It was with sad hearts we left our friends in Indonesia, we’re currently in Penang, Malaysia. We had a quick Leadership Development Weekend in Jakarta before flying out and it was incredible. The squad was encouraged greatly from the teachings of the various team members… Montenegro was a great month, so good it gets two blogs. See part 1 below…
After our time in Mostar, we made our way to Montenegro for an LDW and team changes. Team Philly Philly till the end though… Our new team name is Boundless and the team consists of Josh, the team leader, Alex, Jackie, Haley and myself.
You could say Team Boundless got off to a rocky start. Unfortunately while Alex was hiking on Sabbath, she fell and fractured her back and sprained her thumbs and wrist. 2 days into the new team dynamic and our not yet groove was interrupted.
Our treasurer puts the next week into words very well…” With Alex in the hospital recovering our days were always different at this time. Some people had to finish taking care of passport things at the airport. Some of us did the grocery shopping and food prep for the team. Some jumped into the insurance calls and logistics of how to get around town and to/from the hospital. Some helped bake cookies to help Alex with her vision of giving back to the hospital workers, though they did next to nothing for her. Some helped her with showering, changing the sheets, and decorating the room. Even people from the US helped with some translation work to help Alex making signs asking how we could pray for the hospital staff and letting them know how much they are loved. It was an amazing time to step back and watch how the body of Christ worked together. “
We received word that Mrs. Goad would be flying out to help Alex rest and recover. Josh and I went to the airport to pick her up and take her to the hospital in Risan, several towns over. She would be staying in an airbnb close to hospital and was planning on having Alex recover there. The owner of the airbnb sent her mother, Rajska to pick us up to take us to the home and then to the hospital.
In the back of my head I was thinking about the strict visiting hours the hospital had. Visiting hours ended at 5 pm and it well passed 5 when we arrived. I was interested to see how this was going to turn out. I prayed that we would still be allowed to enter and visit despite the lateness of our arrival. After we unpacked the car, Rajska drove us to the hospital. She got out, motioned us to follow her and she walked us right through the center of the hospital. We bypassed anyone who would have told us we couldn’t enter. She took us to the elevator, where she smiled to us and said something along the lines of too many stairs. We hopped in and soon enough we made it to Alex and the rest of the gang.
When we needed a person, God sent us Rajska. She helped us get through the hospital, helped talk to the nurses and gave us rides multiple times. She was such a huge blessing.
Mrs. Goad came to help Alex recover and also brought us snacks from the United States ,but she also brought stories of how God worked to get her out to Montenegro to be with her daughter. It was awesome hearing how God showed up and provided.
During this time I learned to trust God in the interruptions. He walks us through them for a reason and its up to us to respond in love and see how can best serve those around us. Even when there are interruptions, He provides… for example we burned up our local transport budget pretty fast due to the hospital visits, but He threw in several free rides from the hospital to our lodging just because He could.
After Kotor, we spent several days in Tivat for debrief. One of the teachings was on Jesus and how he was interrupted by a sick woman on his way to heal a dying girl. A synagogue leader came to Jesus and pleaded that He come to his house because his only daughter of twelve was dying.
The passages reads…
Luke 8: 40-56
Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”
Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”
They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!”Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
What I love about this passage is that Jesus had a place to go, we could probably consider it a pretty important place. But He stopped for the one. Not only was Jesus interruptible, but He was patient, He was kind, He was love. Over and over in the Gospels, Jesus interrupts his agenda for those who have nothing to offer him but need everything from Him.
So many times I get caught up in what I need to do, I overlook or don’t even give those around me the time of day because I’m so focused on my agenda. The Lord was working on this before the race and has brought it back into full circle being on the race.
The last 6 months before the race I worked in center city Philadelphia. One of my favorite parts of working in the city were the daily interactions I had with those around me. Over the months, I got to know the ticket workers at the train station, janitors and security guards around the construction site. The conversations were usually brief, but I enjoyed hearing about how their day was going, their kids, what they were doing that weekend, or advice they had for the young kid talking to them. Over those 6 months, it was a blast getting to know them. I looked forward to the end of the day and those conversations. We would celebrate when they told me about their promotion and that they’d be starting a new job soon and bittersweet goodbyes when I wouldn’t be seeing them around anymore. They became a part of my day that I really enjoyed and I miss the seeing them around.
Its so easy to be interruptible when I’m not in a rush or I had a good day. I can recall one evening when I was rushing to get out of the city. After finishing work, I clipped my hard hat to my backpack and started making my way down Arch St. At the 7/11 there was a man asking for money. I made eye contact, smiled and kept going. I felt a hint of guilt as walked by, but I was in a rush because I had a bible study with Mr. Plummer in about an hour and a half, and I wanted to beat the I-95 traffic. So I kept going down the street.
As I approached our old offices, I stopped by to wash up before heading to my car. As I was drying my hands, I felt the Lord convicting me for walking by. I thought to myself, what are you doing Jesse? You’re rushing to a bible study, a place where you go to learn and talk about Jesus and His love. You had a perfectly opportunity to love someone, but you passed it up so you wouldn’t be late. How messed up is that? I turned around and made my way back down Arch St. Thankfully the gentleman was still there and I asked him if he wanted something to eat. We walked in and I told him get what you’d like. We talked briefly, he told me he had just gotten out of jail and was getting back on his feet. It didn’t matter what his situation was, what mattered was he was asking for help and at first I walked by because of my own agenda.
I tell this story because of how easy it sometimes is for me to put my agenda before loving and serving those around me. I almost didn’t stop for someone in need because I wanted didn’t want to be late to a bible study. A Bible study of all places, if I arrived late, Mr. Plummer wasn’t going to give me hours… I had already graduated, he wasn’t going to be mad or disappointed. I thank the Lord for His heart and conviction and the challenge to turn around and go back. Turns out even with stopping for this gentleman, I arrived early with plenty of time.
Being on the race the Lord has challenged me to submit to His mission and not my mission. I’ve learned that He doesn’t give us a crazy itinerary of things to do, but instead He gives us people to love. This idea I can take everywhere, but comes down to the daily decision to consciously submit to His mission and not to my agenda. I’m not perfect at it, but seeing Jesus’ example encourages me greatly.
I think Bob Goff says it very well, “Living a life of following Jesus means constant interruptions.”
Being interruptible allows God to use you in ways you never saw coming. He surprises you when you to stop for the one or ones that are on His heart.
Alex has been recovering very well, sometimes she doesn’t even wear the brace… prayers for continued healing and recovery would greatly be appreciated. Thank you!
More blogs to come, I apologize for being behind, blogging has never been my cup of tea. I know the race is slowly coming to an end and I don’t want to still be writing blogs in January. Thank you for bearing with me. God bless!
Over and over in the Gospels, Jesus interrupts his agenda for those who have nothing to offer him but need everything from Him.
Boundless in Risan…
Kotor overlook…
Tivat Debrief…
