Missions

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Thankful for our Family

January 4, 2012 in Devotional, Missions, Thanks by Dave | 2 comments

This Christmas season, we were able to return to the US to spend time with the family. Our days were full of visiting, catching up, eating (lots of eating), and just being together.

As we prepared to leave, Kelly’s mom asked what it was that we wanted to have for dinner. It was decided to prepare chicken and biscuits, a definite taste of home in then Yaple household. Still, while the meal was excellent, the preparation time is what really got me thinking. There was Kim, working into kitchen. Rebekah was there as well working alongside her, patting out biscuits onto a cookie sheet before baking. They were talking and laughing, pictures were being taken, memories shared. It was then that I was reminded that missionaries aren’t the only ones who make sacrifices.

How many moments in the kitchen has my mother-in-law missed because her granddaughter lived in a foreign country? How many meals has my Mom prepared for herself because her loved ones were far from home? We have are the ones who leave, but they are the ones who are left behind.

Nevertheless, we feel from our family nothing but support for what God is doing through us. I joked with a few Mexican friends as we were preparing for our trip that we were returning for the holidays because our parents had accused us of kidnapping their grandchildren, but nothing could be further from the truth. What happened to Jesus in Mark 3 (also in Matthew 12 and Luke 8 ) when Jesus’ mother and brothers had come to “collect” Jesus and take him home from his ministry has never been our concern. On the contrary, our parents have released us to the Lord, and pray constantly for the work that we are called to achieve. And even though my mom has wondered aloud on one occasion, “Why did He have to call you so far away?” Her sentiment was one of resignation preceded by, “When you were called by God to be a missionary, I gave you into His hands.”

And so, having returned to Mérida, reestablishing ourselves into our work and school schedules, I wanted to take time out to recognize the others who unselfishly gave so that we could be released to do what God has called us to do. Thanks Grandma G., Grandma Kim, Papa Dave, and all of the aunts and uncles (too numerous to type in a brief posting) for giving so that we could go. May God recognize and honor all that you have done, and bless you beyond measure because of it.

Tags: Family, Memories, Missions, Sacrifice

Beyond the GPS

November 2, 2011 in Language, Maya, Ministry, Missions by Kelly | Permalink

In this entry, cross-posted from her blog, Every Day is New, Kelly shares about her first visit to Cocoyol, the site of the first projection of the Jesus Film in Maya.

Cocoyol (coco – joel’). It isn’t on google maps, but it certainly exists. It took us over 3 hours to get there, which included a few wrong turns. It was raining during about half of our trip and raining when we arrived. Why did we go? To be part of a new work going on in Yucatan to start or “plant” new churches in the Mayan language. We are what you might call the “link” – hooking up those who have a vision to see the message of Jesus brought to people in their own language with a group of believers who have a desire and commitment to start a church, oh, and that speak both Maya and Spanish (that part is important!).

The Maya have been in math & history books, in several tourist guides and even in Hollywood, but I don’t think the current culture or people get that much publicity. In Cocoyol, we saw a snapshot of life for this indigenous people group.

It was a bit like entering any other small town at first glance. After we found the correct road, we traveled under a canopy of trees, that would have provided shade had it not been raining, and arrived at the “center of town” where the Catholic church and the local school were situated on two joining sides of a basketball court. The team had arrived before us, visiting the 100 families that make up this Maya community and letting them know about the event. Upon returning, they got to work setting up a portable screen and projector to show the Jesus film, not in Spanish but in Maya. “Wait!” you’re saying, “aren’t you living in Mexico?” Yes, yes we are. Although Spanish is the national language of Mexico, there are, according to Wikepedia, over 6 million indigenous Maya in 4 countries! And one of those is Mexico.

While the setup was taking place, I watched, snapped some photos, and spoke with the kids who were gathering. Fortunately, I didn’t need a personal translator since some of the kids were able to communicate in Spanish. I even got a few questions/words in English since some of the kids’ family members most likely have work in tourist areas. One particular boy acted as a sort of spokesman for the group; he even confiscated my camera and snapped a shot of Rebekah and me.

However, the kids spoke to each other in Maya, all the time. It was like being in another country for me. I knew that there were several families, even in the city where we live, who continued to speak Maya inside the home or between family members. There are older ladies in our church who help us with basic phrases to learn something new in their native tongue. But, hearing their everyday conversation being spoken in something other than Spanish was a bit surprising.

