MISSION TALK WITH JORDI MICHAEL | KAIROS GLOBAL | FEBRUARY 2021

Author: Jordy Michael

Intro: Jordy Michael realised his calling to mission from an early age. His travel and experience in mission areas showed him the conviction and total surrender to Christ of the missionaries and the deep faith of the local people.

My mission journey started when I was a school kid, where I was inspired by the organisation called Cherupushpa Mission League (CML) which was very active in the parishes of Kerala. It was through my encounter there that I learned more about St. Therese of Lisieux and how she become the patron saint of missionaries without even venturing out of the walls of her convent. She was a great motivation for me to become a missionary. During my school days, I would recite small prayers and surrender them for people working in the mission areas. My young self had a great desire to become a missionary without even knowing who a missionary was or what a mission place was. 

Other than learning about them, there were hardly any opportunities in CML to become a missionary. It was then that I got to interact with a few Jesus Youth, and I found great joy in becoming part of the movement. Being able to experience Christ on a deeper level, I also found more meaning to my missionary ‘thirst’. 

In those days, I found my mission places in my campus, my parish and my neighbouring areas. Slowly my involvement extended outside my immediate circles. Later, when I began travelling to different parts of India, my earlier experiences and convictions served as a foundation. I met a lot of people who surrendered their life for Christ and for their mission. 

I remember a journey made from Mumbai to Nagpur in 2004 in a local compartment of a train. For this 18-hour journey, the train was so packed that there was neither a seat nor space to put both feet on the floor. I just had enough space to stand on one leg. I could not communicate with anyone in the train because I did not know their local language, and I ended up not being able to have any food or even water. During the initial hours of the trip, people just stared and made fun of me. But with my long silence, they came around with sympathy and adjusted themselves to give me some space to sit. 

In 2015, together with my wife and our three kids, we went for a month-long mission to Nagaland. My youngest child was only eighteen-months-old and taking her along with the older kids for the mission was tough. The long drive on rough roads, accommodations, food, climate, water scarcity, etc. made the mission difficult but in comparison to the zealous and courageous missionaries who spend their entire life in these mission areas, the troubles we experienced were nothing. The people in the villages looked up to us to learn from us but instead, we were learning a lot from them. The depth of their faith made a great impression on me and motivated me to deepen mine. They had to go through many difficulties just to keep their faith, and their courage inspired me. When we visited one of the families in the village, we realised that they did not have enough for even two meals a day and this was the family that was providing us with our groceries! Their way of prioritising spiritual activities led me to question my own priorities. Even though I had visited many mission places prior to that and had met a lot of missionaries, staying in that village was an unforgettable learning experience. 

My travel and life with the many missionaries helped me to understand the depth and breadth of missionary live. Many times, I have wondered how these people could make such sacrifices to be in their mission areas. Their depth of conviction made them stand firm during difficult times. Every hurdle was converted into opportunity. Their complete trust in Christ, the trust that the local people had on them, the words they spoke, the way they accepted struggles or opposition, all these were miracles to me.  Many of them were ordinary people, but their thirst and conviction to share Christ were the reason behind their joyful attitude.

All of us are called to be missionaries but some are called to be sent out and some are called to lead mission wherever they are at. There are cases where the one who is called to go does not go, and those who are not called to be sent out, go out. This creates an imbalance in the overall mission purpose of the Church. Each of us needs to identify our mission:  for some it may be in their school, in their college, at their workplace, in their family or in their community.  For others, it may be at a distant place or at a difficult place. All these mission places are equally important to build God’s Kingdom. God provides the grace and versatility to adapt to that mission place. It is up to each one of us to receive the grace and to go on mission.