We never had mice in our home on the mission field... that is, until we started building a house out in the village. We had no "crawl space" under our house, but those sneaky fellas sure did know how to find their way in! And you know what? Desperation taught us how to become expert mice catchers. Let me tell ya... you'll try anything when you're desperate, and we tried every method we could think of. Don't be fooled into thinking that cheese is the only way to trap a mouse. In fact, we found that cheese is
not the best method because a mouse can steal a piece of cheese right off of a trap in a millisecond and get away alive, fat, and happy! The key for us was learning to put something on the trap that the mice had to work at getting off (like peanut butter). But, since I can sense you are shuddering as you read this already, I'll just let you believe me...
It was rather frustrating to be building a home out of all brand-new materials, only to see that mice were finding their way into our home regardless of how much money we had put into it. Rich or poor, new home or old, everyone in our village had the same problem when the weather turned cold: mice seeking refuge in our homes.
Living as missionaries, sometimes it is so easy to lump all of our problems into one big reasoning: We have mice (or whatever problem) because we have sacrificed to be missionaries. Of course, we lived for 6 or 7 years on the mission field before mice started inhabiting our home, but that is besides the point. It kinda felt good to think we were suffering for Jesus to be on the mission field (i.e. in our case: dealing with mice).
Then... we went on furlough and the whole mice problem went away for awhile. Oh, I'm sure they were enjoying our home in Ukraine just the same, but we didn't have to see them or deal with them for awhile.
By and by we stayed as guests for a few days in a beautiful ranch home.... a glorious home that most of us will only ever dream of living in. This home had it all... 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, formal dining room, swimming pool, fishing pond, acres and acres of land, etc... And, I won't even try to describe the gorgeous decor! Why, every corner of this house looked like it came right out of the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens!
But guess what? I was sitting in (one of) the gorgeous living rooms, and... you guessed it... I saw a mouse scurry behind the furniture. I couldn't believe it! Right then and there I felt like the Lord tapped me on the shoulder and said to me, "See, Jolene... mice are everywhere in this world!"
And here was my lesson: Being on the mission field really is no sacrifice.
Sometimes missionaries fall into the trap of feeling like America is the land of paradise and utopia. If only I were back in America, I wouldn't have these problems... But, God showed me that day that my little home in a village in Ukraine was just as much a paradise as any American home, as long as I made it that way.
When I returned to the mission field a few months later, though I despised the mice as much as ever and worked harder than ever to trap them, I had to smile to myself because...
God used a ranch mouse to teach me a valuable lesson in contentment.
