Root Bound

-Paula

I’ve been helping my friend with a landscaping project this week. This has been a bit more involved than just putting in a few flowers here and there around the yard. We actually removed four large shrubs of unknown variety and replaced them with azaleas, gardenia and some perennial flowers. We also created two new flower beds as well as planted her herb garden. So we’ve been busy. 

Of course, all of this activity necessitated a few trips to the local garden center, to pick out plants. We took our time, carefully choosing the healthiest looking  plants with just the right color. After all, we wanted the newly landscaped yard to look amazing. Once our choices were made we could hardly wait to get the plants home and put into the ground.

I won’t go into detail about preparing the flowerbeds at this time but suffice it to say that my friend’s yard is a potter’s dream. Once the holes were dug we began to carefully slide the precious plants out of their plastic pots. And that’s when we saw the roots. Some of the roots were loose and easily arranged in the hole. These plants took right off and began growing, with no visible sign of distress.

But other plant’s roots were tightly twisted in upon themselves and impossibly bound in a knot that refused to come loose. Even though we wanted to disturb the roots as little as possible, we had to pull these roots apart in order to give the plants a chance to live. This made me think.

God takes His time carefully choosing us for His purposes. He lovingly prepares a place for us to serve Him. I imagine the joy it gives Him thinking of how beautiful our lives will be once He places us in the spot He has chosen for us. Some people slip right into the “ground” with no problem and thrive.

Others however only look good on the surface. But when God tries to move them to the place He wants them to be, He finds that they cling so stubbornly to the way things have always been that He has to forcibly pry them out of their pew. Then instead of thriving they hang their heads, complain and refuse to grow. Some even shrivel up and die. 

I don’t want to be like that. I want to be like the mint we pulled up and threw on the compost heap…it’s already starting to grow a new patch.

We’re going? … We’re GOING!!!!

While chasing a dream, have you ever settled for less? Have you ever second-guessed your goals? I am reminded of a scene from “Sahara” where the hero, Dirk Pitt and his sidekick, Al Giordino are riding camels through the desert...

Al: Well, we're in the desert, looking for the source of a river pollutant, using as our map a cave drawing of a Civil War gunship, which is also in the desert. So I was just wondering when we're gonna have to sit down and re-evaluate our decision-making paradigm?
Dirk: [coming up on the fortress seen in the cave painting] I don't know - it seems to be working so far. 

Some of the best advice I’ve ever received concerning our pursuit of mission work, is to “Hold it loosely,…” meaning we ought to be flexible in what we perceive our calling is, in respect to what God may ultimately be calling us to do. 

Most recently, as the approval for our visa’s dragged on and on, Paula and I believed our vision of serving in Brazil was fading. After five months volunteering at the JAARS Center in North Carolina, we had all but resigned ourselves to the idea that maybe we were actually called to work here. I literally prayed one day.. “Lord, if THIS is where you want us to be, I will accept that and only ask that you open the doors to make it possible.” Within a week of praying that prayer, Paula and I received word that our visas to Brazil were approved and in trusted hands (my parent’s). 

Repeatedly I am reminded that while God wants each of us to enthusiastically join in His work, He is more desirous that we chase after HIM enthusiastically. Even though the work is important, it is secondary to our worship of Him.

Are you chasing His work? or are you chasing HIM?

God’s Lesson Notes:

Student: Randall York
Subject: Trusting Me
Current Grade: C




Randall is an excellent student. Even though we are less than half-way through his life lesson of "Trusting Me," he has shown some remarkable strengths and made progress far beyond many of his contemporaries, and yet he seems to revert to old patterns of self-reliance and doubt near the conclusion of each lesson.

