Lent Day 6: Thankful for mission

"I'm still shaking!" he pointed to the left, remembering the bullet hole in his car door. "I though he would kill me." Ken told us about how a gunman had walked up to his car, stalled in a Nairobi traffic jam. The shooter pointed a gun at him, demanded cash and valuables, and walked away between cars.

"Didn't anyone come to help?" we asked, sitting as a mission cohort in the safety of a classroom.

"No, everyone pretends they haven't seen anything. Foreigners are targets. The policeman ahead probably was in on it and stopped us so we could be robbed."

I've found a few quiet heroes like Ken over the past five years among a study group of men and women who risk their lives across culture. They learn languages, communication, and customs so they can tell others about Jesus, training nationals to preach and teach to their own people.

Today I'm in the classroom of an outstanding woman with tales of her own to tell. She and her husband will return full-time to the mission field this summer. Over the past four years, they finished their doctorates, carried a teaching load at a university, and traveled the world as missionary-trainers. There's nothing about them that would suggest heroic ministry yet their experience and records say otherwise.

I am so grateful that someone told my grandparents the Story. They told my parents, who told me. Someone - like Bev and Will who rank high among those I admire - risked their comfort and health to wrestle my tribe from our idolatry to the Living God.

Please pray with me today for such seemingly ordinary people, doing extraordinary things in the power of the Spirit. And if you have resources, don't delay. Consider sending $10, $25, $100 or more to someone in the directory at http://worldmissions.ag.org/. A new Family tribe will thank you for it.

Read more:

*Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing. ... So the people of Israel—every man and woman who was eager to help in the work the Lord had given them through Moses—brought their gifts and gave them freely to the Lord. Exodus 35: 22, 29 NIV

*I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. Psalm 145:1-3   NIV

*Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. Jonah 2:8 (NIV) 

*The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. 1 Timothy 6:10

Moravian Prayer: Lord God, we confess our weaknesses. We need your help to turn away from the idols we have created. May we always put our trust in you and worship you - the one true God. Amen.

We could get out the rake... or...

The neighbors are sharing their maple leaves. Big drifts of them fell down the sky, sailing on the wind Friday and Saturday. Today the courtyard and gravel driveway are covered in gold. I also had to fish some out of the pond.

I noticed a fellow raking his yard. Though his bounty had blown as far as a block away, I didn't see him leaving his own boundaries to gather the wealth into his recycling bags.

W and I walked the dogs early in the morning, and I picked up 5 leaves, a few sprigs of fir that had fallen onto the road, and some  pampas grass trimmings sticking out of a garden recycling bin. No one paid much attention to the sorry looking yellow and red mums on our deck, so I snagged a few of those, too.

I rarely have a preconceived idea of the container or arrangement as I collect things on walks. It seems best just to open a cupboard, pull out a vase from the shelf, and let the flowers find their place. People usually rake up all the leaves and toss them. I'm happy we got to rescue a few to enjoy their beauty on this lovely Sabbath.

We spent the morning enjoying worship and a talk by Jason Deuman, one of the leaders at Creekside Church (Mt. Lk. Terrace.) We saw a few friends in the foyer, among them missionaries Audrey and Rick McAninch, who serve children in crisis through Into Africa Missions.

We left refreshed, thanking God for the beauty of Word and world.

Read more:

*The one thing I ask of the LORD—
  the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
  delighting in the LORD's perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
  For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
  He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Then I will hold my head high
  above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
  singing and praising the LORD with music."

Psalm 27:4–6 NLT

*Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:29-31 NIV