This was not the first time that the message of Jesus’ love had come to the small town. One boy told me of another group that had come on a few occasions (with a bigger screen!). The difference, we hope, is that the team’s goal is to come, to stay, and to speak their language. The Maya language. The team is not from America or Korea, but from a larger town in Mexico, about 30 minutes or so away. And they don’t plan on being a passing memory.

I played a small part, not being on the team and not speaking the language. Sure, I spoke Spanish and a few answered me in Spanish. I mainly talked and played with the kids. My kids and I taught them Simon Says and they taught us “veneno” (poison) which, fortunately, was a harmless game where they spun in different directions holding hands 😉 They practiced some English phrases and I practiced some Maya ones. They were amazed at the height of our daughter, who is 12 going on 13. I marveled at their ages being 12 and 17 and still being in the 3rd and 6th grades, respectively, of their elementary school.

It is clear we are very different, but we are loved by the same God. I am glad my God doesn’t speak to me in Mandarin or French or Turkish. Can you even imagine? . . . That is the idea behind this team and others that will follow in their footsteps and in the footsteps of Jesus – speaking the language of the people, sharing His beautiful words of life.

Kelly’s added a few of her photos from the trip to our photo album. You can view them all here.

Tags: Evangelism, Jesus Film Project, Maya, Missions

Road Trip!

September 13, 2011 in Maya, Ministry, Missions by Dave | 2 comments

View Trip through Yucatán in a larger map

I’m testimony to the fact that we live in the age of text messages and tweets. In fact, my last short term missions team was almost completely planned through Twitter, but, here in the Yucatan, there is still something special about that face to face meeting.

Yesterday was a case in point. Teaming up with Abel Can and Miriam Pech, our District Missions Director and Coordinator of Ministry to Ethnic Groups respectively, along with the support and training of Power to Change, we’re committed to planting churches among the Maya of the Yucatan. To make this vision a reality, we need the cooperation of several local pastors. These pastors are doing more than simply taking a course or receiving materials, they’re committing their congregations to the task of planting new, Maya speaking works, specifically 12 in the next year. This kind of request can’t be made via cell phone. It required a road trip.

As you can see from the map above, we started the trip at 7:30 AM in Merida. We made our way to 5 towns, speaking with pastors at each spot. Each meeting was face to face, explaining the plan and clarifying questions. The personal visit broke down barriers immediately. The time in each location enabled us form working relationships with each minister. Fifteen hours and 455 miles later, we were able to confirm the participation of seven additional pastors in this church planting movement.

But the time on the roads was much more than the task at hand. It was a chance to spend time with fellow laborers and hear their heart as well. At the pastor’s meeting in Tahdizbichen, I sat back and listened as Abel encouraged the pastors to expand their vision, to look beyond the four walls of the church and to seek to fulfill the Great Commission. The time spent on the roads was more than worth it to hear his message.

Sure, I’m still committed to tweeting with the best of them, but I’m also a firm believer that technology will never replace the value of the personal visit.

How about you? Do you agree, or do you think that technology will make personal meeting obsolete? Let’s hash out the pros and cons in the comments section.

Tags: face to face, Maya, Missions, team ministry

Back at It

August 25, 2011 in Language, Maya, Ministry, Missions, Progress by Dave | Permalink

At times, the plans that we make work out beautifully. On other occasions, things don’t come together in the way we expect. In the fall of 2008, I entered Itzamná, the Maya language school in the center of town, with the goal of getting a functional knowledge of the indigenous language still spoken by a large percentage of the inhabitants of the Yucatan. However, a household accident had one of the Godzwa parental team off of her feet for a few weeks that November, meaning carving out four hours from an already active schedule got increasingly more difficult. Needless to say, that attempt at learning Maya met with failure.

Still the resolve to try again stayed with me. The reasons for learning were solid; drawing near to the people and being able to share the good news of salvation with the Maya community in their own language are goals I consider necessary for long-term ministry success here on the peninsula. Also, returning to the Yucatan, we found that ministry opportunities, from small group sessions to church planting projects, for those who spoke Maya were abundant, so with a bit of chiding from Antonio Gamboa (above) I began my search again for a program to help me gain this essential tool.

