I have taken much longer to get around to this post than what I had intended. To be completely honest, I was kind of avoiding it. How do you condense a whole year of incredible experiences into one final message. I got so intimidated just thinking about it.
The thing I have realized, is that I can’t. It would take volumes to capture all that I have experienced this year, and some things just can’t be expressed by words. As I sat and thought about each country and the people I met and the things we did, one common theme stuck out in my mind. Abundant grace.
Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
I have seen this kind of grace extended by the Lord, over and over again, in each place we have gone. This is God’s heart.
You may recall my story of the little boy in Mexico who had no legs. Looking back at this now, I see that this boy did not come to us asking for healing. His parents did not bring him to us and ask for healing. I do not doubt that this young boy and his parents probably cried out to God for mercy many times, but not this time. God in His great mercy, came to this boy through us. He brought that boy to my attention and lead me to watch them walk to their house so I could go find them. God led me and Jake to their door, seeking after them. God did not wait for them to be in the right place at the right time. God came to their door, and brought His love to them where they were. I do not know if that boy has legs today. I did not see a physical miracle occur when we prayed, but I did see healing in their hearts. God came to them through us.
In Guatemala, we met Marco Antonio. Marco was lost inside the bondage of addiction. In his dispair, he choose to confine himself to a glue induced haze to avoid the emptiness in his life. He did not come to a clinic or a church seeking answers, he was hopeless. When one has no hope, there is nothing to seek. But God does not wish that any should perish. God brought us to him; on the street, in his stuper, to reach out a hand. God came to offer him hope, when he thought there was none. Sadly, when the high wore off, the fear and pain were still too much to face. Marco chose to hold onto the glue, instead of grabbing onto Jesus. But I still have hope for him. Jesus does not give up on people who are hurting. I believe that Jesus will continue to pursue his heart.
Now imagine that you are a widow, all alone, living in the bareos of Nicaragua. Imagine that a group of Americans walk by and see you sitting on your rocking chair, and they come and ask if they can come in and talk. Who am I that these people would choose to come and see me? They came all this way, and all they want to do is sit in my living room and talk to me, to hold my hand and encourage me. Of all of the people they could spend their time with, why me? My own family and neighbors don’t even talk to me. Who am I that Christ would die for me?
In Costa Rica, it was Jose. He was a lonely and forgotten man. His heart was dull and his life was without joy. He came to the church nearby, but nobody seemed to notice him. Then a bunch of crazy Americans come and break into the routine. We cared for him in simple ways like cleaning up his dark and dirty home, bringing restoration. We did not know this man, but God did, and this was God’s heart; to bring restoration to his heart. We all have said, home is were the heart is. I believe that us going to clean up his house was symbolic of what God was doing in his heart. We cleaned out the cobwebs and brought in some light; God brought joy and vibrance back into his life. When we left, this formerly broken man was so full of life and joy. He was dancing and praising the Lord, and laughing at himself as he shared stories of his youth. God was not content to leave him alone in the darkness of lonliness and rejection. God came to bring him life and life abundant.
Marta is also from Costa Rica. She was desperate when her boyfriend again left her and this kids with nothing in the house. She could not feed her kids, and she had no one to watch them so she could get a job to support them. In her desperation, she reached out to the only hope she had. She came to the church, looking for just enough to get by, but she got so much more. Her daughter dissapeared one day, and she came to us for prayer and comfort. Her child had been chased by some men, but she was rescued by a man on a white horse and taken to her uncle’s house with only a few scratches on her face. Her daughter had been saved, but that wasn’t all. We had been discussing in our womens Bible study what it means to be the Body of Christ. Through this woman’s trials, we saw this church body come alive and stand in the gap for her and her kids. They bought her groceries, they babysat her kids, they visited her and embraced her. She came looking for just enough to get by, but she found a family and a God who would protect them and bless them beyond all she could ask for.
In Peru we met and adorable old couple, Emelio and his wife.When we shared with them about all that Jesus wanted for them, their hearts were awakened with a longing for more. They accepted Jesus into their hearts. As if that wasn’t enough, God took it one step furhter. We got news a few days later, that Emelio’s wife had died. How heartbreaking. When we went to visit Emilio, we found a man that was so greatful and full of peace. God had come to their door just in time. This was the most profound expression of gratitude I have ever seen. In the grief of loosing his wife, his life companion, this man was filled with love for the Lord because He came and saved his wife. This is the heart of God, that all would be saved.
