Did those fish have their faces still?

When we hear the story of feeding the 5k with fish and loafs, I would be wiling to bet that the American reader imagines artisan bread and cleanly prepared fish without skin, bone, and certainly no face. Oh and the fish is probably cooked. Here in Thailand, I'm constantly confronted with the fact that many of the fish, chicken, pork, beef, duck that is prepared to eat has a face, feet, and skin.

This fact has even challenged my perception of this story. I realize that the bread was, well, bread... and the fish were probably handed out as cold, slippery, fully intact fish. Perhaps it was each persons responsibility to gut, clean, and cook their fish. Or maybe that was done by each family unit. Either-way, I keep thinking if someone were to hand me a cold, barley alive fish (for freshness's sake), I wouldn't know the first thing to do with it. Maybe cut off the head first to put the poor thing out of it's misery... Then I would probably become sad because I killed it. Let's be honest, I'd probably be pretty sad.

I'm constantly reminded of how white-washed, sterilized, prepared, preserved, and unreal my upbringing was. It was normal by American standards (at least in the urban west), but so far away from the way our ancestors and many other nations live(d). This makes me really reconsider how affective Americans/westerners are as missionaries. The bridge between how we used to live and how we must live to survive in a foreign place is much larger. Many Americans only know English (maybe a little bit of Spanish, French or German... but probably aren't fluent). How can we make good missionaries? I know that there are many Americans who have been able to bridge that gap, and each day I'm here I can see myself crossing that bridge... it's just takes more time. I wonder if there is a specific recipe that a person must embody to be a good missionary. Please understand that I'm even doubtful that I personally embody these characteristics... I just think it would be ideal to have the following:


- extremely flexible


- able to sleep on the floor, possibly in extreme heat


- not be bothered by food items that are of unknown origin or still has a recognizable face/body


- ability to pick up language quickly


- not be concerned with knowing every little detail of a conversation or event.

Maybe those are important and maybe there are other characteristics I've missed. Maybe the only thing that is important, all other characteristics aside, is that God called an American to a foreign nation. The only thing we have to do is follow His call and know that He will work out all the details. We don't make it happen, we just follow Him. I have followed Him here and I know He will bless me and those around me for my obedience. I've already seen His blessings in actions. Either way, I still have a really hard time eating things with their faces, feet, and skin still on. Maybe God will work on that with me. In the time being, I'll stick to fruit, veggies, eggs, and rice. :)

** Story of the feeding of 5k people can be found in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17 and John 6:5-15**