Project Description

MOVE, (Missionary Outreach Volunteer Evangelism) is a volunteer-staffed, faith-based missionary training school located near Orange Walk, Belize. MOVE exists to inspire, equip and mobilize missionaries to meet practical needs and give the three angels' messages of hope and warning to all the world in these end times. The mission reports posted here are stories of MOVE missionaries from all around the world, as well as updates from our campus.

Sunday, January 05, 2014

A dream of music sends a man to church.


While distributing food baskets for the project Serviendo con Amor[i] with my in-laws' church, my group visited Don Felipe. Don Felipe is 97 years old and lives alone. We found him preparing breakfast with his cowboy hat on. He pulled up some chairs for us and then took a seat in the hammock. He used to make brooms and sell them but now his fingers aren’t nimble enough and his sight is failing. He has family that visits him every couple of weeks, and God always provides. “I always have something to eat" he assured us.
“Would you like us to sing for you? Do you have a favorite hymn?” we asked.
“When the roll is called up yonder.” He responded immediately. “This song brought me to the truth. When I was young I had a dream where I heard the music as if it were passing by my house, but when I woke up I heard nothing. I only had the strong impression that I should go to church the coming Saturday. There was only one church in town that met on Saturday, and that was the Adventist church. The next Saturday I met up with a friend and I asked him when was the last time he thought of going to church. I told him about my dream and the strong impression that followed, and he said,
‘Well, let’s go then, what are we waiting for?’ He threw away his cigarettes and I threw away mine and we went to church! After the service my friend and I stayed around and I asked if anyone knew the song I had heard in my dream. I still had the melody clear in my head, so I whistled a little piece, and right away the brothers said;
‘Hey, we have that one in the hymnal!’
And wouldn’t you know, it was ‘When the roll is called up yonder! So now you know why I like that song so much. And you know, I never left the church since that day!”
            Don Felipe never knew how that song got stuck in his dream. Maybe his angel sung it in his ear, or who knows, maybe some faithful soul, joyful in the promise of a soon coming savior, was whistling on his way to work early in the morning.

Work together!
Brother Silvestre, a thin elderly man with a white mustache, is Don Felipe’s son. He had the sermon this last Sabbath. He said that when he used to do door-to-door work he met a man, a former Adventist who told him “I have three blows against you. If you can answer them, then I’ll listen to you. First of all there is this brother X that goes to your church. He is so unloving.”
In response, Silvestre told the man a story:  “There was a farmer who planted his whole field full of radishes, and just a few tomatoes. Hardly anybody bought the radishes, but the tomatoes sold very well at a high price. Is there a shortage of love in the church? Don’t leave! Plant something worthwhile! Plant some love and kindness!” Brother Silvestre never did tell us how the man liked his answer, nor what the other two “blows” were, but I thought his little parable was worth sharing. But the next story he told was one I will never forget:  
"There was a small boy who was lost in a huge rice field. The rice was thick and lush and as high as an elephant’s eye. The boy’s parents searched and searched and called and called to no avail. They called the neighbors and the local authorities, and soon a large force of search and rescue volunteers showed up to help. Everyone struck out into the field, but after hours of fruitless searching they were ready to give up. Finally someone had the idea that they link hands and form a chain that spanned the entire width of the field. The search began again, but together this time. The rescuers systematically covered every inch of that rice field. Somewhere in the middle they found the boy. Sadly, it was too late. He was already dead.”
            How much more could be done if we as churches would organize ourselves in united and intentional soul winning? How many are dying today because we each launch off on our own individual endeavors without bothering to involve others, or worse still, never go to work at all? May God give us more love for the perishing, and a sense of urgency that will inspire us to more fervent and united action!


[i] "Serving with love" The project was planned on Sabbath afternoon at the Belize mission congress. (See post below.)
Don Felipe
Taking food baskets door-to-door
Organizing at the church

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