September 26 2008

Ever have those weeks when you try and think about why you take so many u-turns and pray that the paths that you take are the ones that you are meant to take?

This week was a tough one. A week of challenges -- physically, mentally, emotionally but mostly spiritually.

While you are in ministry, you will run into obstacles-- there is no doubt about it. Many are spiritual obstacles. But some of them are physical obstacles. Some of these obstacles are people who are ministering alongside you. People who just don't seem to remember why they are in ministry. People who need to realize that their sole job shouldn't be torturing those that they are supposed to be working with. These obstacles attack our emotions.

But - we must stand back and look at the bigger picture and remember that God is in control. He's in control of all things and He is still in control even when we feel like everything is falling around us.

This week, we had this wild experience with a rat in the ceiling above our heads. It was stuck in a glue trap and literally bouncing on the ceiling tiles trying to get loose. And here we were, helpless under the ceiling tile -- hiding under the sheets and praying that the scratching and bouncing wouldn't cause this rodent and/or its feces to land on our sheets.

A few weeks ago, it rained inside our bedroom and flooded our bathroom. Water was streaming down the walls as we pulled wedding pictures off the walls. A month before that, our bathroom had flooded and we had to rip down a wall. Only to find disgusting mold and dead mice waiting to be found. To live in such conditions is to pray daily for God to help us accept our conditions and move past them.

Whoever said that a missionary assignment would land us in a nice house that didn't leak and smell? And that everyone we worked with would be a joy to work around. Whoever said that a missionaries life is free from the devil's nasty plans was definitely mis-informed.

But, admist all of our struggles this week -- we saw five salvations among the seafarers who came to the International Ministries Center. Seeing those five come to Christ and lose their chance to spend an eternity in Hell seemed to make our troubles fade away. I don't know the men's names who found Jesus in this place but I know that one day we'll meet in Heaven and I hope that I can remember their faces.

And to this person in ministry who is still causing us so much grief, all we can do is pray for God to change his heart. So - God will you change this man's heart and help him see the bigger picture??