When the World Runs Away

After walking through weeks of illness and spiritual fighting, I saw a break in the clouds today.  I think illness for any family is an unwelcome pain that everyone on some level can identify with.  It is no different for missionaries in fact, I sense a deeper level of loneliness when it strikes.  As one after another of our children has fallen to illness over these past two weeks, we've noticed our characters being refined and tested.  The illnesses have not yet ended.  What do we do?  Is this a common virus or is it something more serious? Do we wait or do we take them to the hospital to have it treated?  It can be unnerving to say the least. Without perseverance and prayer, the focus can often be redirected back to our agenda.

Today I saw this and seemingly in an instant I was reminded of the much bigger picture.  I was reminded of Whose show this really is.  This is a map that shows where students have come from to be at our school.  It is a map that demonstrates God's divine appointment with him for students from 30 different countries.  You see, Christianity spreads because Christians run into the line of fire while everyone else is running away.  When sure foundations are crumbling, it is men and women of God who not only take care of their own, but who reach out and lay hold of countless others in their community that are suffering.  If ever there is a billboard for freedom in Christ, it is Christians who openly run into situations that the world is fleeing from.
Have you ever been burned before?  Like, standing next to a campfire and the wind catches it just right and you're like, "ouch, that's hot!".  Or, like me, you've grabbed something off the stove and forgotten to grab a pot holder and you're like....OH MOMMA or insert your adjective here.  IT HURTS!  At those moments, I think about firemen, that run into buildings that people are running away from in hopes of saving even one person from that unbearable heat.  All of that at unfathomable risk to their own lives and it is done with remarkable bravery!  I marvel at their ability to do that, or at soldiers who defend at the cost of their own lives......it's bravery in face of a human will that says "run!" and for the cause of freedom, they say "no way!".  Wow!

During the time period that the plagues were gripping most of Europe, this was said of Christians. While all others are fleeing this desperate situation, they are coming to give aid and relief to people they don't even know.  They live well and they even die well.  There God is foreign to me, but I don't wish Him so.  I wish, I was this brave. (Author unknown).
God has a fire for all of us to run into.  The difference between doing in blindly and going with Him is that He is with you in the midst of that.  Since we've been here, I've sensed His great presence.  He surprises me with at at times and it is often too much for me to ascertain and contain.  I sense it most when I am running toward the fire and it is the delight of my heart.  In and of myself, I am not brave, but because He is with me, I love running towards the fire.  Christians; run toward the place that everyone else is running from.  With your hand in His hand, run toward the fire.

Praises:  God's ministry through our family is clear and evident and we are seeing Him move everyday here.

My shoulder is healing and I should be able to go back to the quarries soon to work with the men.

In addition to teaching Bible, counseling students, walking ministry and everything else I'm doing, I have recently had an opportunity to begin doing some discipleship with some guards from our school.  PRAISE GOD!!!

Prayer Requests:

Pray for our family and our family at Heritage as illness continues to plague us.

Our schedule is very very full with school.  Pray that we do not lose sight of our priorities of our Lord first, then family and then ministry. This is easy to do because we are always on the go.

Our elections are coming up on Feb. 18.  Please pray for God's peace over the place during that time.
Please keep praying for the 400 students at Heritage and that we (as a team) can continue to invest in them to the best of our ability.  This is the greatest thing that God has ever allowed me to do and I love daily giving the Gospel and watching it change lives.  WOOHOO!!!