As we approach the t minus 7 months and counting mark in the countdown towards our move, a number of (well-meaning) friends, family and acquaintances have questioned our motivation, logic and to some extent, our sanity.
Each query was presented out of genuine concern and interest for our well-being. And in each event came a pause for some reflection on our part. Have you ever had to explain something you did, or wanted to do, that seemed to defy at a few cosmic laws, if not a least one universal constant?
Let's fire up the Way Back Machine for 1991....our church was putting together its first missions trip. Destination: Victoria, Mexico. The announcement was made at service one Sunday and you'd expect one's motivation for going to be some selfless desire to help their fellow man....close, well almost close...my motivation was a little less altruistic. I wanted to go because it was a trip to Mexico and other people would help pay my way.
Needless to say it was a humble beginning for a now future missionary.
The team included quite a mix of talent from preaching, praise and worship, drama, kid's ministry and a construction crew. The people of Victoria were prayed for, entertained, ministered to, and had a new church building before we left. Even though I was in the midst of the ministry action, it was on the work site I caught my first glimpse into what missions was all about.
The scene looked like this: The church building is almost complete. Bob (from our church) is on a ladder running the wiring. Chewie (the church's pastor) is holding the ladder steady on the uneven dirt floor. As men from almost every nation and ethnic background will do under such conditions...they started a conversation. They chatted about their backgrounds, travels, hobbies, kids, etc...and in the midst of it all Chewie asked Bob to tell him about their church building back in Florida. Bob paused, looked down, and explained we didn't have a church building....yet. Chewie would have been less amazed if Bob said we met in a sanctuary that held 100,000 people and had water slides. This Mexican pastor, who currently held his services in an empty lot next to a tortilla bakery, couldn't believe any church would voluntarily give of their people and resources to provide total strangers with a building, when they didn't have a building of their own first. He stopped short of calling us loco. But it doesn't stop here......
Chewie (at this time a trifle teary-eyed) humbly explained that just a few months previous his congregation had enough money to buy the supplies and hire the workers to put up their building. But when informed that a sister church had a financial emergency, Chewie and his flock, gave away their entire building fund. And he thought we were crazy??
It was a few days after they emptied their bank account Chewie received a call about a church in Orlando who had a team available to come down and put up their building, and pay for all the supplies. Coincidence, right?
Fast forward to the next day.....the big grand opening....the first service in this new building. Chewie is standing by the front door, beaming, grinning from ear to ear, ready to cut the ribbon. Can you imagine his emotions? The joy? The happiness??? It was at this moment I realised that giving and receiving are inseparable.... that this series of acts of selflessness and obedience would affect countless lives... that what had been done here would make a difference... it was a glimpse into a different reality...it was a step that would be followed by others, and lead to where we are today.
One story might not fully explain why we're doing this, but it is a start....and there will be more stories to come. The big question is ....do you want to be part of them????
