Missionary yet?

I think most people who go on a missions trip ask themselves at some point, "Am I considered a missionary yet?"
What does it take to get the title "missionary"?
For a log time I thought maybe it was based on experiences. When I would go through some funny cultural moment I would wonder if I had reached the missionary label yet. Some of those experiences were:

     -arrived in El Salvador and the customs needed to know where we were staying… That's when we realized we didn't even know our soon-to-be address.
     -standing in the back of a truck flying down the road for over an hour.
     -no toilet paper in the washroom… Again!
     -starting taking a bandanna places strictly to sop up the sweat that was sure to come.
     -more dogs and pigs attended a village bible study than people.
     -I don't understand over half of what is said in a day.
     -can't tell if it is a tan or just more dirt.
That is just to name a few of the instances where I felt like the typical missionary. These feelings would be amplified if I happened to be wearing a t-shirt, ankle length skirt, strap sandals, and my hair up. 

When people think of missionaries this is often what they think of. In my opinion however, they are wrong. I don't think that a missionary is someone who goes to a far away country. I don't think you have to eat unknown food or try and speak an unknown language. There is one thing it takes to be a missionary.

I was a missionary long before I went on a mission's trip. It took me awhile to realize. Once it found its way to my mind I also came to the realization that I can still be a missionary when I go home. That I can continue to have the mission mindset. Hopefully I can even work to inspire others (cough cough YOU) to be missionaries within their hometowns too. That's right, time to live out the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:16-20)