SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF BLUES!
The hardest part of being in ministry for me, is when those times of heaviness come. I have written songs about the blues and sorrow throughout my life, but this is different. Those were feeling-sorry-for-myself “blues”. This is more like feeling sorry for my friends-and-co-worker “blues”.
I love this team!
The more I learn about how much other people in the world live without (and yet they put an emphasis on the importance of reaching others with the knowledge of Jesus), the more respect I have for their tenacity, ambition, and real faith they display! Man, do I miss them and how that fuels me! All I can think about is … “if I could just get them this … or get them that, then think how much more for Christ they could accomplish”! But I sit here and wonder thinking to God about how long do they have to wait Lord to be supplied? God, are they not putting forth the effort? Is not their dedication deserving of the supply they desire?
You may think that ….
“oh, but their life is simpler than ours and therefore they have ample
time to apply those traits”.
I would beg to differ. For those who have been to those places, would be able to testify that life in other parts of the world are congested, time consuming to get around (think of our Amish families), and flat out dangerous to mention “Jesus” in some areas. It takes longer to do cooking, banking, mailing, clothes washing, gathering food, … you name it, it takes longer. They go to church 3 to 4 times a week sometimes it’s at their house… and they like it!
Yet They do not let the importance of sharing and getting out the Word of God be hindered by it. All the places I have seen where there is not enough time to accomplish the task our Lord told us to accomplished, is only that way because those individuals sweat the small things and let them squeeze out the EXTRA important things that ought to be done.
Small stuff … what is that? Usually it is stuff that has been culturally developed. An example might be … just 50 years ago, few families bathed every day … am I right?
Here in Ohio where it is hot and muggy and even freezing at times, we NOW bath every day. Several reasons contribute that change, for one it’s easier, and faster than it used to be, there are more people now thus a bit more potential for BO in a crowd. Regardless, it is still a good example of changes that have taken place in just one generation. Addition to the daily routine …. it can steal time from what is really important.
I so admire the work of our teams overseas. I have witnessed where they don’t sweat the small stuff if it is going to take away from the prime objective (I am not talking about bathing here as in the Philippines you can shower up to 3 times a day). I see them work sacrificially time and time again. And they have no intention of stopping either!
It’s like the old country music song … “if I had a million dollars”. It use to be I would pay off my house or get a new trouble-free car, give some to the church fund, and then take a nice traveling vacation. But not now … my heart has changed by observing these
fellow workers in the GYMN ministry. Now it would be like this:
get the Asia office a long term rental agreement or buy the building, get an office with more than one room for the Africa team, get both offices a ministry vehicle, set up a trust so we can have a full-time office in Nepal, provide base benefits for our team members, provide minimum wage levels (U.S.) for our Directors, Provide better computer and communications for our overseas offices, bring part time employees up to full time …. you get my drift, right?
I see their needs everyday. You can’t even imagine unless you have been there. For those who have, it is a life changing experience to know that God allows them to operate at those levels with the little they have to do it with.
So yeh, my heart goes out to them, and yeh it gives me the blues, and yeh I want to do all I can to make ministry and life better for them. Some of that is out of our control, but there are things that can be done to help. Helpful items are cheaper over there get. You can get a lot for a dollar. But it is not the dollar that comes one time that makes the impact. It is the dollar that comes routinely that helps us to plan and set goals because we know that dollar is going to be there.
I believe many hands make light work. It works in many facets of life but especially in ministry. If 200 house-holds gave just $10.00 a MONTH, that would be $2,000 every month that is not currently being received. If I could get 200 of my friends and those who know of me to do the same to fund me, then I can secure my position here at GYMN. Yes it does cost the ministry to have me here. I am currently at about 7% of my fund raising goal.
But I don’t have the blues for myself, if we can not supply the ministry lines over-seas, then they won’t need me anyway. To me, there is a priority … it is to teach you how important it is to train our youth leaders all over the world. Without them being equipped, the future church is certainly at a higher risk level.
What small stuff is stopping us?
Check out our web-site page for ways to contribute. It can be as easy as a Phone call to our office also. 419-756-4433
