Monday, July 25, 2016

Mission: A Study in Contrasts

July 25, 2016

Mission trips are a study in contrasts. Needing to arrive at the airport by 3:00 am means a hotel stay the night before. They allow us to keep our vehicle in their parking lot for up to two weeks, so it's not a bad deal. But here we are in a four star hotel with all the amenities, marking time till we land in Cuba where decrepit old cars compete with horse carts for road right of way. The homes in which we will stay are modest, but clean. The toilets sans seats still take a bit of getting used to, but we'll manage just fine. Still better than what we had in Mongolia.

For both Alex and myself, this is a time of sorting things out, trying to discern God's hand for us. She's had her heart set on Africa since last summer, but is expanding her horizons, not ruling anything out other than she knows she is called to missions. It's a bit different for me, but not much.

We have been taking trips to Cuba for about ten years until last year when our contact there came to the states for a year and a half. During that time, the lack of communication made it feel as if the fire had gone out, and I need to see if God intends to ignite it again. I had believed that in retirement I was to have a larger role to play in the Cuba mission, but it all seemed to collapse in this past year. It's happened before; times when I thought I had rightly discerned God's plan for Park church, charged ahead full bore for awhile, only to eventually find myself at the far side of a dead end. Without those past experiences, the last year of not knowing would have been discouraging. But it is time to either move ahead or move on. So I'm praying for wisdom and discernment. I'm OK either way, but I would like to know. So I'm moving. Even God can't steer a stationary car, so I'm getting underway, trusting that he will lead, and that I'll see it clearly. I'm praying and am grateful for all those who are likewise storming heaven on my behalf.

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