Da Nang, Vietnam
I thought I would take this opportunity to write about the unwritten. Everybody wants to hear about the miraculous story, or the uncomfortable living conditions of sleeping out in the bush, and the really strange, the really hard, the out of the ordinary. Its become almost taboo for the “World-Racer” to write of other things…the normal things. And so our readers are left with a reel of crazy highlights that form their view of our lives overseas. But, what about the time between the abnormal snapshots? I almost didn’t write this month, because I didn’t have anything to shock or excite you with. But, to omit it would be to give you a false perception. And so, here are a few confessions:
Well, I slept in a bed every day this month.
I had air conditioning.
I had a beach only a 15 minute walk away.
I had coffee every morning.
This month our schedule was more laid back than I’m used to.
We did things not that different, strange, or even hard:
We walked and we prayed over the city.
We made 1200 Christmas cards and tied candy canes to them to be passed out at an upcoming Christmas program.
We visited a family to help watch their kids and help do some housework.
We played with children.
We washed dishes.
We set up a Christmas tree and decorated it.
These and some other seemingly small projects.
Simple. Normal.
The list of things we did doesn’t look large.
Is that okay? Was it enough?
I like many other human beings find value in doing enough. I carry my own measuring stick and at the end of the day I evaluate if I’ve done enough. This isn’t a bad thing. I strongly believe we must be wise with our time. But, sometimes I must remind myself that that Jesus doesn’t measure success the way I do. He doesn’t have a punch card of all our “ministry work” and reward us accordingly.
Lately, I’ve been meditating on the story of the feeding of the 5,000:
There are many people and they are hungry. Jesus asks Phillip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”
If I was Phillip I would feel like I needed to get something together. Jesus is asking me where to buy bread! What can I do? Why haven’t I done anything already? I would feel small, inadequate, not enough.
Philip realizes this is a hopeless cause. He says, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
But, then Andrew pipes up, “There’s a boy with 5 small barely loves and 3 small fish. But, what is that among so many?”
Jesus jumps at that. He takes the small offering and feeds the masses.
I don’t believe Jesus was rebuking Philip for not having it together, for not being prepared enough for all the people. He wasn’t telling him to go figure it out. Instead, he was testing to see if he believed all the messages He had been telling him all along. “I don’t care about what you do or don’t have to offer. You are enough because I am enough, and that is enough.”
He took what little they had and transformed it into a massive feast.
Travelling the world has opened my eyes to see many things. I see faces, hunger (physical and spiritual), social injustices, problems and problems.
And then I see Jesus standing there looking at me saying, “How are we going to feed all these people?” How are we going to take care of all their problems?
At first I’m tempted to say, “Three weeks and only seven of us, what is that among so many people and problems?” How can our contribution in Vietnam make a difference?
But then I catch the twinkle in His eye, and realize He said “we”. “How are we going to feed these people?” “We” is much different than “I”. And so, I pipe up, “Here, Jesus! We have these few short weeks; and these few projects. Here are the dishes I washed, the laughs that rang from children as I played with them, here it all is. ” My offering doesn’t look glorious or out of the ordinary,. But, I place it into His hands, those miraculous hands that turned a few ordinary loaves into a feast for the masses. I believe He will do the same with this offering.
John 6:28-29, “Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
Maybe its not about how I perform, but rather if I remember Who is with me.
Its exciting to see how God provides for this journey that I’m on. If you feel led to partner with me through prayer or support I would be honored to have you on my team. December 1st I’m supposed to reach a financial goal of $11,000.
