Category: missions

I met a beautiful family in a small town in Ecuador. Manuel and Mayela are the parents of twenty-six year old Marco and twenty-four year old Blanca. Manuel is the pastor of a small church in Cajabamba and their ministry extends into several rural villages and mountain communities.

Toward the end of the week, one of our senior girls expressed the desire to be baptized. Since we were going to be in Cajabamba, we asked Manuel if he knew of a place for baptism. This humble family was so excited that one of our team wanted to be baptized in their country. They said they would be honored to make arrangements.

Our bus parked at the top of a hill outside of town and we took a ten minute walk down a steep dirt road. When we neared the valley, one of our teenagers pointed to a bubbling brook and asked how a person could be baptized in the ankle-deep water. I said I didn’t know but we soon found out. At a bend in the stream, the water was a little deeper. Marco and Blanca had pulled off their shoes, rolled up their jeans, and started working. They stacked stones that dammed up the water and created a beautiful baptistry.

So there we gathered… twenty-seven North Americans, a dozen or so South Americans, and one European. Meagan’s friends shared Scriptures, two of our guys led a couple of songs, Pastor Manuel prayed, a missionary from Denmark shared an encouragement from the Lord, a cow wandered up, and a sheep observed from a distance. I don’t think there could have been a more beautiful scene. As Meagan went under the chilly water the sun shone down, angels rejoiced, and believers hugged.

I wonder what the Father, Son, and Spirit think about such holy moments. Does Jesus remember when John baptized him in the Jordan River? Does the Father recall telling his only begotten: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”? Does the Spirit remember coming down like a dove? We ask, “Lord, who are we compared to you?” And God says, “You are my beloved child. I have chosen you to be a part of my kingdom that will last forever. I love you. Jesus remembered this truth every day he walked the earth. I want you to remember it too.”

“Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into his death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” Rom 6:3-8

This past weekend I got to hang out with several teachers who are leading short term mission trips this school year. The prayer is: “Guide us, Lord, as we take these young people to serve others in Jesus’ name.” A couple of nights ago, I got to be with parents of junior high students who are raising children in a dangerous world. The prayer is: “Guide us, Lord, as you have entrusted us with these precious children.” I know of a senior in college who is in the midst of making important career decisions as he prepares to graduate. The prayer is: “Guide me, Lord, in the way you want me to go. I need you to make things clear.” I have a good friend who has recently learned of health issues that will impact him and his family in unknown ways. The prayer is: “Guide us, Lord, down this uncertain path. Protect us from fear and harm. May you receive glory in our lives.”

It helps to hear the testimonies of those who have gone before. The mission leader who tells of God’s faithfulness encourages the one who has never led. Parents whose children are grown can encourage parents who are in the midst of the challenge. A man or woman who tells of God’s providential hand in bringing fulfilling work can bless the young person who wonders if he’ll ever find a job. The believer who has walked through the valley can say with confidence, “Fear no evil for God is with you. His rod and staff will comfort you and, by faith, you will bring him glory.”

Jesus promised an even greater blessing than the encouragement of brothers and sisters. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you… When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify… But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you… But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking what is mine and making it known to you.” (See John 14-16)

During the mid 1700’s, a bright young Welshman was planning a career in medicine. One Sunday morning at church, the Lord moved so mightily in his heart that William Williams knew he needed to go a whole new direction. For forty-three years the Holy Spirit gave this man songs, poems, and sermons that went throughout Wales as God brought a mighty revival to the land. Here’s one of his songs that is still a great prayer: “Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah”

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty, Hold me with Thy powerful hand;
Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more;
Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain, whence the healing waters flow;
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar, lead me all my journey through;
Strong Deliverer, be Thou still my strength and shield;
Strong Deliverer, be Thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside;
Bear me through the swelling current, land me safe on Canaan’s side;
Songs of praises I will ever give to Thee;
Songs of praises I will ever give to Thee.

“No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:3-5

“By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.” (Psalm 137:1-6)

The couple of times we visited, I loved to walk the streets of Jerusalem, pondering the past and wondering about the future. But I also loved being in Babylon… not the Babylon of Persia, but the squatter camp where we worshipped the Sunday we were in Windhoek, Namibia. Someone nicknamed this dirt-road community, consisting of thousands of makeshift houses, ‘Babylon.’ I doubt it was intended to be a compliment since Babylon is often portrayed in Scripture as the enemy of God’s children.

