I feel like ministry is sometimes viewed as the perfect job. It is perceived as a job where it never seems like work because people's lives are always being changed. The minister floats around on a cloud and lives in some sort of Jesus bubble where everyone loves. God is always speaking and you never wonder if what you are doing is worth it. This idea often has nothing to do with ministry. The reality is ministry is all about the little things. Little things like cockroaches.

Cockroaches have been abundant this year in Mexico. It seems everywhere I turn I am finding the nasty little creatures. They especially like to hang out in our bathroom. I don't really like them but one of the girls on our team is terrified of them. A few nights ago I heard a scream and then a fast knock on my door. When I opened my door I found this girl, standing in the hallway, sopping wet, with only a towel covering her. Not knowing what had happened I was concerned because anything can happen in Mexico.

I walked her back to the bathroom and asked what was up. She started choking out between sobs something about a cockroach. Apparently, she was showering and when she went to use her shower puff a cockroach was on it. She whipped the puff across the room, ran out of her shower stall, put a towel on and ended up standing the hallway outside my door in a puddle of tears and shower water. If she had not been so upset it would have been humorous.

In the bathroom I assured her there were no cockroaches on her and I checked the rest of her shower stuff to make sure none had crawled in. She calmed down and we prayed that she would not find any more cockroaches and that God would help her deal with this fear. It was a simple prayer but it worked. To date she has had no more encounters with cockroaches. This is a miracle because the week previous to this encounter she found more cockroaches then I had seen my entire stay in Mexico. Through something as small as praying with her about cockroaches I am being used by God to minister into her life.