beautiful feet

i am quite often surprised and amused by some of the things our church's band of 4 year olds can come up with to say. very often it's right at (or after) the point where i am tempted to give up in frustration.  but just as often it's a well-timed word that guarantees a good day no matter what comes because it's just too sweet to have anything spoil it.

this wednesday was no different.  one of our most faithful Cubbies entered the room went to his seat but instead of sitting down just looked at me shyly while i organized papers and whatnot.  his mother gave him an encouraging cue- "what did you want to tell your teacher?" and he opened his mouth and said, "you have beautiful feet!"

now, i've heard compliments on hair, jewelry, shirts, smiles, eyes, nails and you name it, but this was a new one. after another encouraging cue, he helped his mother explain that it was related to Isaiah 52:7 which says, "how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him to brings good news."  good verse. it wasn't our memory verse for that week so i don't know what inspired that conversation, but it made my day.

what made it even more fitting was that our section of Bible stories covers the first Pentecost and the international spread of the early church.  so that night the 15 Cubbies who came heard about how Philip's "beautiful feet" took him for a nice jog through the desert to explain to a stranger from Ethiopia the gospel, because the good news is international and worthy of any level of confusion and exhaustion and persistence and passion that it takes to bring it to those who are ready to hear it. and that means we go wherever God says.  God told Philip, "go to the absolute middle of nowhere, and then run." so he did, and he found one guy.  but that guy went to Ethiopia and told others.  one of our Cubbies shouted out, "hey- i was born in Ethiopia!" and indeed he had been.  his family is also scheduled to move to Paris (the France one, not the Tennessee one) because God told them, "go."  another Cubby is about to head back to China, because God told his parents, "go."  the rest of them were not quite sure who they could tell here, but they will learn.  where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more- here, there and everywhere.

several promotional videos for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering feature Pr Jorge, who is now back at his hometown of Comerio, Puerto Rico, because God said, "go." the home he ran away from is where God sent him right back to.  the people he stole from he is now giving to and preaching to.  the very same drug dealers he used to associate with for illegal reasons now see a man changed, free, happy, confident- and they want to know why. and so he tells them.  4 months after moving back to PR, a hurricane wiped out all resources for the isolated Comerio.  Jorge and Rebeca felt led to buy a washing machine… even though they had no electricity.  immediately, they received a generator from NAMB's SEND Relief division- and just like that, they had the only electricity in the area, and a way to reach the whole town.  within 6 months, they had an active house church. within a year, a group of SEND volunteers moved them into their permanent home, and set up their church building for the newly ordained Pr Jorge.  all because of their obedience- and the obedience of everyone who gave to the AAEO that provided the generator.  that money generated a lot more than electricity.

https://www.anniearmstrong.com/resource/jorge-rebeca-santiago/

it's all exciting to us, because places like Puerto Rico seem foreign and distant to us.  guess what.  they are neither.  on a map, maybe.  but in every single other respect, not at all.  the "exciting" part is because of the gospel, not the place on the globe where it is being told.  true, after a number of weeks or months or years the excitement wears off, and "new mission" feels "normal," not like a new field ripe for harvest with new converts every day and rapid church growth. 

i'm thinking that's why the North American Mission Board uses Pr Jorge for these videos.  it's easier to get north american churches to give money to people "over there" in cool places with palm trees and iguanas than it is to get them excited about cities like chicago or denver or boston.  but chicago and denver and boston are other pastors' mission fields, too.  God is doing big things in North America, too.  not often as explosive as in Puerto Rico, but just as important.

https://www.anniearmstrong.com/soto/

i had the privilege of working with Jorge and Rebeca last february and then again this past summer.  their joy is contagious, their passion is obvious, and their faith is inspiring. their kids are adorable.  their God is big.

that same big God is changing lives all over north america, too.  pastors, church planters, families, individuals- all those who have heard and responded to their Master's call have uprooted their lives and joined His work in SEND cities across the nation.  (and canada.  Jesus loves them, too!)

in addition to contributing, and more importantly, pray.

every trip i've been on, every place I've been, God has proven repeatedly that He doesn't really need your money.  He wants your obedience, faithfulness, trust.  giving is one way we obey, but the dollar figure is not the point at all. it's praying that puts us in direct contact with the One who does more with $5 and a few faithful followers than any celebrity could with $5,000,000.

i can't say with any degree of certainty where i will go next, or how long i will be there, or what i will do.  but i can say that wherever it is, Jackson or Jamaica, America or Africa, i want to be as faithful as people like Jorge, Rebeca, Timothy, Haley, Ben, Tabitha, Andy, Laura, Emily, Aimee, Casey, Bob, Melissa, Derek, Tony, Karen, Betina, Marcus, David, Nekayeh, Tom, Vijay, and a growing list of people who, just like Philip the Fleet-Footed Philosopher, have beautiful, beautiful feet. 

