at the land with the team and neighborhood kids.  I felt such a deep joy as I looked down the street to see Emily and Jo leading a band of my friends from Boys Town toward us. It felt like the most normal thing in the world to see them walking down the street. I long for the day that it's a daily occurrence. When they arrived, they were so excited to be there, to see the land. They all wanted to know what we were going to build where, etc. So, I stood with them as we looked over the wall of the land and poured out the vision for what will soon be. Two of them insisted that they be there for the ground breaking: "We want to be here to break the first rock, Kelly. And we want to cut ribbon, too. You know this already, but we support you and what you want to do here."

How crazy is God?  Just to make sure we never have him figured out, he sends two prostitutes to join in his work in bringing his kingdom to earth.

The team has been amazing. They have loved tirelessly, and given themselves in prayer for this little corner of the world. And we believe that it matters, that God hears us, and that we'll see His heart poured out in unprecedented ways in a little place many have forgotten or given up on.

July 9:

There are so many incredible stories to tell:

Like the one about Karla who came to our "day spa" in Boys Town to get a haircut, manicure, pedicure, and a lot of love from us. (She was our only customer for a few hours!) She suddenly realized it was her birthday, and we sang to her. I watched her eyes brim with tears; I'm not sure the last time Karla felt celebrated.

Or the story about Angeles, who is such a beautiful and talented woman, though enslaved by her drug addiction. After receiving her pedicure, she insisted on giving one as well. (She's trained in cosmetology.) Angeles, along with Karla and Blanca, asked us all to gather around them and pray. So we gathered around these precious women and all prayed at once whatever was in our hearts... just outside of a major crack bar. As we said our collective "amen," Angeles turned and excitedly asked, "who touched me? who was touching me?" A shy Emma West owned up to having her hand on Angeles' back. Angeles said, "It was like fire! Then someone touched my head. Who touched my head?" None of us there had touched her head, so we all concluded it must have been Jesus. "It was Jesus, Angeles," I told her. "He loves you!" She blew a kiss toward the sky, waved hello, and yelled, "I love you, too!" Beautiful.
 

Kelly is a missionary.  She loves prostitutes and pimps for a living.  I don't know if you can get a  sense of just how much she loves these people from just reading these journal entries.  When she talks about Angeles, Karla, Blanca and others; her face shines.  I'm not joking, it really does shine!  Her enthusiasm is infectious.  Her passion for them is like an infectious malady that spreads around a room wherever she is.  For Kelly, being a missionary is synonymous with being a lover of the unlovables of this world.

"Missionary".  It's not a four letter word.  It's a priviledge. An honour.  A wonderful place to be in life.  Don't be ashamed of it.  Re-define it.