Now that we are in Bosnia, finished with the month of June, we are over halfway home. Half of the World Race is behind me. Each day I get closer to finishing this race, and the words of Paul in Philippians echo in my mind. I want to run the good race. I want to finish strong. So this is my attempt to summarize what this trip has meant to me so far, what God has done along the way, and that He has much more planned along the way. While God has provided miraculously for me in the area of support and finances, I’m still short $4,000 dollars before I could finish the race. My faith that the money will come in only grows with each experience on the road.
In Mexico we bought a van completely on faith, and we drove it from mechanic to mechanic all the way to Palenque. I learned that Mexican mechanics are often overlooked in typical minitry plans, and God probably wants to change that! Thus, we bought our van of faith. I saw that God moves on the hearts of people just through the stories of his love and faithfulness as we watched a new “church” grow from one family to 60 people in just a week. Mexico taught us that ministry is just
around the corner, in your neighboring country, or the next peulbo down the dirt road.
Guatemala and it’s people taught me that God’s love endures all trials and hardships. Hurricane Stan’s torment of rocks and boulders that covered the country late last year was pale in comparison to the outpouring of God’s love and spirit on those willing to run to Him. Zacheo, a troubled teen, ran into the open arms of God when He realized that the Shepherd would come back for one little lost sheep. In a trip that takes you from country to country trying to tell as many people about God that you can possibly tell, the fact that God is so personal, so responsive to us as individuals, hasn’t escaped me because of Zacheo’s story.
China was a hard place in all types of ways. Oh, but how God loves China! God loves China so much that He led four missionaries to a town in the middle of nowhere to speak to 900 schoolkids about Jesus, the Bible, Christmas, and Easter. God loves China so much that attacks from the enemy happen on every front, every day. Attempted murders, imprisoned believers, and persecution of all types face those in China that would accept God’s love. So many still need to see it, feel it, and hear about it. So many people still walk circles around their prayer wheels looking for answers from
gods who will never speak.
Thailand was a beautiful place. It still is lacking the knowledge of a Savior, of a living God, that only asks you believe in Him and accept his love. It’s in Thailand that I realized what a delicate process introducing grace to some cultures can be. They buy buckets for monks to get them closer to heaven. They set off firecrackers to curry favor with the gods, and they aspire to one day be gods themselves. Grace is a radical idea. It’s the gift of a radical God that wants nothing more than to be with us.
India is a place dear to my heart. The World Race took me on my second visit to India in less than a year. Once again, the praises and prayers of the orphans ushered me into a new place of the Holy of Holies. I had thought I understood the love and
grace of God when I was trying to share it with the people in Thailand. But, the orphans who shouted “GLORY TO GOD!” when there was no food or water, when their leader was in prison, and when their families hadn’t bothered to come and pick them up…that was proof enough that there is more to God’s love than I understand. Those little children remind me that God is bigger than all I can imagine, and my quest for Him is one that will never end and one that is never dull. The leaders of that ministry showed me what boldness and courage really meant. They stand on the Rock and preach of His power to every corner of the country, whether the country wants to hear it or not.
In Greece, I was blessed to travel the roads from the Book of Acts. I walked in the footsteps of the apostle Paul, visiting the places that the modern church has grown from. I washed my feet in the river where Lydia, the first convert in Europe was baptized. I saw the place where an eathquake set Paul and Silas free from prison. I saw the marketplaces and temples of ancient Corinth that caused so much contraversy among the believers there that it warrented two New Testament letters from Paul. My Bible, the precious Word of God speaks of these places. It speaks of the power of God in the beginning of Christianity. From that trip around Greece, I felt God’s power a new in my own life. There is so much left untapped that is there to be used for His glory. The World would be different if we all saw that and used that power. The Church would be bigger, would be what God probably intended for it to be, if we used that same power from Acts.
In Bosnia, this month I’ve seen what hope means. The lack of hope rips and tears someone apart, little by little. It’s much like all the small bulletholes in the buildings in town, little peice by little peice they fell a part. The bridge in town, a famous one, was rebuilt after the wars to symbolize hope for the people of Mostar. The cross, the supposed symbol of hope for the whole world, that sits on the hill high above town doesn’t carry the message of love, but that of hate. We have a hope in Christ that needs to be shared with so many people. In my opinion, most Westernized people need that hope more than anybody else. We’ve got more than we need and still can’t find the hope that we are looking for. The hope that life is worth living is only found in Jesus. My burden to share that grows with each sad story of hate, with every mortar-holed building, and each downcast face.
That’s only half of it. Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Kenya/Uganda, South Africa, and Lesotho will all have their own lessons. God will want to use all the World Racers in unique ways to show these countries His glory. I hope that through all of our blogs, our letters home, and short phone calls have taught you some of this as well. Perhaps it isn’t just a journey around the world to share the love of Christ, it’s more like a trip around the world to
become the love of Christ.
Pray for me. Pray that my support money comes in and that I can finish the race. I want to get the prize that comes at the end of this journey. I want to
BE the love of Christ. If you can, help me by giving online. But most of all, pray. I don’t want to miss anything that God would want to say or do while these amazing experiences come along. He has plenty of miracles ready for the final half of the World Race. Thanks for doing so much already, and know that you are all sorely missed and greatly loved.
Tomorrow we leave Bosnia to head to our camp in Croatia to minister to some kids. Pray for our travel and minsitry there. I expect God to do more than I could ask or imagine.
