Car tuned up and ready to go?....Check! Video presentation and DVD player?....Check! Display?....Check! Computer?....Check! Hot and cold weather clothing?....Check! Church directory and appointment book?....Check! GPS and maps?....Check! Emergency tools?....Check, check and double check!!!! Okay, let’s load up and head out!!
Saturday, August 8, at 4:00 a.m., Mike and I got into our ’95 Jeep Grand Cherokee and left my parents home in Grand Prairie, Texas, to begin an 8,000 mile trip around the perimeter of the United States. Since Mike has to see the doctor in New York again in October, we felt that, rather than go back to Honduras and then return to the States so soon, the wisest thing would be to just stay in the States and report to some of our supporting churches. Because of ministry and health issues, it has been nearly ten years since we have visited some of them!
Being Independent Baptist missionaries, there are certain things that are required of us that are not necessarily required of other missionaries. For example, in Southern Baptist circles, after being approved, missionaries are given a salary by their convention of churches and after some training and/or language school, they can go on to their field of service. The advantage of this system is that they usually get to their appointed field fairly quickly. The disadvantage is that, many times, the missionaries and the churches that support them never meet and they may or may not ever see the faces of those who have been reached by their cooperative ministries.
Before we went to Honduras, it was necessary for us to go on “deputation”, or in other words, to make appointments and visit churches all around the country and share with them our call and burden for the people of Honduras. These churches were then given the opportunity to join us in reaching the lost and establishing churches in Honduras by supporting us with their prayers and/or monthly finances. If they decided to help us, then it was up to each church to decide how much they would or could send each month. It is also customary that, after serving a term (usually three to four years) on the foreign field, you return to the States and personally report to those supporting churches, sharing with them how their mission money is being used and what God has done. Most missionaries are usually eager to share slides or videos of their ministries and the people in their chosen field of service.
The one “negative” of getting mission funds in this way is, that it takes longer to get to your field and begin the work to which God has called you. I believe that the average time needed for most missionaries to raise their support is about two and a half to three years. I have heard of it taking up to as long as four years for some. When your heart longs to be where God has called you, doing His work, this can be a bit discouraging. But, God blessed us and we had our necessary support within about a year and a half. (I think one thing that we had working to our advantage, was the fact that we had been in full time Christian service for a little more than 20 years, 14 of which Mike had served as the pastor at Faith Baptist Church in Tacoma, WA.) Even though this way of getting support money takes more time, I believe missionaries under this system receive many more benefits and blessings, blessings which those “non-traveling” missionaries miss out.
One of the blessings for us was that we got to travel and see the United States! We have been in every state but Hawaii! Our children were older teens during this time and we looked at this as a great opportunity to visit many of the well known sites of which all four of us had studied about in history books, but had never seen them personally. We tried to take the time to visit these places that had played such an important part in the history of our nation. And as we did so, many times, I felt overwhelmed and close to tears as I thought of the struggles, the great sacrifices and lives lost to, first, give us our freedom and then, to help guarantee that future generations could live in freedom. We visited places like Gettysburg, the homes of Washington, Jefferson and Lee, our nation’s first capitol, Philadelphia, which was where the Declaration of Independence was drafted and signed. We also visited the Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Vietnam Memorial, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, just to name a few! What a tremendous thrill and blessing this was for, not only our children, but for Mike and I, too.
And more importantly, through the years, as we have visited churches all around the nation, we have had the privilege of meeting some of the greatest and most faithful servants of God in America! Some are pastors that have preached the unsearchable riches of Christ Sunday after Sunday, year after year.… and they have preached without compromise or apology.
And it’s not just these pastors that have made a difference in our lives, but we are also speaking of many of the men and women, teens and sometimes even children, who so generously have given and who faithfully pray for us! What a joy it is to see the faces of these people who are still faithfully serving in their churches each and every time we are there! What an encouragement it is, when some dear lady hugs my neck and tells me that they are so glad finally to meet us because they have been praying daily for my husband’s health, our ministry and the people of Honduras. When we are going through some difficulty, some heartache, or just feeling a bit lonely or homesick, you better believe that God brings to mind one of these dear saint’s faces and their encouraging words. Or many times, we may get a card or letter assuring us that their church or prayer team is faithfully praying for us. I remember a little girl I met in Alaska who used all her birthday money to buy something to donate to their church’s mission closet, and the teenage girl in Washington who took a job cleaning her Aunt’s house to earn money to just so she could give it to one of our young Honduran girls to buy the school supplies she needed. Then there is the precious group of teens with their leaders from Tulsa, who came to Honduras to work and minister and made us cry with their beautiful songs of praise! There are so many precious people all over the United States that have shared their homes, meals, resources, and testimonies with us! I may not remember every name, or even every face, but their acts of kindness, their unselfish generosity and their love for the Savior, for missions, and for Mike and I will never be forgotten!!
Yes, the travel is time consuming - and living out of a suitcase for months at a time can be difficult. But, the blessing of going into so many wonderfully strong churches and meeting so many of our “family members”, our brothers and sisters in Christ, far outweighs any so called hardships we may go through.
So far, we have been in three churches in three different areas to present the ministry: Mesquite, TX; Grand Prairie, TX; and Las Cruces, New Mexico. What tremendous blessings to us all three of them were!Tonight we will be in a church in Prescott, Arizona, and Sunday in Chula Vista, California! This is just the beginning of our journey, a journey in which we will just be meeting more “family” along the way!
On another note, we have received word that Arlen and Jason Stephens are now feeling better and are in La Esperanza, thrilled to be working again among the Honduran people. The work continues there, and once again, we praise the Lord for the faithful workers He has given us.
Another praise item!!! This morning, Mike’s doctor in Arlington, TX, called him with the results of the PSA he had done a few days before leaving on this trip. You may remember that in May it was 4.9, in June 3.4 and this last one was 2.7!! Even though a PSA reading does not tell you if you have cancer or not, for Mike it is a good indicator as to which direction things are going. He will continue with his medication and we ask that you continue with your prayers! The Great Physician hears!
Also, PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR CAR! I am typing this as we travel and just in the last 20 minutes we have begun to hear a strange and unnatural rattle under the hood. Please pray that it is not a “death rattle”.
We will keep you posted as often as possible as we continue on this adventure for God!
God bless you all!!
No comments:
Post a Comment