Global Outreach Website

Apr 10

Could this date with Jesus possibly get any better? I think so.
During this morning’s devotional we focused on Availability by examining Jesus’ sending out of the apostles in Matthew chapter 10 and the role that grace plays as a qualification to be sent. What a rich time of worship topped off by an introduction to Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9 and the song “Carried to the Table” by Leeland with a challenge in the shadows about who we might invite to the King’s feast. Craig also challenged us through leading a time of the devotional. Integrated into the worship was a time of prayer for healing and wholeness with the whole team laying hands on those of us who needed it. Afterwards Ann said that she wasn’t going to wear makeup to any more of the worship times because it just washed off in the tears. Several women agreed as there were very few dry eyes after the prayer time. Part of me wonders if we will one day look back on this morning as a turning point in the team really unifying and coming to a point of lavishly loving one another.

Afterwards we took a long, long ride in the SUVs up to the village of Patzun with an elevation of 8,300 feet. We’ve been told that it was the poorest village we’ll visit this week, which is very believable because I don’t think any of us could imagine more spartan living conditions. The roller-coaster-like road to get there will probably not be forgotten by anyone for a long time. Who would’ve guessed that a gravel road could rise and fall so many times and then continue on forever?

We were told that there were several hundred members of the church. But it would be hard to imagine that this remote village had even 300 people total. We set up quickly in two small rooms made mostly of cinder block. The lowhanging door frames worked well for the Guatemalans but caused those of us over six feet to bang our head when we weren’t careful. After I was told my scalp was dripping blood, I had to see one of our doctors who cleaned me up with hydrogen peroxide and later told me that my hair was likely to turn orange. (I was more frustrated by the sticky bandaid in my hair than the threat of discoloration which has not occurred 36 hours later). The rooms had dirt floors and unpainted cinder block walls. At one point I thought it smelled like farm animals and that maybe they used the room as a barn since some tools hung on the otherwise barren walls. Later in the afternoon I found out that it was actually a church member’s home who’d taken out his few pieces of furniture so that we might use the space. This was but one example of dozens where the church members gave everything they had to accomplish their goal of loving their community.

When technology allows, we’ll have to post a photo of this man’s bathroom/outhouse that we used for the day. It was a cement toilet with no lid and no water tank. Any toilet paper had to be thrown into a bucket sitting beside the toilet. Lovely. Have you asked yourself yet, “How do you flush a toilet with no water tank?” The answer is that you don’t. You take the other bucket of water on the other side of the toilet and pour enough of it into the toilet bowl to push any waste through the hole. Gravity works the same in Guatemala. Fortunately the day was cool, so at least it didn’t smell too bad beneath the tin roof and behind the tin door with the holes that would allow a sneaky kid to peek in on you. Some times you just gotta laugh.

..back to the church. What a great reminder that the church is the people, not the building. When we go to Sunday morning service, we say, “let’s go to worship.” It makes little sense to say, “Let’s go to church.” They’ve got it right in not getting overly focused on buildings, but rather, using buildings to build up people. It seems that most of the people are spiritually inclined. Herman has said that those who believe in God would categorize themselves as 60% Catholic and 40% being Evangelical Christians. Not that long ago it was 80% Catholic, so there has been a significant shift from Catholocism.

But today we found a strong Catholic resistance. They were glad to accept the free medical care and to talk with us. But numerous people refused to accept Jesus solely because of their loyalty to the Catholic church and refusal to seriously consider placing their faith in anything that would possibly challenge the tradition that they’ve chained themselves too. Without even forcing the issue of church upon them, most of the Guatemalans were closed off to any ideas that would jeapordize their identity as Catholics even though they were favorable toward Jesus. So it became very important to get good at asking diagnostic questions in order to keep the main thing (Jesus) as remaining the main thing.

Before we knew it, lunch was upon us. The ladies of the church had spent 4 hours preparing a generous meal for us. Later we realized how great their sacrifice was when we learned that they’d made this stew-like native dish with rice by using beef, which is twice as expensive as chicken. To pay for this lovely meal for us, the church had to use the weekly offering. Every one of us had a different pattern on our ceramic bowl which suggested many of the church members had donated their personal dishes so that we might have something to eat on. We were moved by their generosity.

We were also pulled to love their dirty but smiling, raggedly clothed but thoughtfully engaging, and poor but content little children. What was not to love about these small people who would get so tickled over the simple act of taking their picture or using a single crayon to color an entire page? It also seemed more natural to love the adults as well. Perhaps the strange feeling in the air was not the cloud parking itself on the mountain. Maybe it was the sensation that our hearts were being stretched.

Two really neat aspects of the experience that I’ve yet to mention are the translators and the eye clinic. New this year to the Medical Missions Ministry is an eye clinic component where team members build customized glasses on the spot for villagers after a vision test. The smiles on the faces of these largely resolute peoples is like a break in the clouds for sun-starved observers. The other really special aspect of sitting in the follow-up stations is having the opportunity to talk with the translators. What an amazing link to the villagers they are. Every question is fair game and they have answered just about everything, giving a local’s view of life in Guatemala.

Soon the line of patients ran out which was well before daylight ran out or our love for these beautiful people ran out. So we piled into the cars and left. What a magical time the drive back to the house is each night. Jaws drop as stories of conversions and healings are told. Laughter breaks out at the recognition that our lives can be so different and yet similar in our humanity. And a few granola bars break out because the generous lunch was just not enough to fill a growing boy.

