Category: missions

This past weekend, Susan and I attended a mission conference in Asheville, North Carolina. Mission India is one of many Christian organizations who long for all of the 1.2 billion citizens of India to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. The only strategy that seems feasible in a land of 1200 languages and dialects is for local Christians to become missionaries to their own people. As the fire of God spreads from village to village, Mission India celebrates that 10,000,000 people have become disciples of Christ during the past five years.

Chano only had a 7th grade education, but when he gave his life to Christ at the age of nineteen,  he knew God had created him for a purpose. Beginning as a helper in an afternoon Children’s Bible Club, Chano discovered he had a gift of teaching. God has used Chano mightily not only to impact children, but to train other believers to be leaders. Over 73 churches have been planted through the work of a young man the world would have called hopeless.

At age fourteen, Renu sustained a terrible brain injury from falling off a roof. Doctors said she would never be normal again because the damage was permanent. A local pastor heard of the accident and went and prayed for the young girl. God healed her; Renu became a Christian; and now at age twenty she is a teacher in an adult literacy program that teaches women about Jesus as they learn to read. She expresses a great desire for the poor of her land to become literate and for her nation to shine for Jesus.

The emphasis of the conference was: ‘Look at what God is doing!’ We were encouraged to pray for his Word to spread and to seize opportunities to support our brothers and sisters. Many Christians endure severe persecution as they leave other religions to follow Jesus. They have counted the cost and decided it is better to keep eyes on a heavenly home. We have much to learn from their example.

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” I Corinthians 1:26-29

“They admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13-16

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.” (Acts 4:25-26)  The early disciples prayed these words of King David after Peter and John had been released from jail for healing a forty-something-year-old crippled beggar on the temple steps (see Acts 3).

A group of us from America visited our friend Anna in Sweden this past June and joined the prayers of missionaries from at least fourteen different countries. One leader prefaced the time of prayer with the obvious truth that many nations are directly opposing God’s ways. Even governments that used to uphold the principles and standards of Scripture are now openly promoting opposite messages.

We read history recorded in the Bible and see the same thing. Even the nation of Israel, entrusted with the Law of God, purposely disobeyed their Creator. Once the Lord called his people to account for not releasing slaves in the Year of Jubilee. Every seven years, people who had sold themselves into slavery were to be given a fresh start as freedom was proclaimed. The children of God admitted their disobedience and vowed to follow the covenant, but finding their lives inconvenienced, they quickly recanted and brought the ex-slaves back into bondage. They took the liberty to do what would please themselves and God pronounced his judgment.

“Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your countrymen. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name. But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you have taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become slaves again. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord – ‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.”(Jeremiah 34:15-17)

God gives nations freedom to do as they please. The ‘kings of the earth’ and other rulers can apply justice and govern with principles of righteousness or they can choose otherwise. What they can’t choose are the consequences of their decisions. God’s children may ask: “Why do the nations rage? Why do leaders oppose the Creator and his Anointed One?” But we should not simply ask troubling questions. The things we witnessed in Sweden among believers from nearly every section of the world point to proper action: Intercede. Love. Challenge. Go. Preach. Disciple. Serve. Pray. Proclaim true freedom. Live boldly in Christ.

“‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” (Acts 4:29-31)

I won’t be writing for the next two weeks as we are leaving soon to visit Community Hope School in Windhoek, Namibia. My first trip to Africa was in 1998 with our son, Taylor. We left on his twelfth birthday and visited my youngest brother Brian and his wife in Benin, West Africa. God taught us so many things that I asked Him to allow my whole family to one day experience his provision and protection in foreign lands. He has answered that prayer in amazing ways since ’98 and I am so grateful. The Body of Christ is the most beautiful organism on earth. To meet brothers and sisters of different languages and nationalities gives a tiny glimpse of Heaven to come.

This will be my tenth trip to Africa, and interestingly all but the first have taken place after I was diagnosed with cancer in 2000. I remember receiving a phone call on one of the darkest days of sickness with an encouraging word I could not bring myself to believe. “Dana,” a dear brother in Christ said, “I have this picture in my mind of you traveling around the world in the Name of Jesus.” I don’t remember my exact reply, but I thought, “Yeah right… you’ve got a flawed mind.” (Oh me of little faith.) During Christmas 2001 our entire family visited Brian and Sondra and their two boys who then lived in Cape Town, South Africa. When we arrived, smiling African brothers and sisters surrounded me praising God that they could see a concrete answer to a year of praying for Brian’s brother.

