We were trying to cool off in the warm tropical afternoon by soaking in the local swimming hole. Our mission to the Dominican Republic had occupied our morning with Vacation Bible School and we were all ready for a break. A waterfall cascaded thirty feet or more feet into a pool that a few locals knew about, including Daniel who grew up here. He was standing on the bank and was now holding a brown bag I had not noticed before. He reached in and pulled out a fresh mango and tossed it to me.
I thought I knew how to eat a mango and it has always required a knife. I must have had a questioning look on my face as I held it up and looked at Daniel. He carried another mango with him back into the water and then said, “Watch.” He bit into the mango and began pealing it with his teeth. Mangos can be messy but there was no need to worry about that surrounded by flowing water. I followed his lead and found it to be the most delicious mango I had ever eaten. Not only that, I found that it was fun to eat a mango the way the natives did.
It always amazes me how something as small as eating a mango or sharing a meal can help you relate to someone. Being able to relate can prepare you for sharing the gospel. When I talk to children I sit on the floor and get at their eyelevel. That helps them see me and helps me see them where they are. When I meet someone new I want to know what he or she likes. If I can find a way to identify with them it will help me communicate the gospel. It is not enough to be heard we also need to be understood.
Lottie Moon was criticized in her day for dressing in Chinese attire. Yet, she reached the people and today we remember her for being a visionary as well as a missionary. Paul said, “I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.” (1 Cor. 9:22, HCSB)
Look around you and see if you can discover new ways to relate to the people you meet. What can we do, what changes can we make that will help us present the gospel to those who need to hear and understand? Are we willing to become all things to all people for the gospel?
Bro. Robin
Friday, August 12, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Angel
As we flew into New York City the Statue of Liberty greeted us off the left side of our plane. For a moment we were so captured by the sight that we put aside the thought that our next flight was only an hour away and we would be very pressed for time. There had been a medical emergency on board and we would have to wait for paramedics before we could leave the plane. By the time we walked out we now had forty-five minutes.
As we entered the airport we looked for directions. I turned left, then right, and spotted a man in a suit wearing official looking badges. I walked up to him.
“Excuse me, can you tell me the fastest way to our next flight?” I showed him my boarding pass.
“Uh, you’re never going to make that.” He looked behind me and saw the rest of our group. “You need to follow me. How many are in your group?”
“Seven,” I said, as we followed him at a fast pace to a door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONELL ONLY.
“You are going to have to stay close together. We only have a few seconds before an alarm sounds so we need to all go in together.” He swiped his key card and we followed him down a stairway to another door that let us out on the tarmac. Outside there was a bus parked that he loaded us on and then got in the driver’s seat. “You asked the right person.” He said.
“This was God,” I replied. “We are on a mission trip and God is taking care of us.” He laughed in agreement as he drove us around the airport and stopped at another door.
“We have to stay together just like last time.” He swiped his card and held the door as we all ran up the stairs and opened a door into the airport.
We found ourselves standing by our gate as the plane was being loaded. We made it by the grace of God and the help of an “angel.” He did not follow us up the stairs and we never saw him again. We gave him our thanks many times as he escorted us. We debated whether he was a real supernatural angel or just a man God used as one. I suppose it doesn’t matter. There were too many factors for this to be coincidence. God was there taking care of us, getting us to our fight to go on mission for him.
We saw God move many times on our Mission to the Dominican Republic. We give him the glory for eight souls saved, four churches ministered to, well over a hundred children and youth in three days of Vacation Bible School, and countless lives touched with the Gospel, including our own. Hebrews 4:12 begins, “For the word of God is living and active…” Sometimes we get to experience his word.
Bro. Robin
As we entered the airport we looked for directions. I turned left, then right, and spotted a man in a suit wearing official looking badges. I walked up to him.
“Excuse me, can you tell me the fastest way to our next flight?” I showed him my boarding pass.
“Uh, you’re never going to make that.” He looked behind me and saw the rest of our group. “You need to follow me. How many are in your group?”
“Seven,” I said, as we followed him at a fast pace to a door marked AUTHORIZED PERSONELL ONLY.