This summer, I enrolled in a free class offered by a local university designed to give novices a chance to learn Maya, while giving professors a chance to polish their skills in the classroom. Last week I entered my first class. Each Friday, therefore, I’m being immersed for three hours in Yucatec Maya. From start to finish, we are being taught and asked to respond only in Maya. Needless to say it was a bit of a shock, but my hope is that, at the end of the 15 week course, I’ll be well on my way to realizing the goal that I set for myself in October of 2008: to learn the Maya language.

Tags: Dreams, Evangelism, Maya, Missions

Laying the First Stone

January 12, 2011 in Ministry by Dave | Permalink

On January first, instead of being in bed recouping from the events of the night before, we hopped in the STL vehicle and headed to Tunkas, where we had expected to go a few days before, for the laying of the first stone of the mission being planted by Pastor Eucebio Pech. I had been invited to preach the service by Manuel Diaz, the Regional Presbyter.

It was, in fact an opportunity that I had almost missed. I had been invited previously to preach this same service on the 25th of December, Christmas Day, but as we had already decided to spend that day at home as a family, I had had to say no. Fortunately, the calendars had been confused, and, when the confusion had been cleared, a way was made for me to participate.

This was the first time that we had ever attended a “stone-laying” service in this our 4th year of experience here in the Yucatán. In this case, all four missions overseen by Pastor Eucebio were present for the event. On the lot, where there had been not much more than a pile of rocks, there were now chairs and a tarp under which the groups assembled. Also there was a table on which was set a glass box. In the glass box was a Bible, a hymnal, a scroll, and a series of peso coins.

I asked Manuel about the box. He explained to me that the box would be set into the actual foundation of the church, where a cement vault had been prepared to receive it. The items in the box were symbolic: the Bible signified the beliefs upon which the church is founded, the hymnal signified the praise and adoration of that would be soon lifted up in that building, while the coins signified the prosperity that the believers hoped would be a part of its developing story. The scroll contained all of the names of the founding members of the church.

We sang, I preached on Psalm 121, a pilgrim’s song, about the journey upon which the church was embarking, and scriptures were read. At the end of the service, we moved to the laying of the stone. Manuel Diaz asked the members of the mission to come forward and place their hands on the box while he prayed. After the prayer was over, Pastor Eucepio and I carried the box to the vault and placed it inside. We sang as the workers present sealed the vault. Then Pastor Eucebio and Manuel Diaz placed the first stone (an actual rock) on top of the vault.

As the celebration continued into the evening, we shared a meal, greeted many who had participate with us, and tried to take in the significance of the event. It had been a great beginning. Our prayer that night was that it might be as well the beginning of something great.

Note: You can see these and other pictures of the event here: https://www.disciplemexico.org/gallery?album=LayingTheFirstStone_DiscipleMexico

Tags: Missions, New Year, Preach, Stone, Tunkas

We’re Headed Where?

January 4, 2011 in Maya, Ministry, Missions by Dave | 6 comments

We were together in the car, Kelly, the kids and I.Â We had been making our way,Â so we thought to the town of Tunkas, a small city of about three thousand, in order to deliver some documents to Pastor Eucepio Pech and to find out a bit more about the missions of which he is pastor.Â Although I had been there previously, this would have been the first time for Kelly and the kids to visit the town.Â We were headed there accompanied by Antonio Mendez,Â the District Missions Director, and the Regional Presbyter Manuel Diaz, that is until Manuel began to give me directions.

“Vamos a Pom (We’re going to Pom),” he said

“¿A donde? (To where?)”, was my reply.

It was at that time about 6:00 PM. Tunkas was about a 45 minute drive away. Getting there, having our meeting and a bite to eat would have gotten us home by 9:30 PM. Pom however, was a trip of about two hours one-way. I had the feeling that this was going to be a long night.

We made our way from Bokobá, the town where Manuel pastors, through Izamal and on to Holca where we picked up an eighth passenger, before stopping in Libre Union for some panuchos. While there, there was talk about the remaining distance to Pom.

One said, “Oh no. Pom is another 4 hours from here. The roads are terrible. We can get there, spend the night and make our way back in the morning.” I cringed. This trip was evolving from a short jaunt to a voyage of epic proportions. I was only a little relieved when the others reassured me that we’d not need to stay the night.

The road was indeed rough. I was about 12 miles on a narrow, paved road, and then it was another 10 miles on basically a dirt path. Up and down we went, over rocks and at times through the brush that spilled out onto the “road.” Finally, we arrived at the town.

Pom wasn’t much to look at. It was basically a small grouping of houses around a diminutive downtown consisting of some rooms that served as the city hall. There is no electricity in the town, so although it was only 9:30 PM when we arrived, it was pitch dark. Everyone had turned in for the night.

Manuel walked down the path to the pastor’s house to let him know that we had arrived. The pastor, Tomás Reyes, is a former student of mine. Always the quiet type, I wondered how he might fare in such a remote place.

Tomás arrived, flashlight in hand to meet us a few minutes later. With him were his mother and sister. Also joining him was the mayor of the town, himself a member of the church. As we walked to the hut that served as the church, we heard of the work that was going on.

We heard of the group 25 people that would gather each service to pray and sing. We heard of how that, although many couldn’t understand all of what Tomás was saying because of the language barrier, (Tomás doesn’t speak Maya.), they were drawn by his spirit and his willingness to be with them even in that remote place. We heard the joy of a mother enthralled to know that her son was making a difference in people’s lives.

We entered the church, we prayed, and we spoke words of encouragement to Tomás and those assembled. We wanted them to know that they were remembered, that they were appreciated, that they could count on us to help them as they labored in the hard places. In the light of our flashlights, we could see from their smiles that they had indeed received the message.

It was after 10, but, even though we had another 4 hour journey in front of us, there was a desire to linger a bit. We stepped out of the building and looked up into the night sky. In the moment, I was reminded that, although the stars were too numerous to count, God knew each one by name. In the same way, in this world with over 6 billion people, God had not forgotten these 20 families that lived an hour from the end of the road without electricity or even water in their homes. Even here, he had sent a witness, and even though we had thought we had been heading to a completely different place for a completely different purpose, we left with the feeling that we had been blessed to have witnessed this extension of his grace.

Tags: Bokoba, Holca, Izamal, Maya, Missions, Pom

It’s a Dangerous Business Going Out of Your Door

February 9, 2010 in Devotional by Dave | Permalink

It’s a dangerous business going out of your door. You step into the Road, and, if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to. –Bilbo Baggins

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you… –Jesus

Rebekah has been reading the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein to me as we drive along the Missouri roadways visiting churches and speaking about Mexico. It’s a wonderful thing, hearing my daughter read what to me is a classic piece of literature. It is classic because, even decades after it was written, its message can still be heard and applied.

The story is basically about Hobbits, small and self-sufficient creatures, sheltered from the world, suspicious of strangers, with eyes that look no further than their bit of earth beyond their little holes. They had heard rumors of what went on outside their borders, but their small existence kept them from comprehending the ramifications of those strange and foreign goings on in their day to day lives. Until, one day, a not so adventurous Hobbit named Bilbo got swept off of his feet into an adventure. Suddenly, the hope of the world depended on this small, shy, and unassuming lot.

The disciples too had not seemed to seek out the adventure that they found themselves in as followers of Jesus. Most of them were outsiders, blue-collar workers more concerned with the ebb and flow of the Sea of Galilee than of the rise and fall of the religious “powers that were” in Jerusalem to the south. They busied themselves in their own routine of catching fish or collecting taxes, perhaps much like the Hobbits, without even categories to speak about saving the world. That is until Jesus came, and with the words, “Follow me,” they too were swept off of their feet, suddenly at the center of God’s plan to redeem mankind.

They had, no doubt, seen the harvest field before, but not as Jesus had shown it to them. It was a harvest, not of grain, but of souls. A common scene was given new meaning, and a common need, that of workers to bring in the harvest, was given new importance.

So Jesus called them, not to mobilization, but to prayer. However, as they prayed, they found that the answer was to be found within their own small band. The appeal to pray was not an impersonal one. It was not a way to “pass the buck.” It was a way to hear the cry of God saying, ” Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” and to respond as Isaiah, “Here am I. Send me,” or as the disciples with their feet as Jesus said, “Go! I am sending you…”

Let’s bring this, then, out of the realm of fantasy and out of the distant past to where we go about our daily lives. We wake. We work. We eat. We sleep. We certainly hear and see more than the Hobbits or the disciples, but too often those impersonal rumors on talk radio or the digital images on the screen seem incapable of grabbing us, seemingly impotent at their attempts to move us.

Except when we pray, and, all of a sudden, what seemed so far away has reached out and touched our hearts, and we hear the cry, “Who will go?” and we find ourselves, in our own small voice responding as Frodo the Hobbit before the leaders at the Council of Elrond, “I will (go), though I do not know the way.”

It is a dangerous business, therefore, to pray, but what more exciting business could you ever hope to aspire to?

Photo “Archway” by Syriloth on Flickr

Tags: Lord of the Rings, Missions, The Hobbit

Making a Comeback

January 26, 2010 in Progress by Dave | Permalink

Everyone loves to hear of a great comeback story, be it an individual overcoming adversity to make it back on top, a favorite music group returning to the stage, or a sports team returning to its former glory. We love it because we appreciate how hard it is to repeat success. Athletes age, teams change players, and taste preferences in music seem to change with the fashions. So when the comeback happens, we realize that we a receiving a gift, something truly special.

Allow me to let you in on a comeback in progress…

This last year, I ran a marathon. I finished in the best time in which I’d ever run a marathon: 3 hours 37 minutes and 52 seconds. It was a great moment. However, that run has left me on the sidelines, stuck with a leg injury that has persisted for 3 months and counting. On top of that, during my examination, my doctor found that I also have arthritis in my ailing right leg, perhaps complicating my recovery. Some would say it’s time to hang up the running shoes. I say it’s time for a comeback.

Six months ago, we were on the field in Mexico wrapping up our first term as missionaries in the state of Yucatan. We were elated to have played a small part in the successes in the lives of students and pastors with whom we had ministered. We had built relationships and were looking toward opportunities to leverage these successes in future ministry. However, eight months away from our scheduled return date, we have a mountain of monthly support to raise, currently at the height of some $2,000. Some would despair at such a goal to reach. I say, “It’s comeback time.”

So rally cap in place, I’m starting the process to return, understanding that the recipe for success probably will change. As I built up for the marathon last year. I added on mileage slowly but surely until I reached a 50 mile per week peak during my high intensity marathon training. This time, I’ve got more than a mileage buildup to concern myself with. I’ve got an injury to figure out and a recovery to plan. So, I’m currently going through physical therapy twice a week with the goal to return to running. I’m also looking to alternative methods to promote healing from self-massage to chiropractic care. I’m also dedicating myself to nutrition, making sure that my tank is full of the fuel I need to power this comeback. Do I have a timetable? Sure, I’d like to see myself in a 10k race some time this spring.

Our return to Mexico can be thought of similarly. We’ve come back to the States to raise our budget in an economic recession, meaning many potential donors are feeling the budgetary pinch. We’re also returning to a Southern Missouri District that has 7 other missionary families currently raising support at the same time we are. However, we live in a time where connections are more diverse and easily sustainable and potential audiences are more abundant. We plan to leverage these connections, networking as we are able to reach these future partners, and maintaining that partnership with them through tools we never dreamed of only four years ago.

Of course, in all of this, one thing has not changed. We serve the same God who is able to to exceedingly and abundantly more than we ask, think or imagine. So while we work on this comeback as though it all depended on us, we pray knowing that it all depends upon Him. He is the one who provides the breakthroughs, stirs hearts, and cements friendships through whatever medium those contacts occur.

So I’m making a comeback, physically and ministerially, and I’m committed to putting in the work, while depending on God for the results. Wanna come along? There’s still room on the bandwagon!

How about you? Are you poised for a comeback? How do you see it happening? Have any tips that we all could benefit from?

Photo: Rally Cap by Rich Anderson

Tags: Baseball, Comeback, Marathon, Missions

We get to Play Baseball

January 17, 2009 in Culture, Devotional, Ministry, Missions, Prayer by Dave | 3 comments

Teaching in Opichen

Around this time of the year, I start to get anxious. It’s been almost three months since the end of the World Series, and we’ve got only a few short weeks until pitchers and catchers report to start the 2009 baseball season. I’m looking forward to the date with anticipation, knowing that soon they’ll be playing baseball, and hoping that this will be the season that the Yankees win it all again.

In order to prepare, I start to watch baseball movies. One such movie is The Rookie , that Disney released some years ago. It’s the story of a high school science teacher who gets another shot at playing in the majors. In one scene, travailing in the minor leagues, traveling the lonely miles and feeling the pressure of his responsibilities at home, he decides to throw in the towel. “I’m just wasting my time,” he says to his wife over the phone. She asks back, referring the the game, “Do you still love it?”

He hangs up the phone and goes for a walk to think it over once again. Along the way, he encounters a night little league game, and in it he finds the joy and the hope in the game that he played as a child and had been given a chance to return to as an adult. With a renewed outlook, he heads back to the locker room. As he enters he asks another player, “Do you know what we get to do today?” Then, answering his own question he says, “We get to play baseball.”

Why am I waxing eloquent about baseball? Because I’ve been thinking about our job as missionaries. Lately, we’ve been really busy, rushing from place to place. I celebrated my daughter’s birthday on Saturday and directly after I was teaching our first session of the District Stewardship conferences that I had been invited to teach. Since that time, I’ve been on the road 3 of the past 4 nights, getting to bed later each night. When this finishes, I’ll be on the road again, this time to help in an evangelistic campaign that will take place two hours outside of Merida, where we have our home.

At times like these, I find myself missing my family, looking forward to getting home, and sometimes wishing that the events would be over. But then I have to ask myself what it is that I am actually doing. I received the call to missions when I was 15 years old, and since that time, my life had been centered around making it to the field. We prepared ourselves, obtained the necessary approvals, and raised funds for the purpose of becoming missionaries. Now, we’re doing it. How many times have I hoped, prayed, and dreamed of the day that God would allow us to make it to the field, and now it’s a reality.

Thinking about it again I’d have to say that, sure there are times when we find it hard, but we’re doing what we’re called to do. God’s fulfilled our dream, and every moment that we have here is another moment that we get to step out into another adventure with our Lord.

So I want to say thanks to all of you who have had a part in helping us to get here and stay here. I’d also like to ask you to pray for us. Pray that the words that we say would be what God would ask us to share, and pray that these events will reach the people that He’s preparing. And while you’re doing that, stop for a moment and thank God for the journey that you’re on with Him. After all, “We get to play baseball!”

Thumbnail appearing on the excerpt of this article from B Tal’s photostream on Flickr.com

Tags: Baseball, fulfillment, Missions

Freely You Have Received, Freely Give

June 29, 2008 in Ministry, Missions, Progress by Dave | Permalink

As Jesus sent out the 12 in Matthew 10, He gave them the motive for their ministry in verse 8: “Freely you have received, freely give. Their mission of mercy–healing the sick, casting out demons, and even raising the dead is the logical response to the mercy that they had already received in the form of God drawing near. They had seen Him, touched Him, and from Him received divine power. In Matthew 10, they are sent out to tell others about Him.

What Jesus modeled is the end of any discipleship program. He made disciples who in turn made disciples, and, here in the Yucatán, we had the privilege of seeing this cycle come full circle. This past Saturday night, the ministers and members of the Assemblies of God of Yucatán met to commission and send out Norma Uitzil, a missionary, born here in Yucatán, who will be ministering among the “Untouchables” of Calcutta, India.

Yucatán has freely received. Silverio Blanco, the director of the Bible Institute, took time during the service to tell of the first evangelical missionaries who arrived in 1866 to preach in what was then the inhospitable conditions of this predominately Maya state. Since that small beginning, many have come, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Pentecostals among others. In what was once an area devoid of believers, now roughly 1 in 10 attends an evangelical congregation. Granted, there is plenty of work to be done, but the work here in the Yucatán has entered a different stage. It is time for this district to take its place in the evangelization of the world, and missionary Norma Uitzil is one of the first to respond to that call.

About a year and a half ago, I spoke of Jaime and Jaqueline Chacon, missionaries from Costa Rica that are now serving in the U.S. I echoed in that post the words of our regional director, Dick Nicholson, who said that missions is no longer the U.S. or the traditionally Christian Nations that are sending missionaries to the ends of the earth; missions has become a movement in which God is calling people from everywhere to go to everywhere. We believe more than ever in that idea. To that effect, we are currently heading up the missions program in the church that we attend, and we are committed to continually preach missions in the various congregations in which we are invited to speak.

Some might say that it is an impossibility to promote missions in an area where the minimum wage is $5 a day, but people like Norma are proving that we serve a God who makes the impossible possible. So, as we were called forward to pray for her, I asked as well that God would begin to call others to respond to His world-wide mandate, that others would hear His heartbeat for the nations and dare to believe that they can make a difference. After all, freely we all have received, its only natural that we all freely give.

Tags: Commissioning Service, Discipleship, India, Missions

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