Pillar and Danilla are teenage girls in the mountains of Peru. I met the on our door to door visits to Tumpa. We were trying to meet people and tell them about Jesus, to start a church there in this little mountain village. As I spoke to Pillar and she prayed to receive Jesus, it really occurred to me how unlikely this cituation was. I am a woman from Seattle, and I am with a guy from Lima, speaking to a young girl way out in the middle of no where. This doesn’t just happen. This wasn’t just cooincience. God had selected specific people from almost oposite ends of the world, to come together in this place, to deliver a message to a little girl. That is how much he valued that one little girl. He will go to any length to reach us.
Luis is a Peruvian man that we met at a bus stop in Argentina. He had made a mess of his life, but God gave him eyes to see into the spiritual realm and see the demons that were destroying him. He gave his life to the Lord and began trying to put his life back together. We also got in touch with his wife and were able to meet with her. She had been very wounded by her husband and lost faith in the church, but after we talked she decided to go find a church and try to reconcile with her husband. They were both broken and desperately in need of grace. God sent some random people from another country to break into their lives with a message of hope and reconciliation.
Mozambique was devistated by a flood. People were relocated into refugee camps, and left to fend for themselves. There was no government aid program. These people had no food, but God did not forget them. Iris ministries delivered food to each camp every few weeks. It was the only help they had. But that is not all they received. When we delivered food, we also shared about the love of Jesus. And to confirm that message, God showed up in power and healed many of them. The blind were able to see, the deaf were able to hear, the lame were able to walk. I don’t think they ever could have guessed that in the midst of depair, in a refugee camp with barely enough food to stay alive, they would be miraculously healed. Their government did not care about them, but their creator came to heal them and bring them hope and a new life.
There is a little girl in Swaziland named Donzula. She has been abused and assulted many times in the few years of her life. She was left bleeding in a ditch, when God sent an American girl to scoop her into her arms and care for her. This girl was sent to another continent to save a poor little abandoned and broken girl. But it doesn’t end there. A year later, he leads another team to search for her in the endless sea of faces in the slums of Swaziland. They didn’t have anything but a name. By God’s grace, they found that little girl. They held her and loved her. They shared Jesus with her family. And now another American family that has been sent to live in Africa, is there to make sure this girl is taken care of. She is just a tiny little abused and neglected girl from the slums of Swaziland, but she is precious to Jesus. He came to rescue her twice, and He will never forget her. She didn’t ask for Him, she had never heard of Him, but He knew her and He loved her, and He saved her.
We met so many children in South Africa trapped in this hopelessness. They are abused, neglected, forgotten. Many are orphaned by AIDS. But God has not forgotten them. He came to hold them, and to listen to their stories. He came to them in their despair and brought them hope and showered them with love.
In Thailand, God went to the darkest alleys, in the devil’s playground to find his precious daughters. These are the girls who have chosen prostitution as a means to provide for their families. They offer their prayers, insence, food and flowers to Budah on their way to sell their bodies to American and European tourists. They don’t know about Jesus, they have never even heard of God. But God came to them because He loves them. He met them where they are, in the midst of the darkness and corruption. He showed them they have a choice. He showed them that He will provide for their needs. He showed them that they are beautiful in His eyes and worth so much more than what any man could offer. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The whole nation of Cambodia has been devistated by a genocidal war. The memmorials are a constant reminder of the lives lost to the Khmer Rouge. The country is handicapped because of the exterination of educated citizens. The recovery prosess has been long and slow. Education in inconsistent, so there is little hope for progress. With Budhism dominating the culture, there is a constant pressure to prove your worth to your god and to your peers. But God is breaking through. He is offering hope through free education, and bringing the message of His salvation. He has even brought His message straight into a class of Monks. He opened their hearts enough to ask the right questions so that the message of His love and power could be freely shared. He is seeking the hearts of a nation that does not know Him. He is answering a cry deep in the hearts or men and women who do not even know they are desperate for His love.
Two young men go to China seeking adventure. How could they have known that while they were off exploring other cultures, a friend would die in an accident? What are the odds that he would be sitting among Christian missionaries in China when he read the email that told of his friend’s fatal crash. An atheist, consoled by a God he denies.
I myselft went on this journey with a desire to draw nearer to the Lord and grow in my faith. I received so much more than I ever hoped or imagined. The Lord revealed His tenderness as he unlocked my heart. He released my from the emotional wounds of rejection and broken relationships. He brought peace to my soul and joy to my heart. I discovered a new confidence in my identity as a child of the most high God. I built eternal freindships with my teammates. He released in me the gifts and passions He planted in my heart before I was born. He has increased my wisdom and passion beyond measure. I never knew how how much I was missing. Now I know that His mysteries are boundless, and He desires to bestowe us with endless treasures.
None of us deserve this. We don’t even know we need this. But God in His abundant mercy and grace offers us more than we could ask or imagine. That is the heart of God.