“You are going to have to stay close together. We only have a few seconds before an alarm sounds so we need to all go in together.” He swiped his key card and we followed him down a stairway to another door that let us out on the tarmac. Outside there was a bus parked that he loaded us on and then got in the driver’s seat. “You asked the right person.” He said.
“This was God,” I replied. “We are on a mission trip and God is taking care of us.” He laughed in agreement as he drove us around the airport and stopped at another door.
“We have to stay together just like last time.” He swiped his card and held the door as we all ran up the stairs and opened a door into the airport.
We found ourselves standing by our gate as the plane was being loaded. We made it by the grace of God and the help of an “angel.” He did not follow us up the stairs and we never saw him again. We gave him our thanks many times as he escorted us. We debated whether he was a real supernatural angel or just a man God used as one. I suppose it doesn’t matter. There were too many factors for this to be coincidence. God was there taking care of us, getting us to our fight to go on mission for him.
We saw God move many times on our Mission to the Dominican Republic. We give him the glory for eight souls saved, four churches ministered to, well over a hundred children and youth in three days of Vacation Bible School, and countless lives touched with the Gospel, including our own. Hebrews 4:12 begins, “For the word of God is living and active…” Sometimes we get to experience his word.
Bro. Robin
Packing
Whenever I get ready for a mission trip it is hard to think of anything but what I need to pack. I make my lists, pile everything on the floor, pack it all in, then start pulling out those things I don’t really need. It is all too easy to over pack and over think the details.
I remember some of the things we have packed on mission trips. One year we took oatmeal cream pies. By the time we took them out they were mashed so flat we referred to them as crepes. We knew cookies would never survive the trip so Joyce made us energy balls out of peanut butter, wheat germ, and other things. They mashed together and became cubes but were still very tasty. Our driver could not get enough of them!
I always tell team members to bring old clothes to give away. One year we were constantly bugged by a craft dealer who tried every day to sell us his wares. We figured out he liked to barter and many of us traded our old clothes for some nice souvenirs. Everyone was happy.
Packing can be a good spiritual exercise. It forces us to prioritize. You are limited by space and guided by the activities that are planned. We Americans have too much stuff. We have a hard time deciding what to take to go share the gospel with people who are blessed if they have a change of clothes.
When Paul was in prison he wrote to Timothy and asked for three things. “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.” (2 Timothy 4:13 ESV) He wanted a warm coat, His bible, and his personal notes. Very likely he was arrested with only the clothes on his back. These were his few most important possessions.
I think I need more than that to ride comfortably on an airplane. I look at my carry-on pile and I am with Paul for about a second. I see my Bible, journal, and passport. Then I also see a pillow, earplugs, medicine, flashlight, phone, and a laptop. Okay, I’m just getting started. But what do I really need besides the first three? What do you really need? All we really need is Jesus. That is why we go.
Bro. Robin
I remember some of the things we have packed on mission trips. One year we took oatmeal cream pies. By the time we took them out they were mashed so flat we referred to them as crepes. We knew cookies would never survive the trip so Joyce made us energy balls out of peanut butter, wheat germ, and other things. They mashed together and became cubes but were still very tasty. Our driver could not get enough of them!
I always tell team members to bring old clothes to give away. One year we were constantly bugged by a craft dealer who tried every day to sell us his wares. We figured out he liked to barter and many of us traded our old clothes for some nice souvenirs. Everyone was happy.
Packing can be a good spiritual exercise. It forces us to prioritize. You are limited by space and guided by the activities that are planned. We Americans have too much stuff. We have a hard time deciding what to take to go share the gospel with people who are blessed if they have a change of clothes.
When Paul was in prison he wrote to Timothy and asked for three things. “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.” (2 Timothy 4:13 ESV) He wanted a warm coat, His bible, and his personal notes. Very likely he was arrested with only the clothes on his back. These were his few most important possessions.
I think I need more than that to ride comfortably on an airplane. I look at my carry-on pile and I am with Paul for about a second. I see my Bible, journal, and passport. Then I also see a pillow, earplugs, medicine, flashlight, phone, and a laptop. Okay, I’m just getting started. But what do I really need besides the first three? What do you really need? All we really need is Jesus. That is why we go.
Bro. Robin
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