I complain a lot actually. Here in Middle Earth there seems to be plenty of things to complain about. We have not had electricity in the daytime for the last five days and today someone said that could become a permanent regime. Our secretary went down to the local government office to register some guests and was told that because they were only here for three days that they did not need registering. She had already paid a $100 for the registration fee when they told her this and now they wont give the money back. Life as normal in Minas Tirith. I complain about it often. They are tearing all the old trees out of the city to widen the streets and it is a mess and it is taking away the only attractive part of our city. There is a lot to complain about. And then this happened.
I heard from a colleague of mine that his home church would not support him anymore. There were a couple of reasons for this. They said that being in Gondor was too hard on his family and they said that he did not have enough fruit to show for his efforts. I wrote to them to encourage them to support him. When they refused something in me was greatly offended. A man and his family had come to Gondor and learned the language and communicated the love of Christ (effectively I might add) and they want to take him away? But these are MY people. Jesus loves them and we MUST reach them with His truth. I was surprised by my passion for these people, for this place, for what God is doing and will do here.
So, I here and now determine that I will be thankful. Thankful for a sending organization that loves Gondor and believes in the work that we do. Thankful for the privilege of sharing Jesus in a tough place. Thankful to serve a people who are hospitable and gracious. Thankful to live on the roof of the world amidst majestic mountains and beautiful river valleys. Thankful to serve my Lord who gave up everything to serve me.
3 comments:
I recently had an experience that caused me to guess God's direction and His purposes in my life. I too, was looking for fruit.
God says, plant, water, He brings forth fruit.
We aren't told to judge the fruit of our hands.
We are told we can see the church and know them by their fruit.
What we need to be confident in is this, are we on mission with God, when He calls us, in the way He called us. Knowing this, we remain confident He will bring fruit.
To be totally candid, it seems an arrogant expression of our own efforts to demand fruit in our timing.
God is patient.
Hi,
I couldn't find an email address, so I'll ask here.
We've begun a monthly "mission moment" at our church, and I want our Missions Committee to use your Web site as a source to tell our congregation about your activities in Gondor. If you agree, I'll pass your blog to members of the committee.
JA
johnalex1@mac.com
Hey John, you and anybody reading this are given full permission to share this as you feel led. I have sent you an e-mail as well.
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