 

the song of the Rock

i've always felt a pull towards the idea of missions, especially foreign missions.  i love traveling. i love adventures. i love the sights, sounds, feels and tastes.  i simply adore the camaraderie of  serving with a team, meeting goals and needs, serving side by side fellow Christians of every nationality.  it's a small piece of heaven; i want every slice i can get.

for some reason (okay, let's call it what it is: SIN) it's always been a thousand times easier to find a stranger in a foreign land and share the Gospel than it is to grab the elbow of my neighbor and share this mind-blowingly good news. 

it's Easter, friends.  this week our extended family members all over the world are celebrating the climax of Christianity.  this is it!  Easter weekend is the single reason we all have hope, love, a future, a family, forgiveness.  the TOMB is EMPTY! THAT ROCK MOVED, FOLKS!! if ever there was a time to celebrate life, it's now.  if ever there was an opportunity to share Christ that was handed to you on a silver, diamond-studded platter, it's now.

it's also the time when the whole nation is "sharing" and "liking" posts, making new hashtags and changing their profile pictures to the flag of Belgium.  social media is exploding with news about, and prayers for, the victims, their families, their country… OUR country, every country! the death toll rises, names are being released, and once again anyone with a trace of spirituality is praying to whatever or whoever they think might be listening.  instead of celebrating life, thousands are mourning death.

the exciting, and scary, thing about all of this is that we've gotten our cue.  we missed it-again- but we get a second (or ten thousandth) chance.

every word i read or hear about missions fills me with both hope and shame. hope at the idea of giving as much time as God allows to serving Him in a place still waiting.   shame, because… i'm surrounded by people HERE and NOW who don't know, don't care, don't know to care and live day to day waiting for a "something." and yet i, and so many Christians, live day to day with our mouths closed.  without the glamour and thrill of a passport stamp, the concept of bringing up faith, religion or an afterlife is deemed as  inappropriate and socially unacceptable. 

and yet...

and yet, there's a world out there crying out for answers and mercy.

for a hope that lasts longer than a paycheck.

for a life that is free of pain, guilt, death, gore, sickness, bullets and bombs.

for a ruler that… is not quite like any current (or past) dictator, king or president.

we have it.  we have all of that.

because we have HIM.

HE is it.  our Hope that "enters once for all" into the true temple "not made with human hands" with a better sacrifice than all the goats and sheep in creation- Himself.

He is our Life- the source of all Life, and the way to a Life that will never end and that makes this earthly life as pale and transient as morning fog.

He is the Ruler that will never be unjust, protects all His own and whose term in office never ends.  no currency except faith.  no taxes except joyful praise. no end at all, except of sin and all its consequences. 

this is the song that never ends; it just goes on and on, my friends! it started just outside an empty hole in the ground, and will continue for all eternity, growing ever louder as we all join our voices.

we have it- all of it.

not only that, but we also have a direct order from our Ruler to bring as many others into this Kingdom as possible. He hears these cries, and has told us to show them the Answer.

the ancient Jews celebrated the Passover every single year, to serve as a reminder of their salvation.  they were even told how to share the meaning of their festival, so they would be prepared with an answer every time someone asked them what on earth they were doing.

as great as that holiday was… we celebrate the best of all Passovers- the final one, where our Lamb paid the final price and paved the way to God Himself, open to all who accept it.  we also each have an answer, a testimony, a true drama, a personal story to share every single time someone asks us what on earth we are doing.

i promise you this- you will honk some people off.  they will tell you that are an idiot, and worse.  they will tell you to shut up. they may end friendships, cost you business, hurt deeply.  your story may mean nothing to whoever you are talking to. Jesus Himself was told off by the  "religious elite." His answer: if the people won't, the rocks will.  the Good News will not be silenced.  it WILL be told- the only difference is the "how."  i haven't done my part.  i want to start- before my garden border stones start singing and put me to ultimate shame.

but i also promise that there is someone in your immediate vicinity that will hear and respond.  whether or not you ever hear about it, someone is broken and in desperate need of a Healer.  you knowing or taking credit is soooo not the point.  the personal cost is also not the point. whatever cost to you, Christ's was eternally greater. take a leap of faith and have your answer ready. there is nobody less worthy of the Gospel than you; there is nobody more worthy of the Gospel than any ISIS leader.  everyone needs to hear. and if we don't share, the rocks themselves will instead.  please don't give them our job. it's our time to rise up together and share Easter joy!

if you remember the point in your life when the message finally sunk in,  let that give you the strength to be that joy to someone else. 

let this Easter be a vivid reminder of what is at stake.   let His hope fill you with both joy and courage.  make this the best Easter of your life, and the first true Easter for someone else.  silence those rocks-ready, set, go!

on the brink of an adventure!

this is my last night in Jackson for a couple weeks (just over 2, unless something strange happens), and i gotta say…

this is the part where i wig out.

the reality of the impending adventure hit me like a semi truck monday night.

by tuesday night, my pulse and respiratory rate were consistently elevated.

by tonight (wednesday), stress hit peak levels and my entire body responded much like you'd expect it to after being hit by a semi truck.

for the past two weeks so many people have been almost daily passing on their prayers and blessings and excitement to me and i am rather humbled. 

and now i am humbly begging for more.  (after the Summary of my Day/background story to the prayer requests and praise :) )

today has been one heck of a day. mistake #1 was thinking i could wake up before noon and somehow be okay.  soooo not true. we started off alright, but it definitely took me 4 tries to leave the house with all 5 things i needed to bring with me.  like the car keys, for one.

