Greetings from the MOVE[i]
mission campus near Orange Walk, Belize! This is a good place to be for
Christmas! Lyli and I came to attend “In the Power of His Might,” a three-day mission
congress to motivate the local churches to get more involved in both local and
foreign mission work.[ii] A
few days before the congress, Keila Valenzuela, co-director of MOVE, called and
urged us to come as soon as possible to help with the preparations. We arrived
on Tuesday the 17th. It has rained nearly every day, and the roads
to the planned conference location became impassible. Keila was obliged to
change the venue to the MOVE campus. The logistical pressure that ensued
revolved around housing the nearly one hundred attendees who were registered
for the full weekend. Camping in the rain would be miserable. Some guests would
stay in the homes of the MOVE volunteers, but what about the rest? Providentially,
there are several buildings under construction and one was ready for the roof.
Some quick calculations insured that it would be just enough space to shelter
the remaining visitors. So I joined the roofing crew. Two of them I knew from
Bolivia: Samuel, a former student and graduate of UETIRG, and Edwin, previously
a volunteer at the TV station in Santa Cruz and the Familia Feliz boarding
school! Both are now volunteers at MOVE and loving it! I also really enjoyed
getting to know Joel, a law student specializing in religious liberty at
Duke University and former mission volunteer in Ethiopia and South Sudan. Turns
out we more than likely played together at pastors’ retreats when we were kids,
as our dads were pastors in the same district.
From the roof I could see workers pitch the big tent for the
main meetings while others dug holes and put up tarp covered scaffolding for
some improvised outhouses nearby. Other tarpaulins accommodated the seminar
sessions. Perry Karges, a heavy equipment operator who hales from North Dakota
installed two additional tanks on the water tower. But there was even more
happening than met the eye: in the cafeteria, Ray, a young volunteer from
Mexico Missions and Beyond[iii]
installed an entire wall complete with a tiled serving deck. Inside sister
Betty and others took turns cooking meals while Lyli helped Keila, Phoebe, and
Katie prepare materials for the congress: name tags, schedules, signs, and
more. In the evenings we practiced music.
Thursday afternoon, we fastened the last piece of sheet metal
on the roof, just moments before the arrival of another downpour, and about three
hours before the arrival of the guests for registration! How rapidly the work
is done when we work together with a will, each one in their assigned place! During
the congress they continued to keep us busy! Lyli led song service, I played
the piano, did some impromptu translating to English or Spanish as the case
required, and shared about the school in Bolivia. I also had one general
session about the role of music in the last days.
The conference was phenomenal, and the Holy Spirit worked
mightily despite our deficiencies. There was a rugged joy in slogging through
the mud to sing “onward, forward”[iv]
and listen to inspiring stories of faith, courage, and answered prayer from
brothers and sisters from around the world. God is using diverse people in
different places in fabulous ways!
After one stirring talk in the cafeteria I noticed a young
man sitting alone at the adjacent table. I introduce myself and asked him how
he was enjoying the congress.
“I just don’t know what to do” he replied. “I know God is calling
me to do something but I don’t know where to go or how to start!” His answer
took by surprise. His name is Damian, he is 21 years old, and he just started
going to church again about a month ago! There are major problems in his family
right now, and he is tired of it. He wants a different kind of life, something
real, something meaningful. Thank God, who always has just what we need, and privileged
me with words to encourage Damian. I reminded him of Abraham who responded to
God’s call without knowing where he was going or what he would do when he got
there. God doesn’t often show us the final destination, but he promises to
guide us and teach us all along the way and invites us to trust him with everything. I encouraged Damian to make that decision. I
don’t know where God will lead Damian, but I suggested that he prayerfully
consider the missionary training course at MOVE that begins this February as a
good option to start with.
Another exciting thing about the mission congress was the
opportunity to recruit prospective volunteers for this next school year. Ricci
and George, for example, are getting married next month and afterward they want
to come work with us in Bolivia. She is a science teacher and he has experience
in carpentry and farming! What a valuable addition to the team! We are praying
that God will open and close doors according to His will.