But remember God’s heart toward all cities. “And wherever he (Jesus) went – into villages or cities or countryside – they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the border of his garment, and all who touched him were made whole.” Jesus wants to make us whole… and it does not matter whether we live in Jerusalem or Babylon. God gives us the choice to receive him or reject him and perhaps the ones you would think have the advantage end up missing out. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” All of us Americans were greatly impacted as we worshipped in a church building that would not meet the standards of most church buildings in the US. Why did the worship of the poor in an African nation seem so much more passionate than what we usually experience in our land?

“It’s what’s inside that matters,” Jesus taught. You can eat the right foods, follow all the rules, live in the right neighborhood, say the right words… and be far from God. “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” Jesus quoted Isaiah and confused many people. He did not want anyone, especially his disciples, to miss the point. “Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’”

So… if it is not where I live, or what I eat, or what traditions I keep that make the difference, what does? Jesus! I must be made whole! I must be healed! I must be forgiven! I must be made clean! “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”

God accomplished everything we need through his Son and Jesus stands today with open arms to receive all that will humbly come. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

“The church that is at Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings…” I Peter 5:13

We had a great trip to Namibia. I thank God for his protection and provision for our team of eighteen. I got to accompany our missionary friend, John Hunter, as he went to the doctor to get final results of a bone marrow biopsy. John does not have multiple myeloma, but a similar though less aggressive cancer called Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia. According to the medical community, this disease, which causes a thickening of the blood, is incurable but treatable. John and Suzanne will probably travel to Cape Town, South Africa soon to meet with a specialist. Their son, Christian, is a doctor at the Harvard School of Medicine so there is much investigation taking place in the States too. I know the Hunter family treasures all prayers.

One of the assignments our team was given this year was to intercede for the children and teachers of Community Hope School located in an area of the capitol called Katutura. This large section of Windhoek is a township where non-whites were forced to move in the late 1950’s. Apartheid still impacts many inhabitants of South Africa and Namibia. Katutura, meaning “a place where we will never settle,” is known for poverty, disease, and hopelessness. But the Light of Jesus shines brightly in all places where God’s servants pour out the Father’s love. Suzanne told us that a couple of weeks before our arrival the devil had been active in bringing fear and unrest to the young students in their school. Satanists had left evidence on the property of proclaimed curses and demonic manifestations had caused many of the children to be afraid. Suzanne’s words to our team were a bit strange to us Americans, but the spiritual world is very real in most sections of Africa. Witch doctors, sacrifices, and graven images are common in various pagan religions. Suzanne asked that we participate in spiritual warfare by walking through the neighborhood while praying for God’s will to be done. She wrote out Scriptures for us to pray as we walked. In the afternoons, our teenagers and adults trekked courageously through an unfamiliar part of the world praying for the lost, for children, for the hurting, and for all Christians in the area.

At the end of the week, I joined John and five natives of Namibia to intercede specifically for the teachers, students, and friends of Community Hope School. During this time, prayers were offered for John and me and our families. This was a very humbling experience as I found myself in a circle of brothers and sisters praying in languages I did not understand with a love that can only be found in Christ. It is even more humbling to realize that as we intercede for others, Jesus himself intercedes for us. “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)

I want to thank all who prayed for us the past couple of weeks. As usual, I felt great while out of the country. On these trips, I sense more than ever the wonders of the Kingdom. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. The Holy Spirit is our Intercessor and Counselor. God is our perfect Father. If He is for us, who can be against us?

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.” Romans 8:26-27 (read the whole chapter!)

I’ll let a picture be a thousand words this week. We had several artists (adults and students) go to Africa to paint a mural for the Community Hope School in the city of Windhoek. Kathy Fincher named the painting “The Call.” I’ve never really thought much about the animals being called by God to get on the ark. I’ll bet none of them argued like we often do… they just did what their Maker said. I guess that’s what separates us from the animals… God gives man the option of saying ‘no’. Noah said ‘yes’ to God and in “holy fear” obeyed his Creator. “By faith, Noah, when warned about things not seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Hebrews 11:7

Though he lived in an evil world, Noah “walked with God” and he and his family were saved. How we must walk with God in this present evil world! Jesus reminds us of Noah as He warns us to watch for Him. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26-27

Jesus is our ark… the only safe place!