Undoubtedly, this is one of the most demanding subjects I offer. By it's very nature each lesson pushes and stretches the student to limits they’ve not experienced and it may be the reason many students just stop attending the course. I have to note that those who continue in the study often excel to the bewilderment of those around them. My objective here has been recorded in James, Chapter 1 verse 12: Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Randall shows good promise at the beginning of each lesson, he communicates his situation with me and his brothers and sisters, he readily confesses and believes I will remedy the issue and he continues on in his work. Part of the lesson is simply allowing the situation to continue, not worsening or bettering, in order to examine how the heart of the student changes. While externally, Randall works to maintain a positive outlook and professes continued belief in my care; internally I see a veil slowly clouding his belief. He tends to react similarly as our disciple Peter did after he stepped out of the boat to meet us on the Sea of Galilee. (Matt 14:25-31)

I know that I am the reason for their thinking pattern. After all, I am the one who granted free will and choice to mankind. Ultimately, everyone will know that all I desired for them was a good life (Matt 7:9-11), and all I desired FROM them is worship and praise (Mark 12:30). I will not demand it, for a freely given offering is purer than gold refined in fire.

I will continue to refine Randall, for I have plans for him to use all I have given him in the furtherance of my kingdom. I will bless him as long as he follows my leading in his life (Jer 29:11) He just needs to know that it is always for his benefit that he should stand strong during these times (James 1:2-4)

Randall is passing the course right now, but he has the capability to excel at it. After all, my promise is right there in Matthew 6:25- 34 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

A Simple Necessity

(Paula)
I just realized this weekend; as I sat in my yard, behind several tables of my worldly possessions hoping someone would come and take it all away, that having yard sales is a Biblical principle. In the New Testament it tells how first century Christians sold their possessions and gave to the poor and the Church. Even today the occasional story of some radical young Christian getting rid of everything they own is told to the astonishment and head shaking of more seasoned believers. I mean, you have to be really super spiritual or nuts to feel called to do something like that. Right? It's hard to wrap your mind around the thought of anyone doing such a thing, isn't it?

I'll admit I'd probably be right beside the "Rich Young Man" who couldn't part with his stuff when Jesus told him to give it all away and follow Him. It's hard to go through the things that I've accumulated over the years. A lot of my stuff has sentimental value to me. So I can relate to the guy. Often in sermons the poor fellow is condemned for his unwillingness to obey and love of worldly pleasures and possessions. He's made out to be a terrible wicked evil person. After all, this was JESUS, God of the Universe Incarnate Himself talking to him. Duh, no-brainer. Right? I don't think so. How many times have we heard a word from God and not been willing to do what He told us to do? But even though the young man failed miserably that day because he wasn't at a point in his life where he could recognize God's voice, I'd like to think that maybe later in his life he sought forgiveness and was able to obey that command. It gives me hope.

Back onto the subject: There I was this weekend smiling and telling people as they asked for my prices that the way my yard sale worked was that if they wanted it, to take it and if they felt like leaving a donation of any amount, I'd appreciate it but they really didn't have to, just please take the item. The reactions varied from skepticism, laughter and amazement to one guy actually becoming disgusted and angry that I wasn't demanding a price. Come to think about it, there's some correlation to how people react to the gift of salvation in that. Hmmm.

Once I got the stuff out of the house and into the yard, I no longer cared about it as much and it was rather liberating and fun to get rid of it. And that's when it struck me; those early Christians were just average people like me holding big yard sales. Man, I would have loved to have gone to their yard sales. (Can you imagine how valuable their junk would be now? What deals! But I digress.) They were getting rid of their junk so that they could be freed up to do what the Lord wanted them to do. I'm trying to get rid of stuff because I don't need the baggage to do what the Lord wants me to do in Brazil. Giving away or selling your possessions is not as super spiritual as it sounds, it's just a simple necessity. Who knew that Christians are called to hold amazing yard sales?

Movin' Right Along...

Well it's hard to believe that we've been back from Brazil for almost a month already. Notice that I didn't say we'd been home that long because we haven't. It's been a whirlwind. We'd only been home a week and a half before it was up to Toledo for our church conference. It was good to make new friends and touch base with old ones as well as putting faces to some of the names I've heard over the years. But the really exciting thing was being notified that two slots had opened up for the Tropical Agriculture Class at ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) in Fort Myer, FL the next week.

