Why send me?

Why send me?

      “And as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water....that the waters that came down from upstream stood still and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down to to the Sea of Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and the waters were cut off, and the people crossed over opposite Jericho.” (Joshua 3: 15-16)

     My wife, Miriam, traveled with one of our sister churches to Ecuador, many times as a translator for a medical/dental mission team. She became very close to many of the people who went regularly and even spent 3 or 4 years teaching one of the doctors Spanish so that he could minister to the people without a translator. 

     One year their missions pastor decided that they would not go to Ecuador that year, but to Haiti where there had been a devastating earthquake. Because they were now going to a French Creole speaking country they told Miriam that she would not be needed. Then after a few weeks they decided that they did want her to come since they would be traveling through the Dominican Republic and might need a Spanish speaker there. She agreed to go although she didn’t know what function she would have on the team.

     When they arrived in Port Au Prince they were housed in a partly constructed church in a very rough looking neighborhood. They set up their clinic on the ground floor and ministered to many during the week. Miriam ended up assisting a doctor even though she didn’t have to translate. All the patients spoke broken English! 

    At night they all slept on the partially finished second floor that was just a 10 foot wide platform all around the wall with no railing to keep you from falling to the first floor. They had men on one side and women on the other. (Luckily there were no sleepwalkers in the team!)

   The night watchmen were some teenagers that they would hear about four in the morning singing and praying. Outside the building during the night they could hear ugly sounds, but no one ever came near the building. 

    Miriam brought with her a small battery operated fan that she used to cool off for about an hour each night before going to bed. One day there was a little boy very sick and dehydrated. One of the doctors said that they needed to keep him as cool as possible but there was no no electricity that night for the fans. Miriam volunteered her fan and it lasted all night cooling the little boy in his mother’s arms.

    The week went well with many people treated during the clinics and before long it was time to go. The day they were supposed to leave, for some reason, the departure kept being delayed until it was almost 4PM. The trip to the border was supposed to be two hours and the border to the Dominican Republic (DR) would close at 6PM. The driver, a man from DR, who only spoke Spanish, was getting madder and madder, with Miriam being the only one who understood his complaints.

     Finally, they departed and the driver drove as fast as he could on the winding two lane road, muttering under his breath. They arrived at the border crossing about 545 PM and there was a massive traffic jam of cars, trucks, and buses. On the right of the traffic was a small pond but it was impossible to tell how deep the water was. It looked as if there was no way they would make it past that traffic jam in 15 minutes. 

    The driver left the vehicle to do something and someone started pounding on the bus door as the sun went down. Everyone started praying and the pounding stopped. The driver came back, started the bus, and Miriam does not know how he got past all the trucks and cars that were in front of them but somehow they ended up one car away from the gate. Then he got out of the bus again and said he was going to talk to “El Capitan”.

     When he returned he told Miriam to get all the passports. Everyone quickly responded and Miriam went with him to see the captain. While they were in the captains office he looked over the passports and started asking questions in Spanish. While he was talking to Miriam the driver took off to talk to the Lieutenant at the gate. He returned frantic and shouted: “Apurense, neccitamos cuarenta dolares!” (Hurry, we need $40!) Miriam quickly ran back to the bus and shouted to everyone: We need $40!!! 

     Everyone dug into their wallets and Miriam ran back to the driver who took it to the lieutenant. The captain handed Miriam the passports, they jumped in the bus, the gate swung open, the bus roared through the gate, and then they watched it close behind them. They were the last vehicle to cross the border that night! One of the doctors exclaimed: “Now we know why God made sure Miriam came with us! We wouldn’t have made it without her!”

   They drove another hour to the place they were to sleep and praised God for helpings them get across the border that night. Miriam then knew why God had allowed her to come on this mission trip!

   What has God called you to do today? Where has He told you to go? To visit a shut in? To minister to someone with family problems? To help out someone who is moving in or out? Look for opportunities to be a servant to those in need and be available to be used by Him.

PRAY

1.   Lord thank you for loving me enough to pursue me until I surrendered my life to You. I belong to You and desire to be used by You in which ever way You choose.

2.   Fill me with Your Spirit today that I might be receptive to Your leading and that I am quick to obey Your instructions.

3.   Help me today to spend time listening to Your voice through the pages of Scripture and to take to heart the things You desire to teach me. Give me a teachable heart today.