Hands That Hear: Missions & Massage
Is it possible to join missions and massage? This is a difficult question I have asked myself as I became a massage therapist:
"What makes me different? Why should someone come to me for a massage versus any other massage therapist? What makes me stand apart?"
I am just one out of hundreds of therapists.
More important than being a massage therapist, however, is my faith in Christ. Before I am anything else, I am a child of God. And He has given me two passions in this life (out of many) that I have a vision to combine into one, that is: missions and massage.
Here's how I plan to do that. :)
The Overseas Mission Plan
Starting this month, every single time you book a massage with me, I plan to give $5 to someone who is going on their very first missions trip, whether that's local or overseas. So if I were to have ten massages booked a month, I would in turn send $50 to go towards someones' missions trip who has asked me to support them.
If you have never been on a missions trip before and you want to go, I want to be able to support you through my massage business.
There are just three simple things I want to know about your trip in order to do that:
Where you're going
Why you're going
How much money you need to raise
The reason I'm so excited about this opportunity is that my business will become a double blessing. I will not only be able to support your physical and emotional health, which I deem so important if we want to be effectively used by God, but I can also bless those of you financially who have never experienced the opportunity of serving others outside your comfort zone, culture, and beliefs.
It is my hope that by serving you in this way you will be able to go out and serve others-- serve those that I cannot serve, and go places I cannot go.
Supporting Voice Of The Martyrs
In addition to that, when I am not financially supporting someone who is going on their first missions trip, I'll be supporting Voice Of The Martyrs, a nonprofit Christian organization that serves persecuted Christians worldwide through practical and spiritual assistance. If you have never heard of them, please read about their mission here.
They also have an app I highly encourage everyone downloading that hosts a different podcast each day on the life stories of those suffering for their faith, and sends a specific prayer for you to pray for an oppressed country each day.
Personal Missions Experience In Haiti
Until I experienced missions overseas in Haiti, I never seriously thought about how I had a family that believed and worshipped the same Jesus I do in other places around the world. I came home realizing I am blessed to have a family of believers in every part of the world that know me because we are one in Christ. This is why the Voice Of The Martyrs' mission is very dear to my heart, because they are supporting my family.
And I won't get to see all the faces of those I've helped support here on this earth, but I will get to in Heaven someday, and I want to be able to run up to them and meet them and to hear them say: "Thank you. Because of you, I never suffered in silence. Because of you, I never lacked encouragement. Because of you, I was not alone."
If you are born again in Christ, this is your family that is suffering.
A song by Casting Crowns that I used to sing at the top of my lungs in church choir when I was in elementary school was always:
But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
Serving Others
Missions and massage are two entirely different things, but by making them into one, I can serve more people and help more people become their healthiest selves and create opportunity for them to reach others in the process.
With that said, if YOU are planning on going on your first missions trip and need to be funded, please contact me via my information listed under "Contact". I would love to learn about where you're going and why, as well as support you emotionally, prayerfully, and financially.
I also want to thank all of you who have supported me in my founding Hands That Hear that I see so much as a ministry to those that are stressed, hurting, and in pain, and by implementing this new vision into my business, I'm hoping I can continue to do that on an even grander scale-- one that will not only serve those within the massage therapy realm, but will reach those at the farthest ends of the earth.
My business is small, but I know those of you He has led, He will also equip, provide, and take care of, and I am blessed to be a part. I hope you will be a part as well in your own unique way.
This is the newfound mission. :)
"Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies."