Let me tell you a story or two!
Long ago, King Solomon gathered his wisest and best subjects and told them to gather all of the wisdom in the land, and write it in a book. Three years later they came back wih twelve volumes of all of the knowledge they could find far and wide. "This is too much!" Solomon said, "do it again!" So they went out again. One year later, they returned, this time with one volume, counting over a thousand pages, filled with all of the wisdom of the lands near and far. "This is still too much!" Solomon said. And again they were sent out. Five years later, they returned, again with one book. But this book had but one message in it. This too shall pass.
In the beginning of this trip, I found myself corrupted by fear and loneliness, haunted by the thought that this may not have been what God had intended me to do. What if I were here on my own accord? What if I had lied and convinced myself into a trip that was never meant to be? Questions continued to circle my head, echoing louder and louder, until a small voice whispered softly, "Be still and know that I a God." What? I asked. "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the Earth!" Psalm 46 verse 10. This loneliness and fear that I felt began to dissipate from my heart. Its grip lessened with every cry for Him my heart could bear. "I will never leave you, never forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give them rest." (Matthew 11:28) "For I gave you not a Spirit of fear, but one of power, and of love, and of self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7) The Lord continue to reveal and remind me of His great truths. He reminded me that He is. He is. God is, always was, always will be. His character does not, can not, and needs not change! As the things of this world changes, He does not. As my circumstances change, He does not. And one beautiful truth about Him is He has imparted Himself via the Holy Spirit in us, and is with us always! He reminded me that this too shall pass. This present fear of what's to come, this present loneliness of all these things unfamiliar, this doubt of My plan for you, this too shall pass.
And as always, He was ever so right! God allowed me to be refined and tested in the fire as soon as I got here, and taught me that I am ready for this, because He is leading me. I can nothing apart from Him (John 15). God has allowed me to bring the word to a dozen villages, bring worship to Him in over half of those, I've taught at a memorial service, and I spoke at an evangelist conference. I have written six applications to appropraite funds to this ministry in hopes of expanding on what they do here. I have begun journaling in preparation for writing a newsletter about what we do here that will be published in America. And that is but the beginning of the ministry He has for me here. Are you kidding me? All of this in a little over a week. How could I be anything but face down in praise at the opportunities He has opened up thus far? At one church, I met a lady named Mary. She was told by her doctor to go home, and enjoy her last few days of life, as she was sure to die soon. Well that was weeks ago, and the day I met her, she was excited to tell me that that morning, she got up and made breakfast for herself! What worship she showed me. The simple act of making breakfast was one of thanks for her. I met another man who had been paralyzed and diseased for many years. He heard the songs and testimonies ring out of the speakers of the local church, and prayed to receive God's love in the field. The next day he worked in his fields for the first time in a long time, all the while bewildering his family. They are now all saved, and attend that church. Two days ago I met a woman who was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach, and given less than a month to live. She had recently turned to Jesus, so she prayed for healing. That was fifteen years ago! God is alive and working in His people and in His church, amen?!
I am also learning a great deal about the people, their language and culture here. I have learned several 'key' phrases, and will continue to learn as I can the language. The driving here, though scary at first, is now second nature. I sometimes wonder what driving on the right side of the road will be like again... I have found some pretty sweet things though! One is Limca! If I can just figure out a way to bring this soda to America, I will make a killing! This stuff freakin rocks! It is soooo tasty! Whenever we go out, we always stop once or twice for "a cool drink" on the side of the road. I almost always get Limca. Why? Because it freakin rocks!!! I have also began to cook for myself almost full time, which is interesting. In a country that boasts 70%, yes 70% of the world's spices, there is not a huge selection of things at the local market for me to be able to cook. I am making due with what I have so far, however, and will continue to cook and try new things to best keep myself fed! I have found out that when other missionaries come, which will be fairly often come November, I will be cooking often for them. Basically this means I have GOT to find some sweet recipes before they come! haha I'm not too worried about this, however. I found out they've got top ramen here. Not the same flavors that we have, but some decent ones for sure. This morning, for instance, I made some potatoes o'brian and tasty fluffy scrambled eggs. Yeah. Like a boss I am! lol I also decided this week that I miss hot dogs and pizza a lot. Like, so much. When I get home, I am going to call one of my very best friends Justin (who works at Papa Murphy's) and have him make me ridiculously awesomely hugely meaty family size pizza. And I am going to get case of ice cold Mtn Dew. And I am going to eat until I hate myself, as my good friend Ashley often likes to say! I told this to Rufus, and he told me "You know, we have mountain dew here!" No. You. Didn't! Turns out, they do. Also turns out- not the same. Like at all. It's good, but it ain't the dew, just sayin.
So that's what's goin on with me right now! God is good, and remains with me always. I am learning to abide in Him, in His presence and truth, and to preach His gospel in ways that I have never been able to before. It is a challenge, but it is one met with His Spirit, and for that I fear not! Love you all so very much, and though this loneliness once felt is now (praise the Lord) gone, know that I miss you very much. I think of you often and pray for you! Please keep us in your prayers as well, as we share reach the unreachables. Thank you!
Joel
Long ago, King Solomon gathered his wisest and best subjects and told them to gather all of the wisdom in the land, and write it in a book. Three years later they came back wih twelve volumes of all of the knowledge they could find far and wide. "This is too much!" Solomon said, "do it again!" So they went out again. One year later, they returned, this time with one volume, counting over a thousand pages, filled with all of the wisdom of the lands near and far. "This is still too much!" Solomon said. And again they were sent out. Five years later, they returned, again with one book. But this book had but one message in it. This too shall pass.
In the beginning of this trip, I found myself corrupted by fear and loneliness, haunted by the thought that this may not have been what God had intended me to do. What if I were here on my own accord? What if I had lied and convinced myself into a trip that was never meant to be? Questions continued to circle my head, echoing louder and louder, until a small voice whispered softly, "Be still and know that I a God." What? I asked. "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the Earth!" Psalm 46 verse 10. This loneliness and fear that I felt began to dissipate from my heart. Its grip lessened with every cry for Him my heart could bear. "I will never leave you, never forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give them rest." (Matthew 11:28) "For I gave you not a Spirit of fear, but one of power, and of love, and of self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7) The Lord continue to reveal and remind me of His great truths. He reminded me that He is. He is. God is, always was, always will be. His character does not, can not, and needs not change! As the things of this world changes, He does not. As my circumstances change, He does not. And one beautiful truth about Him is He has imparted Himself via the Holy Spirit in us, and is with us always! He reminded me that this too shall pass. This present fear of what's to come, this present loneliness of all these things unfamiliar, this doubt of My plan for you, this too shall pass.
And as always, He was ever so right! God allowed me to be refined and tested in the fire as soon as I got here, and taught me that I am ready for this, because He is leading me. I can nothing apart from Him (John 15). God has allowed me to bring the word to a dozen villages, bring worship to Him in over half of those, I've taught at a memorial service, and I spoke at an evangelist conference. I have written six applications to appropraite funds to this ministry in hopes of expanding on what they do here. I have begun journaling in preparation for writing a newsletter about what we do here that will be published in America. And that is but the beginning of the ministry He has for me here. Are you kidding me? All of this in a little over a week. How could I be anything but face down in praise at the opportunities He has opened up thus far? At one church, I met a lady named Mary. She was told by her doctor to go home, and enjoy her last few days of life, as she was sure to die soon. Well that was weeks ago, and the day I met her, she was excited to tell me that that morning, she got up and made breakfast for herself! What worship she showed me. The simple act of making breakfast was one of thanks for her. I met another man who had been paralyzed and diseased for many years. He heard the songs and testimonies ring out of the speakers of the local church, and prayed to receive God's love in the field. The next day he worked in his fields for the first time in a long time, all the while bewildering his family. They are now all saved, and attend that church. Two days ago I met a woman who was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach, and given less than a month to live. She had recently turned to Jesus, so she prayed for healing. That was fifteen years ago! God is alive and working in His people and in His church, amen?!
I am also learning a great deal about the people, their language and culture here. I have learned several 'key' phrases, and will continue to learn as I can the language. The driving here, though scary at first, is now second nature. I sometimes wonder what driving on the right side of the road will be like again... I have found some pretty sweet things though! One is Limca! If I can just figure out a way to bring this soda to America, I will make a killing! This stuff freakin rocks! It is soooo tasty! Whenever we go out, we always stop once or twice for "a cool drink" on the side of the road. I almost always get Limca. Why? Because it freakin rocks!!! I have also began to cook for myself almost full time, which is interesting. In a country that boasts 70%, yes 70% of the world's spices, there is not a huge selection of things at the local market for me to be able to cook. I am making due with what I have so far, however, and will continue to cook and try new things to best keep myself fed! I have found out that when other missionaries come, which will be fairly often come November, I will be cooking often for them. Basically this means I have GOT to find some sweet recipes before they come! haha I'm not too worried about this, however. I found out they've got top ramen here. Not the same flavors that we have, but some decent ones for sure. This morning, for instance, I made some potatoes o'brian and tasty fluffy scrambled eggs. Yeah. Like a boss I am! lol I also decided this week that I miss hot dogs and pizza a lot. Like, so much. When I get home, I am going to call one of my very best friends Justin (who works at Papa Murphy's) and have him make me ridiculously awesomely hugely meaty family size pizza. And I am going to get case of ice cold Mtn Dew. And I am going to eat until I hate myself, as my good friend Ashley often likes to say! I told this to Rufus, and he told me "You know, we have mountain dew here!" No. You. Didn't! Turns out, they do. Also turns out- not the same. Like at all. It's good, but it ain't the dew, just sayin.
So that's what's goin on with me right now! God is good, and remains with me always. I am learning to abide in Him, in His presence and truth, and to preach His gospel in ways that I have never been able to before. It is a challenge, but it is one met with His Spirit, and for that I fear not! Love you all so very much, and though this loneliness once felt is now (praise the Lord) gone, know that I miss you very much. I think of you often and pray for you! Please keep us in your prayers as well, as we share reach the unreachables. Thank you!
Joel
miss you Joel and praying for you.
ReplyDeleteJoel, Thank you for your wonderful words of encouragement! It is a blessing to hear how you are being used to further His Kingdom. We are surrounding you in much prayer my friend! Hugs and Blessings, NJ
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWOW - I finally figured it out. I'm so proud of you son. You are so blessed to be able to follow your calling. I hope you figure out the right mix of spices for your food and get real creative with recipes you can try out on us when you get back. I love you LOTS and will miss you every day you are gone (and worry - it's a Mom thing).
ReplyDelete