MM Mission #2
It’s about 5:30a.m. here. Got up around 4:30a.m. That’s the good(?) part of being in a time zone exactly halfway around the world, I get a chance to experience what it’s like to get up early! :) Working on my talks for day two of the pastor’s conference today. So far we have spent a half day at Kid’s Life Orphanage and a full day at Agape Orphanage.
It’s fun seeing the work here in MM through the eyes of two people who are here for the first time — Chris Heinz and Dan Berringer — or Pastor Christopher and Dan2 (I tried to get them to call Dan, Big Dan and me Little Dan, but it didn’t work) as they are called here. I have repeatedly heard Dan say, that MM is a beautiful country. To be honest I’ve never considered the beauty of the country, I think when I come all I can see is the poverty of the country, but he’s right it is a beautiful country — especially when you see it through the hearts of the people who live here.
They love their country. When they pray for their country, the pray like prayer is essential, but I think they do it less from a sense of the desperation of hopelessness and more from a sense of the urgency of love.
Yesterday was a long day. I preached three times, “Is Jesus the One?” “Do I Believe that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Live?” and “Is Jesus My First Love?” At least a part of my focus was on about 15-20 Buddhists who have been invited to the pastor’s conference. The pastors who are there wanted me to preach Jesus to the Buddhists — we think some of those Buddhists made a decision yesterday to be baptized. Way cool!
Chris taught on finding your prayer fit, focusing especially on prophetic prayer and intercession. He did a great job and the people so love to pray, so the teaching was received with great interest. It’s been great to have someone to share the speaking load — though I have to say, I liked it even a bit more last year when it was Lynn speaking with me — Sorry Chris! :)
Then throughout the day — Dan B carried the load for the most important part of our trip. He spent the day playing and loving on the kids. Soccer in the heat. Holding hands with about 23 kids at the same time. Frisbee, football, more soccer, candy give-aways, and rubber band games. I say this with all sincerity — not sure if it was the hardest job, but the most important job. Even if Buddhists are saved, certainly at Agape they will be saved so that they can play with and love on the kids.
You know the day will come when teaching and evangelism will be no more, but the loving work of play is an act of worship that will continue on into eternity. If your day is so filled with work that there is no time for play — you are not preparing your heart for heaven.
So today — take a snow day. Go play. Unless you’re on staff at Calvary and you have to prepare for the weekend, in that case take a snow day on Monday. :)