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Feb 15
The title is totally misleading, because the Epic Journey continues every day for a follower of Jesus. This week of international travel is coming to a close. I am sitting in the London airport typing this entry.
Yesterday was great going up into the tallest building in the world, sharing a meal with the Caubbles and the Phillips. We also went riding the dunes which created some nausea for me. Hard to believe that I made it to and through India eating with my hands Indian style Indian food fine and I get sick riding in a land rover over sand dunes. While out on the sand dunes, we located 5 camels. Mike Shivley actually got one of them to eat grass out of his hand. I video recorded on my iphone. I always thought Mike had that look and smell and now I now, it is camel. It was also great to reconnect with Vivek, Esther’s brother. He is working in Dubai as a Mechanical Engineer living in an upper end labor camp. He share with me how John and Kevin have encouraged him and really given him an opportunity and a platform to share the gospel. You can imagine being a young 20 something, single moving to new country and living here for 10 months and not really knowing anyone. Praise God for His sovereign plan. I step back in awe and emotion as I consider how God has so orchestrated His plan from me meeting Ramesh 13 years ago. A 20 year old single guy who translated and pretty much carried my bags as I traveled through Karnataka. I could have gone to 11 different destinations in India but this was where God ordained for me to travel because of His desire to reach Bania people and use Ramesh and for him to marry Esther so her brother when he moved to Dubai would be able to connect with John for the purpose of reaching multitudes in labor camps. John needed a translator, Vivek needed encouragement and an outlet for ministry, and God does not need anything. . .it just pleased Him to do it. Hallelujah! Back to the story. . .
Last night, Dubai time, Mike Shivley and I had the opportunity to see first hand the ministry that John Caubble is doing. We have had a couple of guys who came over earlier to share in this incredible opportunity. We saw as many as 12-15 men stand among their peers (about 100) in two different rooms and say that they wanted to follow Jesus and give Him complete control of their life. What is really neat is that next Wed. night a storying group will begin in the same camp telling more stories of the Bible. Based on their past experience, Kevin and John, believe that all the men who were serious about their commitment to Christ will be back next week for the storying group plus a large group of others who are very interested. I was in Kevin’s group and he did a great job of interacting with the men and asking them questions about the stories that were told about the Gadarean demoniac and Zaccheus. These guys have a big strategy that has already spread over into India in the villages. I am been impressed with the plan of discipleship that Kevin has designed and is continuing to design.
Ramesh and our Bania strategy is also going well as evidenced by the baptisms and the number of leaders being trained. The same is true today as in the day of Jesus, The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Our role is to train, encourage, provide tools to nationals who can tell this Epic Story to their own peoples. So one of our major strategies is what Jesus said, Pray to the Lord of the Harvest that He might send forth laborers. We certainly need laborers to join our brothers and sisters internationally, but the greater need is for nationals to be sent into the harvest field. In the same way that nationals are sent into their harvest fields; we nationals in the U. S. likewise are responsible to go into our harvest fields in the U. S.
We will have unlimited opportunities for partnerships all over the world. We will need wisdom in how partner with resources that God entrusts to us. The recession is global and many fine mission ministry opportunities are competing for the same funding. I am pleased in how God is leading us. I certainly wish we could partner with more people and even more substantially with our current partners. That’s the challenge and the difficulty. But it is a journey and not a mortgage payment. God desires relationship and obedience above everything else. Personally, individually, and collectively as the church; we must strive to hear His voice and obey. .. and by the way, He has been saying pretty much the same thing these past 200 years, 2000+ years.. .He is redeeming for Himself a people and He invites us to join Him. If you do not hear Him saying that then you are not listening (to Him at least). . . I look forward to being in my bed tonight (although it is night there now) and the pulpit that God has privileged me to occupy these past almost nine years. Until next time. . .