Those of you on our regular mailing list will remember that we had wanted to go to this training course and that the Lord had marvelously provided the means for us to go but that the May class was already full when we went to register for it and we had to be put on a waiting list. Well, as soon as we got home from Toledo, it was pack the bags and hit the road again. Isn't it funny how it sometimes seems like God isn't doing anything with you for so long that it just about drives you crazy and the next thing you know, you're running your legs off trying to catch up with everything He's doing?

So I can hear you asking, "What is ECHO?" and "What was it like?" Echo is a Christian organization whose mission is to teach missionaries and other overseas aid workers how to fight global hunger by showing them how to help improve local farming practices by using readily available resources. They also run a World Seedbank. Check out their website or better yet if you find yourself in Florida go for a tour. (http://www.echonet.org)

It was way cool. They had set up several areas to simulate various tropical farming conditions: Arid, semi-arid, etc; they had even built a "mountain" to demonstrate temperate zone farming. It was all very beautiful and all of the plants were edible or otherwise useful. I think one of the most interesting set-ups was the "Urban Area". There they demonstrated how to do roof top gardening using recycled tires, pop cans, old carpet and packing peanuts just to list a few of the more unexpected gardening materials utilized. There were even a couple trees growing in tires there! The only soil used was what was on the plant's root ball when they transplanted it. It just blew my mind that plants could thrive without dirt.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the way the instructors never made a distinction between teaching about agriculture and sharing God's Word. One instructor likened composting to when a person is saved; both processes regenerates "waste" in order to bring about new life. I had never thought about agriculture as a way to illustrate God's Truth before. How awesome is that?

Appropriate Technologies was a fun exploration of ways to use what you have to make the things you need. This was recycling to the nth degree. Did you know you can actually run power tools with a bicycle or purify water with sunlight or sand? We learned to make an oven with a cardboard box and foam rubber!
By the time the course was over I couldn't wait to come back home and start trying out some of the techniques I had learned.

We can see how much of what we learned is applicable to use on the field, but are not quite sure yet what we will implement in our work at Belo Horizonte or in the Amazon. We are praying for clarity.

The need now is to prepare for our return. We must decide what we'll keep/take, keep/store and how to get rid of the rest. Our house needs a new owner, shipping needs arranged and a multitude of other concerns. Pray that we stay focused and pressing forward!

The Journey Back to Familiar

For those whose lives are too hectic and harried or who are just too impatient to read anything more than a couple of lines:

Randall and I got home from Brazil on Wednesday. We had a good time. The Lord is really moving down there and we can’t wait to return. Hopefully we’ll be going back in July/August. All depends on God’s timing and us selling the house and getting our vistas.

For everyone else:

The Journey Back to Familiar

Last year Randall and I read “The Dream Giver” by Brian Wilkerson. We found it to be so encouraging that we decided to offer a study on it in the fall with our small home group, (very small as there were only four of us with the occassional guest popping in). But we enjoyed it. Anyway, the book starts with an allegorical tale of a guy named “Nobody” who lived in the land of “Familiar” who had a “Big Dream”; that someday he would become a “Somebody”. It goes on to chronical his journey into “ The Unknown”. Very early on he has to leave his “Comfort Zone” and finds that the world is a great big strange and sometimes scary place. But I’m not writing a book review here. If you wnat to read “The Dream Giver”, I highly reccommend it. If you don’t, well that’s up to you.

But in this journey into missions that Randall and I have embarked upon there are many parallels to that story. Guess that’s why we found it so helpful and encouraging. We have had to leave our “Comfort Zone” many times over. This latest time involved going to a strange land that we never imagined we’d be going to until suddenly we were buying the plane tickets and packing our bags. They didn’t speak our language, their food was different (but incredibily delicious) and their customs were not the ones Randall and I grew up with. Even the night sky was different: I never knew the Orion Constellation could be viewed upside down.

