It’s Not a Bother…”

As I write this, I’m sitting in Costa Rica.

I chose to wait before working on this summer edition of the CROSSLINE Newsletter. I wanted to finish this mission first - to let the stories breathe, to listen beyond the noise, and to let the work of the Spirit settle in my own heart.

After sending our youth mission team back to the States, I stayed a few extra days for planning and meetings. My family remained with me, and in a short window of rest, I took my son to a traditional artisan market in search of something he had been hoping to find here.

We walked through booths, asked around, but no one seemed to have it. Then I approached one man and asked him. He paused, thinking. “I’ve seen something like that,” he said. He stepped out from his own booth and took us to another standing with a similar item - but it wasn’t quite what we were looking for.

Still, he understood exactly what we meant. He thought again and then said, “There’s a place a few miles from here that has it. Come, I’ll show you.” I hesitated. I didn’t want to trouble him or pull him away from his work. So I said, “it’s okay, I don’t want to bother you.”

He said, “bother? It’s not a bother for me. How many times was I helped in life by strangers? Of course I have to help…”

That moment has stayed with me.

In a world where the word “bother” defines so many of our boundaries—where helping others is weighed against convenience or personal schedule—this man’s response felt like a gospel echo.

He wasn’t just showing us the way to a shop. He was living out a truth: we help because we’ve been helped. That’s the mission in motion.

This is why we train, why we send, why we keep living this call to cross lines and follow the bloodline—because at some point, someone walked us toward grace.

And now it’s our turn.

Not out of guilt, or pressure, or recognition.

But because, like he said - “Of course I have to help…”

Welcome to the SUMMER 2025 Edition. There’s more to share - stories of mission, growth, generosity, and what’s ahead. But I wanted to start here - with a moment that reminded me again: mission doesn’t end when the trip is over. It lives in the posture we carry…. even when we’re tempted to call it a “bother.”

Pastor Daniel Park

Founder | CROSSLINE

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