Patterns begin to emerge as well. It seems like the most common problems we are seeing include stomach and intestinal issues often caused by worms or poor nutrition. Eyes and backs hurt from working in the fields. Lots of people have headaches, feet pain, diabetes, osteoporosis, and high blood pressure. And the family problems don’t sound that different than the US- disengaged men, employment, broken families, alcoholism.. They experience the results of the Fall too.

One problem that we all quickly recognized is that we can only give these villagers two weeks worth of medication in most cases. As far as their physical help, we are only able to put a temporary bandaid on many of their issues. But it sure is thrilling on the car ride back to celebrate the stories of healing and professions of faith. To hear the stories of specifically named people and how their lives instantly changed is amazing. To see the elation on one another’s faces as they describe what is transpiring in their heart is an extreme privilege. To get wrapped around a numerical tally of lives changed is something that can be distracting from the fact that God just shows up here in unbelievable ways. But it is safe to say that again today that both conversions and dramatic healings were in the double digits. How good it feels to see somebody else’s life change for the better with nothing personal to gain from it. The only more invigorating reality is that we just had the privilege of seeing God show up and open up our eyes. That feeling must be my heart and expectations enlarging. And you know it’s been a New Testamant kind of day when John David describes an event as, “that was the coolest conversion all day.”

We would be the first to admit, as the church, that we don’t have the dilemma figured out as to how to help the poor. The gulf between the haves and have nots is enormous. Underneath the overarching umbrella of loving our neighbor, we know that we have a biblical responsibility to work toward the alleviation of poverty. But just as the causes of poverty are diverse, the possible solutions are infinitely greater. And none of the solutions are easy because poverty is connected to a series of terribly broken relationships. But the good news of Jesus that we declare does affect every sphere of life. Followers of Christ cannot segment the human condition like an old man’s monthly pill box as if the Christian message was limited to the Sunday row of sharing the news of Jesus. The powerful reality of the cross fills all aspects of our lives the way that the rising sun lights up every shadowy place in the valley. We are trying to figure out how to use word and deed efforts to engage all of the world’s needs. But it seems like 90 minutes in the vehicles isn’t enough time to get that figured out.

The church we visited today just needs concrete in order to build upon the land they already own. They cannot afford it currently. So they wait. So Elizabeth leads us in prayer for them. We don’t have the answers but recognize they start with a motive of love that breeds selflessness. And somehow we cannot forget that the church is God’s plan A for reconciling the world to Himself. By the way, there is no plan B.

Quotes to Ponder about the grace within the message we preach:

"Christianity not only leads its members to believe people of other faiths have goodness and wisdom to offer, it also leads them to expect that many will live lives morally superior to their own. Most people in our culture in our culture believe that, if there is a God, we can relate to him and go to heaven through leading a good life. Let’s call this the “moral improvement” view. Christianity teaches the very opposite. In the Christian understanding, Jesus does not tell us how to live so we can merit salvation. Rather, he comes to forgive and save us through his life and death in our place. God’s grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior." –Tim Keller The Reason for God, 19


‘Self-salvation through good works may produce a great deal of moral behaviour in your life, but inside you are miserable. You are always comparing yourself to other people, and you are never sure you are being good enough. You cannot therefore, deal with your hideousness and self-absorption through the moral law, by trying to be a good person through an act of the will. You need a complete transformation of the very motives of your heart.’ – Tim Keller’s The Reason For God,

It is only when you see the desire to be your own Savior and Lord -lying beneath both your sins and your moral goodness- that you are on the verge of understanding the gospel and becoming a Christian indeed. When you realize that the antidote to being bad is not just being good, you are on the brink. If you follow through, it will change everything: how you relate to God, self, others, the world, your work, your sins, your virtue. It’s called the new birth because it’s so radical. (p. 78) Jesus Christ, who had all the power in the world, saw us enslaved by the very things we thought would free us. So he emptied himself of his glory and became a servant. He laid aside the infinities and immensities of his being and, at the cost of his life, paid the debt for our sins, purchasing us the only place our hearts can rest, in his Father’s house… Knowing this will transform us from the inside out… Why wouldn’t you want to offer yourself to someone like this? Selfless love destroys the mistrust in our hearts toward God that makes us either younger brothers or elder brothers… We will never stop being younger brothers of elder brothers until we acknowledge our need, rest by faith, and gaze in wonder at the work of our true elder brother, Jesus Christ. (p. 87-89 Tim Keller The Prodigal God)

Almighty and most merciful Father, I am now about to
commemorate once more, in Thy presence, the redemption of the
world by our Lord and Savior Thy Son Jesus Christ. Grant, O
most merciful God, that the benefit of His sufferings may be
extended to me. Grant me faith, grant me repentance. Illuminate
me with Thy Holy Spirit. Enable me to form good purposes, and
to bring these purposes to good effect. Let me so dispose my
time, that I may discharge the duties to which Thou shalt
vouchsafe to call me, and let that degree of health, to which
Thy mercy has restored me, be employed to Thy Glory. O God,
invigorate my understanding, compose my perturbations, recall
my wanderings, and calm my thoughts, that having lived while
Thou shalt grant me life, to do good and to praise Thee, I may
when Thy call shall summon me to another state, receive mercy
from Thee, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.
... Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), Prayers and Meditations,
London: Verner, Hood, and Sharpe, 1806, Easter Day,
1771, p. 84-85