The day came on July 1st, the official last deadline for fundraising. My squad was en route to Kenya from Romania, and we were in our 8 hour layover in Qatar (Cutter? Cut-tar? Kay-tar? No one really knows for sure).
We arrived in the Qatar airport around midnight-ish, finally receiving wifi, and I proceeded to check my WR Profile for the first time in several days. Lo and behold! Not only was I fully funded, I was funded over $1600 more than I needed!! Talk about the Lord’s overwhelming provision through His sacrificial children. Hopefully AIM will let me buy my plane ticket home with that money. I’ve heard (from squadmates) that they will allow that money to also be used on another trip with them, so perhaps in the near future I can lead a smaller, short-term trip with some high school students or something. I don’t really know, I haven’t looked into it quite yet.
But the point of this particular blog, is to THANK MY SUPPORTERS.
I absolutely, positively, 100% could not have done this without you. I wish I could send every one of you a personal thank you note, but seeing as how postal service overseas is not particularly dependable or affordable, I shall just thank you here and hope it holds you all over until I can come home and thank you in person.
I want to tell you about a sermon I heard in Romania, given to a gyspy church by an associate pastor visiting from California (small world, right?). It’s based from the passage in Exodus 17:8-13 about when the Amalekites attacked the Israelites. In a lucky/unlucky turn of events, it was Moses, and not Joshua the military leader, who held the fate of the battle in his hands (no pun intended). The story goes that as long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites were winning. But when his arms grew tired and his hands fell, success on the battlefield turned over to the Amalekites.
Talk about pressure.
But he wasn’t alone! He had two men with him, Aaron and Hur, friends there to support him in his time of need. And when his arms would grow heavy and he felt like he couldn’t go on, they took his hands in their own and with their own energy, force, and concentration, held his arms up themselves, keeping them steady until sundown, and the battle was complete. The Israelites won! Not simply because Moses had been chosen by God to bear the burden of the battle, but because his friends stood by his side (literally) and supported him through the tough moments.
Can you guess where this is heading? That’s right, YOU are my Aaron. You are my Hur. You have been the friends and supporters in my life who have “held up my arms” so that the battle could be won and souls saved.
You have helped shoulder the responsibility. Maybe we can’t all be The Overseas Missionary (i.e. Moses… in this example). Sometimes we have jobs and spouses and kids and responsibilities that keep us from going further than our neighborhood (an equally important missions frield). But we all can be Aaron and Hur, no matter our circumstances. We can all go alongside those called away and support the Great Commission. In this case, you have been my Aaron and my Hur, enabling me to do what I absolutely could not do on my own.
You have provided incredible financial support. This trip cost $15,500 alone, not counting vaccinations, passports, travel to and from entry points within the country, and all the backpacking equipment I need to live successfully in a tent for a year. That is some serious sacrifice on your part. God knows we aren’t meant to do things on our own; perhaps that is one of the many reasons this trip costs so much money- He knows we cannot do things alone, and there is some serious humility in asking for help. There’s an even more serious amount of humility in receiving help. Humility that leads us to look differently at our own lives, the lives of those who give, and the lives of those around the world who are being touched because people gave.
You have provided me with words of encouragement that have spurred me along. We can each bring unique perspectives to every situation, perspectives perhaps unable to be seen when you’re in the thick of the battle. Words of encouragement at the right God-centered moment can change the momentum of any situation (1 Thess. 5:11). You have all sent heart-warming, soul-inspiring, perspective-changing encouragement to me through emails, facebook, twitter, and skype. I cannot begin to tell you how much less overwhelming life is when I have the support and encouragement from the people I love, spurring me on toward greater things than these.
You have also prayed for me. Intercession takes great strength because our natural instinct is to take care of ourselves, not offer ourselves to someone or something else. And yet, time and again, at just the right moment, I would receive messages and emails full of prayers or answers as a result of prayer on my behalf. I believe that as humbling as it is to receive financial support, it is even more humbling to be at the receiving end of passionate, intentional, purpose-driven intercession. Believe it or not, it can be easy to slip into a comfort zone even out in the middle of Africa, with little electricity, no water, squatty potties, and malaria-ridden mosquitos attacking you when you least expect it. You can grow comfortable in the middle of 4-hour long church services. You can create your own comfort zone when given the choice to walk to one more house and pray, or call it a day. You can bring along your comfort zone anywhere you go, even on the so-called “mission field”. But receiving prayers or messages from the Lord about me or this trip or someone specific I will meet- that is one serious way to kick the comfort to the curb. And you have been so faithful to me and to the Lord in lifting up this trip.
God will answer.
God has answered.
God answers.
And here are just some of the ways He has used YOU to change lives around the world:
~ children have been taught English, math, science, and Scripture in 7 countries so far
~ widows in El Salvador have been visited, comforted, and prayed for
~ the homeless in Guatemala have been encouraged and loved on
~ gypsies in Bulgaria and Romania have felt support and love
~ orphans in Honduras, Bulgaria, and Kenya have been held, hugged, kissed, and played with
~ orphanages and homes in Honduras, Albania, and Bulgaria have been built or fortified
~ missionaries stationed in Romania have been strengthened, encouraged, and prayed with
~ youth in El Salvador, Guatemala, Bulgaria, and Kenya have heard the Word of God. Many have given their lives to Jesus
~ kids in Albania have a newly-cleaned, painted and landscaped camp to go to this summer
~ the sick have been prayed over
~ the hungry have been fed
~ the despairing have been held
~ relationships have been built
~ community has been strengthened
~ The Holy Word of God has been studied, meditated on, and preached in 7 nations
~The Lord has been worshipped
~ The Lord has been glorified
And He still has so much left to be done. He is not finished. Even when this Race is over, in 4 more months, He will still not be finished. He says in His Word that He will only be finished with the final trumpet sounds and we ALL go Home. Until then, we go wherever and whenever we can, sharing His love, mercy, reconciliation, and Good News among every nation until every ear has heard, every knee bended, and every heart mended, and it is because of people like YOU, who give and give and give so sacrificially, that this calling on ALL our lives is accomplished.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
