I had an important conversation with my dad last night. In our few minute video call via Skype, he inquired as to what our biggest encouragement has been recently. I responded that the worship times at church inside of the music ministry we’re helping to head has grown in leaps and bounds. To have an operational team and to be free from technical work to worship Jesus and lead others into His presence has been refreshing.
“Your greatest frustration?” The continual setback of acquiring our own water transportation for the field God has sent us too. One year after buying our first boat, the thing still sits in our driveway, unusable. A mechanic sits in the town jail, and a new boat sits on the beach without an engine. A call this morning to the Yamaha center after a month of waiting revealed that it may be another month of sitting before they get new stock for us to purchase.
As I voiced my thoughts on how to meld the ministry on the islands with the local church and my manifest lack of knowledge on the merger, Dad reminded me of what season we’re in: “Don’t you think as an American, you want instant results when it really takes time to lay foundations for future fruitfulness?” His gentle reminders to not be so hard on ourselves or expect everything to happen immediately was just the thing my little overwhelmed heart and mind needed. He took the pressure off.
One of the elders at Williamson River Christian Fellowship did the same thing in January – instructing us to pace ourselves for the long haul, and that we ought to take whole weeks to stay at home and be refreshed when necessary. To hear this from our biggest financial backers was a sizable stress reliever. Our pastor at Family Life Church told us over a Bloomin’ Onion at Outback: “Of course you’re not fulfilled! This is plowing season! We’re not reaping the full harvest at the church here either. But we have our hand to the plow…”
I’ve picked up a nice little nugget of literature off my shelf in the last few days: 50 Missionary Heroes Every Boy and Girl Should Know. This little chronicle of biographies written for children in 1913 is giving me a glimpse into the immense sacrificial labor so many went through to pave the way for the gospel throughout the nations. In bygone generations, it took years – sometimes decades – to win a single soul for the Kingdom. Here I am frustrated over some lost time with a boat engine while at the same time we’ve seen scores transformed by the power of the Word. In our 2.5 years in East Africa already thousands have been impacted by our simple proclamation of Jesus.
“…the good thing is that you guys are in this for the long haul. If if takes five to eight years to lay a foundation, it’s well worth the investment!” Thanks for the reminder Dad!