Give for the love of God
“We can see only a little way
before us; ‘but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom
we have to do.’ He never becomes confused. He sits above the confusion and
distractions of the earth, and all things are opened to His divine survey; and
from His great and calm eternity He can order that which His providence sees is
best. If we were left to ourselves to plan, we should make mistakes. Our
prejudices, our weaknesses, our self-deceptions, and our ignorances would be
manifest in many ways. But the work is the Lord's, the cause is His; He never
leaves His workmen without divine directions” My Life Today p. 14
On Sabbath afternoon it was time to practice what we
preached. All of us divided into groups according to our home church[v] or
mission project and organized a service activity to do within the next three
weeks. Lyli and I joined the MOVE staff and planned a Christmas Eve concert to
hold in the Orange Walk town plaza. In
one rare moment when not on the piano, I walked around the perimeter of the
plaza handing out literature. “Yeah, and God bless right?” a young man with his
wife and kids said as he received a tract. “God’s not blessing me tonight nor tomorrow.” He
answered his own question. At first it was hard to tell if he was just messing
with me or if he was serious. He certainly looked and sounded serious enough.
“I
don’t got nothin’ to give to my kids for Christmas. I’ve got to find someone to
rob or somethin’ ‘cause God, ya know, sometimes He’s there for you and
sometimes he’s not.” That was an extremely awkward moment for me as I tried to
process how I should respond. Finally I just handed Him the only cash I had
with me, while wondering if that was really the best response I could give.
Maybe he was lying, and even if he wasn’t, why should I help someone who spoke
openly of robbing people, and in front of his children at that? Then the Holy
Spirit seemed to smack me over the head. Why
should I always filter my giving based on whether I think they deserve it, or
what they might to do with the gift? What if God based his giving on such
criteria? He bestows a myriad gifts,
good and perfect on an ungrateful and undeserving race: the pleasant perfume of
the flowers, every breath of life-giving air, the joy of a genuine smile, the
delightful flavor of a favorite fruit—oh, how he loves this old world, despite its
rottenness! What perfect magnificence, what benevolent mercy, what unfathomable
love! He took the biggest risk, gave the greatest gift of all in the life,
death, and service of his only son, Jesus Christ. He gives it to everyone, knowing
that even those of us who claim to love Him will kill His son all over again. And
again. And again. For all practical purposes He is squandering His resources on
millions who will never reciprocate His love: no acknowledgements, no surrendered
heart or dedicated life, not even simple thanks? Instead, many return their
gifted breath in blasphemies. Why does He keep giving? How does He do it? And
more importantly, what even remotely valid excuse is left to me for NOT giving?
Well, maybe I have one excuse: my proud, ugly, sinful, human heart that needs
to be transformed by divine grace. My first work is to learn to give Him that.
[i]
MOVE (Mission Outreach and Volunteer
Evangelism) is a bilingual missionary training school. Classes open this February.
For more information, go to http://www.movetraining.org/
and http://www.gospelministry.org/belize-volunteer-center/
[ii]
Guest speakers included Lowell Jenks (South Sudan, Africa), Jonathan Lovitt
(Darjeeling, India), Jeff Sutton, (Belize), Ruan Swanepoel (Colombia) among
others. You can listen to recorded sessions below.
[iii]
Mexico Missions and Beyond builds churches all over Mexico during Christmas
vacation. When Ray first started working with them he says he knew almost
nothing about construction. You would never know by watching him now. Ray is a
great example of how God multiplies the talents of those who willingly employ
themselves in His service. For more information go to http://www.mexico-missions.org/
[iv]
From the hymn “Sound the Battle Cry.”
[v] At
least 7 different churches were represented, including my in-laws’ church
from across the border in Mexico.
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| Part of the MOVE campus |
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| The house I helped roof. It will serve as a girls' dorm. |
