Peru Part 2

Peru Part 2

NOTE: This is a word I shared with our church last weekend. I felt
though it is directed at our church, there are some things that the church as
a whole can get from it and therefore I am posting it the way it is.

This was a rough trip. It wasn’t hard in the things we did. It wasn’t
hard because I got sick. It wasn’t hard because I brought my son and not
my wife. It wasn’t hard because he was correcting me. It wasn’t
hard because of any discipline or anything. It wasn’t hard for anything
you would expect. It was a hard trip because the Lord had some lessons He wanted
to teach me.

1. I would like to publicly say the team was awesome. Joe and Terisa did a
great job of leading and involving the whole team. Joe never needs to be in
front of anything, but he works very hard when it is time to be in the crowd.
Terisa is very multi-dimensional. I know her well as a co-worker, and know what
she is capable of, but was very surprised to see her doing things like playing
volleyball and interacting in a different way than on previous trips.
2. Mark. I must say I was proud of him. He and I have been taking Bible College
courses together and it was very exciting to see my brother do so well. I almost
cried when I watched him give his first alter call on the trip. Almost all of
the 100 people came forward to accept Christ.
3. Maggie was a trooper. She always made sure there was prayer before a ministry
opportunity. She did a great job of coordinating the food preparation for the
outreach as well.
4. Our youth were awesome. The trip was rewarding for me just to be a proud
papa. As the youth leader I was so proud of God and our youth watching them
devote themselves to everything and everyone. Emily was always smiling and loving.
Natalie blew me away by just jumping into everything and moving so naturally.
Nathan was a wonderful son and teammate on this trip. He stepped way out of
his comfort zone and did things I never thought he would do in the name of Jesus.
You guys made the last six years of ministry seem so much more valuable by watching
Christ in you over the trip.

There were funny things that happened on this trip, but I think I will surprise
everyone and not talk about them. I think there are some things that happened
on this trip that really apply to our church.

1. Level of intimacy. I noticed this several times, but mostly when Nathan
and I were sick. We were driven to a doctor, then through the city and the jungle
back to our camp. During this time I noticed the man driving the truck had communicated
with well over 40 people. Some of this happened at 70 mph while someone was
facing the same direction as us and turning left away from us. I would see Peruvians
everywhere I looked, but this man saw friends. I got to thinking, how many people
could I know was I the one driving the truck in our neighborhood?
2. Being separated from the body while I was sick. This was very hard for me
to be away from the work. Our church is a church of workers. This is where most
of our fellowship happens. It was very hard for me to keep away, and to be honest,
I pushed myself to give the appearance of being well because I was lacking the
body.
3. Speaking the language of the “other”. On previous trips I have
been afraid of really trying to do this. This year I purposed in my heart to
speak their language as much as possible. I spoke a whole message in Spanish
by reading the evangecube message. I feel me trying to connect with them on
their level was more important than it was to have to go through any filter
or have them connect on my level.
4. Prayer. At the crusade, I prayed for a young paralyzed boy. I prayed for
him for a long time, and found myself trying to convince God to heal him. I
also tried to reason with God and debate with Him to heal the boy. I came to
a point where God just said, “HEY”, and in an instant I understood
that there was nothing I could do or say that would sway Him more than He was
already swayed. I learned to pray in a more simple fashion, like, “God,
you know this person and love this person; you know what they need, please release
the grace necessary for this person to walk further in You.”
5. Prayer again. I almost feared being on the front line of prayer because of
last year. Last year I had a paralyzed boy that I prayed for first. I saw him
stand before my very eyes last year. I was completely exhausted after praying
for that boy last year. I ended up not being able to pray for anyone else to
be healed at the crusade after praying for him. I asked God last year not to
have to pray for such “impossible” things again as it had worn me
down physically and broke my heart emotionally.

This year, the first day we were on the front line God wanted to start trouble
with me. He knew what I wanted, but He wanted to teach me something else. He
had a woman run from the other side of the stadium to find me and grab me to
pray for this paralyzed boy. When I got there, before the previous lesson, there
was no time to get frustrated with God for knowing I will only end up praying
for one person tonight. I jumped in and started praying until I got the release
and learned the other lesson. Then I asked God why it went this way. “Why
did I have to be the one to pray for an “impossible” situation?”
Dad answered me with this word. It is a word for the church, as much as it is
a word for me personally. God said to me that He called me to an “impossible”
task that I might see Him. It brought to my mind how many “impossible”
things I have been through before. It brought to my mind how there were things
that were impossible to get out of, but mandatory to go through.

FROM MY JOURNAL:
The Lord told me He purposely calls me to such tasks, knowing they are the most
outwardly impossible. He has told me that these are the works I have been called
to.

This was also a picture of our church. We are called to this. This is a work
that others have considered and even tried, but failed because of different
reasons. If it is going to happen, it is going to be God’s work.