Brian has lived in Zambia the past five years. After fifteen years in Africa, he, Sondra, Noah, and Bryson will be moving to the States this spring to further their sons’ education. Brian is one of my heroes and I think this move will be difficult for him, but he realizes God has plans for different seasons of life. Isn’t it fun to watch his plans unfold?

The missionaries, teachers, and students at Community Hope School in Namibia are very dear to us. We have seen the older children grow up from preschool age to become beautiful teenagers who want to make a difference in their nation. Our high school students will be able to work with them in their studies, play with them, and serve all with the love of Christ. Please pray for us that the Light of Jesus might shine brightly.

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

On our last night in Namibia, the missionaries we visited led our devotional. John thanked us for all the work we did and for the love extended to the children of the school. We were so happy to be able to contribute in this important ministry.

Suzanne shared a personal word of encouragement with each student. Her comments were positive and full of God’s hope for the future. Suzanne also shared an admonition. Scripture often reveals that things are not always what they seem; God’s understanding differs vastly from ours. Though we had spent a week working with the poorest of the poor in an African city, this was the message: “Though you come from the wealthiest country in the world, it is possible for you to be the most underprivileged.”

Suzanne went on to explain: “When we have everything we need and practically everything we desire, there is little dependence on God. When we don’t depend on God, it is easy to forget how much we need Him. If we don’t think we need Him, we rarely seek Him. And if we do not seek Him, we rarely find Him. If we don’t experience God as our true Source of satisfaction; if we don’t learn to walk with Him; and if we don’t rely on Him, we are really underprivileged.”

James wrote this: “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.” (James 1:9-10) Jesus’ words were even sharper: “Blessed are the poor, blessed are the hungry, and blessed are those who weep. Woe to the rich, woe to the well-fed, and woe to those who now laugh.” (see Luke 6:20-26)

So what is the answer for the underprivileged? Somehow we must realize our need. Somehow we must learn to rely on God. If we are used to bringing about everything on our own, how do we depend on God? The long-time missionary in Africa gave the visitors from America some practical advice: “Get with God every day. Set aside time without your computer and without your cell phone or any other distraction to focus on God and listen to the Father. He does not simply deal with the surface, but searches and touches our innermost being. He gives wisdom and knowledge to those who long for Him. He reveals Himself to the humble and shows us who He created us to be. He is the answer for the underprivileged.”

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

On the Thursday we left for Africa a little second grade girl named Maria passed away. Though the AIDS epidemic in Namibia makes people a little more accustomed to death, this was the first time Community Hope School faced the loss of a current student and it was no less traumatic than had such a tragedy occurred in our country. What complicated matters was that there was unclarity about the cause of death. Meningitis was printed on the death certificate but no one would positively confirm whether it was the non-contagious viral type or the terribly contagious bacterial form of the disease. The first three days in the country I witnessed the delicate dealings with danger and the intense quest for answers. The leaders of the school, John and Suzanne Hunter, talked to numerous medical people in Namibia and South Africa. They were also in constant communication with their son, Christian, who is a doctor in Washington D.C.  Of course this impacted our trip as we could not expose our kids to a lethal disease in a foreign land. Finally on Monday evening the head of the ICU unit at the hospital where the little girl died gave a positive conclusion that the cause of death could not have been bacterial meningitis.

On Wednesday evening I attended a board meeting of the ministry. John explained the struggles of the previous week and the fear that had struck so many of the teachers and staff, especially those whose own children attended the school. At Community Hope School, God has assembled an incredible group of teachers to bless the poorest children of Windhoek. Several workers are natives of Namibia, but there are also missionaries from Canada, Holland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States. Susan and I have known several of these dedicated Christians for seven or eight years. After John, who has been a missionary over thirty years, finished sharing, the oldest person at the table made an interesting comment. Brian is in his mid-sixties and entered the mission field as a young man shortly after completing the mandatory two years of military service required in his native country of South Africa. “John,” he said, “You’ve got to communicate the same conditions for your workers that we stressed in the old days. Do you remember when we used to take mission teams into the war zone on the border of Angola? We told those who expressed interest: ‘You can’t be a part of this team unless you are prepared to die.’ The requirements are no different today.”

We’ve all read the words of Jesus regarding the cost of discipleship. We all know the stories of persecution recorded in Acts and the epistles. But the blunt statement of a seasoned missionary in a distant land made me think. Are things supposed to be different today? Are the conditions Jesus gave in the first century still applicable in the twenty-first century? Is the cost the same for an American as it is for a South African? Should the twenty-year-old be as prepared to die as the sixty-year-old? Shouldn’t all Christians wrestle with these weighty questions?

This week we celebrate the death and resurrection of the One who knew the conditions of his mission. And the beauty of the story is: He still came.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep… No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” John 10:14-18