Team Five Morris

It was the last day of 40 days of purpose. Loring and I were invited to set up a propaganda booth at Easthaven Baptist Church (our sending church) and to give a 20 minute “talk” on the theology of missions. I was trying to tie together the mission emphasis of Easthaven with the mission of God. Well it was pretty easy. I picked up the famed book by Rick Warren and began to read the first sentence. “It's not about you.” It seemed clear that if you didn't get anything out of the book you should get that. So off I went.

It was nice to see so many familiar faces in the foyer. It felt like a family reunion. We passed out our prayer cards, brochures and tried to recruit folks for short term missions. Loring and I were absolutely floored at the zeal of Tim and Marcie Bochman who are on the mission board and also coordinated this event. They are both M.K.'s (missionary kids) and have a passion for returning to the mission field somewhere in the middle east or Asia. We give thanks for these two and pray for patience and joy in their wait.

In addition thanks to all who have have bent their knees and lifted us up in prayer. The road is going to be bumpy, long and narrow. Even at the beginning of this journey, which started three years ago, it is clear to see that this is not a mission Dan and Loring are on but one we have begun with many of you. We (as in you and us) are partners in the gospel. I'm serious when I say that holding the rope will require something of you. Just as going into the well will cost us something.

We were asked the question in class this week, “What is the purpose of the church?” It is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. It was, is and always will be about Him, not us. C.S. Lewis said that we are like children content to play with mud patties when vacation at the coast would be so much better. We are so easily entertained and thus stray far off the mission God has set His church on. This is a war-time effort, turning leisure cruise liners into troop transports or vacation home to barracks.  I know I'm mixing metaphors but you get the point.  This 60-90 years is not the focus or the pinnacle. It is the blinking of an eye, a quick vapor that will escape us. The goal is not to arrive safely at death.  In heaven there will be no more preaching, no more suffering, no cross to bear, no affliction, all these will be no more. Neither will there be the ability to go back and redo the things we did not do that we wish we would have.  Do the thing, regardless of the cost, it will cost far too much to not to.

I flew out of Mason City Municipal Airport a couple of weeks ago.  Our pilot Craig reminded us that this was the last place anyone saw Buddy Holly and the boys alive.  At first I had a twinge of fear as the little Cessna 182 began speeding down the runway.  "I haven't preached a great sermon yet or held a little orphan baby or had a parade."  A whisper came over me and I smiled with anticipation.  I began to think that if we did crash and die, it would bring a lot of publicity to IM.  There would possibly be an outpouring of friends and family urged into service for the Lord.  Being used is being used.  I'm working out in my heart what it means to have my joy come from bringing God glory.  Whether it is, no matter the suffering, the loss of time, or absence from all things comfortable.   The rest of the plane ride was spent day dreaming about all the possibilities of Jesus getting glory in my life that day.

That was the last of seven days in Iowa where I met the people who make up the backbone of International Messengers.  These servants are the cream of the crop! For instance, it was amazing to meet a couple of guys with a passion for serving Jesus in accounting.   Get this, they have to raise their own support!  That's right, from the accountant to the secretary, from the graphics gal and yes even the President of IM has to raise their own support.  Jesus is using this team to do great things through the church. I was taken back at the magnitude of work that goes into sending short terms missionaries.  To think this work was all started by a quirky, hard working, Jesus lovin' guy named Bob Rassmussen several years ago.  I truly felt I was part of something bigger than myself.  I was humbled to think of all the saints praying for the data base guy, the assistant, the accountant and the president not to mention all the missionaries (about 107).  To think of all the people who are involved in holding the rope of IM is staggering. It is significant to have a home office staff who raises their own support:

• They believe in the work they are doing, and understand the missionaries.

• They love missions and the missionaries.

• They are on mission

• They have people who love and pray for them  and their mission.

Did you just spend four thousand bucks!!??  Yes I did.  We were in a "financial planning" class when I spent the money to buy our one-way tickets to Uganda.  No we wern't goofing around, we already had our budgeting done so we were waiting for everyone to get finished.  I had been looking into tickets for some time now and the cheapest ones were about 9k.  When I found these we thought we should go ahead and be "good stewards" of our supporters money.  So thanks to those who have given finacially and to those who have prayed for the price of the tickets.

I was asked, "What if you don't have all your money raised by January?"  I told my friend we needed to practice our faith sometime.  We have no doubt God can provide the funds, but even if He doesn't, He is still good.  No it's not the fiery furnace and there is not much of a parallel except our affections are for Jesus not the stuff He does for us.  Oops, I'm preaching again.  Okay, the tickets are for January 14 2009 flying out of Seattle, WA.  Mark it on your calendar and keep holding of the rope.

Can I get a Dr. Pepper and pee-chee.  I feel like I'm back in school again.  Oh yeah, I am.  Is there anything worse that being over 30 and afraid to ask the teacher to go the bathroom? It's a little intimidating but I have a stategy that will be simple yet effective. For every question I will just put "Jesus" down, because I'm almost positive the teacher will have a hard time saying, "No Jesus is not the answer", or "He isn't always the answer."  Could you imagine?  Pray for me that I can soak up enough to do whatever I am supposed to do.

Five months ago I couldn't wait to begin the training proccess.  It is here and we even got some homework.  This was a first for me to actually be excited about homework.  Though the class is like wetting your whistle on a fire hose, I have already found myself repenting of at least two things.  One is my lack of prayer time and two is my lack of joy and delight.  The prayer one is easy to spot but the other one threw me for a loop.   Let's see, the bible says to "Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are uproght in heart" (Psalm 32:11).  "Let the nations be glad and sing for joy" Psalm 67:4.  "Delight yourself in the LORD" Psalm 37:4.  "Rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven" Luke 10:20.  "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" Phillippians 4:4.  Do you see the theme here?  Well these aren't suggestions but commandments, like being content or loving etc.  It's intense and exciting, I love learning new things and as weird as it seems I like the repenting part. It reminds me that I don't know as much as I thought.  I have resigned myself to the fact that the more you get to know God, His word and His people the more you need to pray and ask God to change you.