So if you’ve been reading this blog from the beginning you have learned of some of our adventures in Brazil. It is a wonderful wild country of beautiful people. They seem to do everything they do with their whole heart and gusto. Being hugged and kissed like a long lost relative on the first meeting took some getting used to, at first.

Portuguese is abit tricky to learn especially when you throw in regional dialects. But most people love to help you try to get it right. Dr.Tom Russell often says “we should take every opportunity to celebrate our achievements no matter how small” and boy, do the Brazilians love to celebrate. Smiling, clapping and giving the thumbs up for us even getting one word or phrase right and when it comes to birthdays and anniversaries - the whole community shows up to help celebrate, sometimes more than once.

But Brazil is not a perfect place. There are areas that foriegners shouldn’t go or if they find themselves in such areas they should keep their mouths shut and let their native friends do all the talking. Prostitution is legal there and the basic “Human Rights” that we in America have taken for granted for years are not always observed; depending on whatever the government official’s mood is on any particular day.

But after two months of doing life in Brazil, we began to aclimate to the culture. I’ll admit I was beginning to feel more and more at home, still awkward and unsure of myself, but not afraid to venture out on my own either. Niether of us speak the language very well but at least we weren’t totally dependant upon our hosts. We made friends and were beginning to find ways to minister to them. We began to see glimpses of what God’s Will is for us. HE is really doing GREAT things in Brazil and we are so blessed to be a part of it. And so it was with sadness that our time there ended, for now.

One part of me said,”It’s too soon. It can’t be over yet.” While another part said,”Whew I’ll be glad to sleep in my own bed again and have the things that make home, Home, around me again.”

The first thing I noticed upon arriving in New York was a tremendous sense of relief. Ok so the trip back was not the best experience in the world and just knowing that we were almost done with it was a releif. But it was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Everywhere people were speaking English. I had never realized just how much the ambient buzz of human activity affected ones feeling of well-being. It was wierd. Maybe it was just NYC but no; the feeling continued into Columbus. The houses were different, the air was different, even the sunlight was different somehow. I looked at familiar sights as if seeing them from an outsider’s point of view, for the first time. No longer was the “Land of Familiar” familiar. It was like a strange new place that I’d only visited in my dreams or something. Nothing was the same as when we left two months ago. Well it doesn’t help that we left in the dead of winter and were returning at the height of spring. But even that familiar change of seasons seems different somehow. I guess the best way to describe this feeling is like when you first wake up from a deep sleep and don’t quite know where you are or if you’re even awake or not. Disorientation doesn’t quite fit. It’s that and something more. Maybe it’s because I’m not the same person and the me of Now is actually looking at the Land of Familiar for the first time.

Thoughts on Coming Home

I'm sitting here as worship is starting to kick off, listening to familiar tunes with unfamiliar words. This morning, around the world, believers everywhere are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the day the gates of Hell were forever destroyed, and God confirmed His authority over all things for all time. Hallelujah!

Within an hour of the completion of this service, Paula and I will be on our way to the airport to start our journey back to Ohio. And while that is where I have resided for 36 years, I no longer feel I can call that "home" anymore. I am just a wanderer in this life now, always headed for my "home" with Jesus when my time here is completed.

Matthew 8:19-20 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Paula and I have been called by God to serve Him, and an early attitude of my heart has been to go where-ever He draws me. At this time, we are convinced that He has called us to Brazil. The works that are starting to bring fruit here will sweep through Brazil. I have already witnessed how God has changed lives here, and the fire He has given young believers to reach out to more of the unreached people here with the Gospel of God's redeeming love.

A place has been prepared here for our abilities, talents and gifts. I lay all that I have at His feet, in submission to His calling. Nothing has or ever will catch God by surprise, and I can know that He has it all under His control. We return to the States, knowing that our time there will be finite, for we MUST respond to His calling to return to Brazil to fulfill the purpose He has for us here.

Thank you for your prayers. Pray for the work here and that we will withstand all attacks that Satan would launch to inhibit the work or our return.

God Bless each and everyone of you!