1615 is when the migraine happened.

1705 is when the migraine skipped a stage and went straight to the puking.  i haven't puked in 4 1/2 years.  but a brief psychoanalysis of myself and the immediate after-effects proved it was stress-migraine related and not contagious or requiring me to flee the premises.

1735 is when the Cubbies showed up.

just in case i die of malaria overseas, i love that i have tonight as a memory.  and that my stomach somehow retained the double-dose of Excedrin so that i could be there to HAVE this memory ;)

the lesson i was able to teach centered on Christ as our shepherd- the one who guides, provides, and protects His sheep, every single one of them, no matter where they wander off to.  and it was preceded by a simple, humble, touching prayer led by another co-leader but participated in by a whole herd of little Cubbies.  Cubbies who grasp even just a bit, but who eagerly try to grasp more, ask questions before and during story time or even snack time, and blow my mind with their simple faith every week.  sometimes i wonder if i have as much faith as they do or if i've buried some of it.  after game time, when the game teacher usually has them shout out the Cubbies' "motto" ("Jesus loves me!") he told them to sing it instead- just to see what happened.  at least half of them caught on and sang a rousing-yet-totally-uncoordinated rendition including the chorus.  

my pulse was still high as i walked out the building and is only climbing.

i'm putting this post on this blog for a couple reasons, one of them being that as technologically challenged as i am, there are continuing difficulties in getting the other blog to post onto facebook or twitter or the internet.   (however, i'd prefer that this blog be kept completely separate from twitter if at all possible, so if you don't mind, don't tweet this out to everyone you know-just keep it to facebook.  that'd be awesome.)

i am full of praise:

-i have some wonderful 4 year olds. i friggin' love them. i learn so much by teaching them, and also seeing the progress of last year's Cubbies who against my instructions insisted on growing older and moving up to the Sparks class, and can now write words and read and… it's crazy.

Tra and LaLa started as just a way to connect these little minds to missions, and now they connect me to these kids as well- as well as connect me to many other people, young and old that i can share Jesus with.

-they have some wonderful parents/family members, who are my church family members. i friggin' love them, too.  from the very beginning of this journey a whole whopping 5-6 weeks ago, they and many others have supported this endeavor in multiple ways, always above and beyond anything i have needed or asked for or thought of.

-i have a wonderful opportunity to share with other people that they have a Good Shepherd who loves them more than they can imagine. 

-i have a Good Shepherd who knows His sheep and finds them when they go astray and brings them back to the fold, no matter how broken, scared and crazy-lost they've gotten themselves.

i am also full of freaked-out-ness:

-i have a pile of emotional baggage that i have been fighting with for what seems like years (mostly because it's been… years :P ). another suitcase got thrown on top of the pile this week. and it's definitely over Delta's 50 pound weight-limit.

-i have a couple of friends going through incredible amounts of pain.  i can do nothing for them.  it is not my story to tell, but it is weighing on me heavily and i need all kinds of prayers send their way.  the Holy Spirit knows their address and will forward it on, if you wouldn't mind sending a message of hope and healing.

-i have… zero boldness and confidence right now.  it may be my stomach and nerves talking, but boldness and confidence are what i desire.  maybe an extra dose of faith.  i think faith is a large part of the difference between "boldness and confidence" and "stupidity and recklessness."

-i have 2 50-ish pound suitcases filled with donated toothbrushes, tums and tylenol, wound care supplies, vitamins and cough drops.  our group of 30-something people is about to encounter thousands of people in thousands of situations- every one of them needs their Good Shepherd.  and our team needs to be willing to follow the Shepherd, trusting that He will lead us to exactly the right places and people in exactly the right time, no matter how crazy or not-our-plan-ish it looks.  the Type A part of me is struggling quite a bit with this :P

this trip will be good. it will have eternal effects. and i am ridiculously excited to see what is in store for us!  i think once i am on the plane the twitching and tachycardia will stop, too (or at least back off a bit). 

as long as i have WiFi access, i plan on keeping people stateside updated using this WordPress blog:

golalago.wordpress.com

and figuring out how to make it more accessible to all those who want to stay up-to-date on things- so feel free to share it, re-post it, tag or hashtag it, or reply/message me if the links fail like they did last week :P  my phone's got Viber, which i also have little experience with but if you text me during LifeGroup time/mornings, chances are pretty good i'll be able to reply ;)

until i see you again and can share in more detail about this trip, my prayers for you are largely modeled after Philippians (in particular chapter 1, except for the imprisonment part ;) ) and Ephesians 3:14-21. 

thank you.

God bless you.

ready.

set.

go!