Friends In Christ,
Wow! Remember how I shared with you all about finding my Father? Well, it's gone from an incredible moment to a painful few weeks. At first, he was as excited as I was and seemed eager to see me. But since then he has cooled somewhat and is preferring to put of any meeting until later this summer.
I understand the need to "assimilate" but, to be quite honest, the hurt at being :rejected" in this way is very real. pray for patience and understanding - - - finding him wasn't just the end of a search, it was the beginning of restoring a relationship!
My colleagues at ABM and my family have been very understanding and supportive of our family in this time of dis-function I am thankful that I have never felt that I had to sacrifice something in my family for the sake of "ministry." Thank you, too, for your prayers.
Now on to other matters . . .
What can I say - - - you received a copy of the appeal that was sent out by the director of ABM on our behalf. You know how things are hurting for us financially. But here it is, two weeks later and we are still here. God is carrying us through this in some real incredible ways. Pray that we will not grow weary.
I must admit I used to downplay the idea of being "called by God" into ministry. In my mind it was always (1.) Pray (2.) Make a decision. But now I see that it's only the belief that we are right where God wants us to be that keeps us here. If you think it's the flying all over the place, think again. In and of itself, that got old along time ago.
We simply have a burden for people who go without things that we have. And we have been called by God to assist however we can. Sometimes, after spending time in the bush with a family that is just soaking up the fellowship like a dry sponge - - - I come back to my home, my church, my friends, and feel sort of "fat on fellowship." It's hard to describe what it's like for these people working in villages most people have never heard of! If you ever have to experience it, I hope it's only because God has called you to a difficult task that requires it. A good missionary friend expressed it like this "It's my love for these people that keeps me here. Otherwise, I don't think we could endure it!"
I will be traveling later this month to three villages. Two of them I have never been to before, although I have met the native pastors that lead in their churches. We will be bringing the Christian recording artist, Andrew Petterson, with us for some time of concerts, evangelism, and late night discussions with friends.
Kris and I have had some time of "sort of" this week and last week. The lady who owns the store we used to own needed some time with a daughter and new grand baby on the west coast. So I asked ABM if we could cut back a bit on ABM for the two weeks she will be gone and run the store for her. It's a real nice reminder to us of the situation that shaped the passion we now operate under. The Body of Christ is such a neat thing. The listeners, the exhorters, the pray-ers, as well as the "scratch your head and wonder what's up with that guy" types come and go. We are enjoying re-connecting with some dear people.
There are some real exciting things happening in our ministry. Want to hear just one of these God-Things? The foundation we were awarded a grant for a portion of our new plane is located on the west coast of the lower 48. The chairman of this organization was at some sort of community event, and literally bumped in to someone who had moved to that place from Naknek, Alaska. He immediately asked the man, "Have you head of an organization called Arctic Barnabas Ministries?" As the story was recounted to us later by the person with whom we dealt directly in this grant, if the man said "NO" it wouldn't have really meant anything one way or another - a neutural response. But the man responded with so much enthusiasm about ABM and what we are accomplishing among the villages of western Alaska, that this CEO was absolutely amazed.
He returned to his office the next day and told the man who recounted the story to us . . ."We need to stick with Arctic Barnabas Ministries. Let's make sure this is a long term thing."
WOW! Wasn't it gracious of the Lord to allow us to to hear about our ministry this way? Who was the guy from Naknek. We don't know, and we probably never will. But it was a real eye opened for me at just how much God does. One person plants, the other waters, but God causes the increase.
I don't know if you will be afforded that sort of glimpse about the effect you are making on other people. But don't let that stop you from being the Salt of the earth. One day, when we stand before the Lord, we will see the bad we did, but we will also see the "cups of water" we passed on to someone almost without thinking - - - and how God turned that into something big! So don't get discouraged. Sure, always be ready always to give that answer for the hope that is in you. But also practice your listening skills as you make the difference in someone's life today.
Scoopin' up the manna - one day at a time!
Gary
