The following several posts are excerpts from my personal journal during a mission trip I took for two months at Mozambique, Africa, in 1997.
(Since this Sunday's sermon will be about Missions, I thought it'd be a good introduction.)
These are just bits and pieces of (though word-for-word) entries from my journal, so I've edited here and there to make more sense out of choppy portions.
Hope you will be blessed!
Mon., 9:48pm 7/7/97 (US time: Mon., 3:41pm)
Praise Jesus! I’m here at Mozambique (Maputo). It was a long day, but God was there…Got ‘caught’ for taking pictures at Maputo Airport—not real authority…[they] wanted [to confiscate] my camera. They were suspicious of us all…
Heidi’s (Missionary) words still hang in my mind: “It’s a spiritual warfare!”
…a Mozambican teenager with no right arm came begging for something, mumbling weakly in Portuguese (national language). I couldn’t understand so I tried to ignore it. Was I supposed to help or was this another trick? When Heidi came, she asked to open one of our bags (we had brought 15 bags of donated clothes and shoes and other basic supplies) with sweaters in it. She said simply (as she handed out the clothes to the begging street boys), “These kids are street kids and they are cold…I know these were for our kids (at the mission center) but these kids are cold, and if nothing else, now they’re happy—that we know.”
Thurs., 12:05am 7/9
…Heidi shared her joy of hearing Beatrice’s testimony today at the outreach—a testimony by a girl who was found almost dead with worms filled in her swollen belly and toes, dying. She [had] almost died four times and at the beginning [when Heidi had brought her to the mission center] wouldn’t ever talk, but today she gave a testimony smiling!
Heidi said, “If I have to go through a lot of hell—and I do a lot—seeing Beatrice saved like that, hearing her testimony, it’s worth it!”
Thurs., 7:24am 7/17
I am afraid, Lord, and now I face my fears—
Heidi (who’s been a missionary in Mozambique since she turned 18; she was then I think near mid thirties) said she gets the diseases (especially malaria) or live or things like that at least once a month. More than I want to admit it, I fear. God help me!
Fri., 4:47am 7/18
…I don’t know what I’m feeling. Somewhat confused, disappointed… (?) I don’t know what to feel…
Sat., 12pm 7/19Mat 26:58 “But Peter followed him [Jesus] at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest…”
Do I fear being identified with Christ in suffering? Am I following Him at a distance? Afraid of what might happen?
-to be continued...
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Monday, August 07, 2006
revival with Oh!
Don't forget to tell your friends!
A Revival at Nakwon Reformed Church with Pastor Suk Hwan Oh, an anointed, powerful preacher.
Please remember to pray for this Revival, for your personal renewal as well as for your friends and those who will attend!
A Revival at Nakwon Reformed Church with Pastor Suk Hwan Oh, an anointed, powerful preacher.
Fri, Aug 25th 8:00PM
Sat, Aug 26th 7:00PM
Sun, Aug 27th 11Am & 2:30PM
Please remember to pray for this Revival, for your personal renewal as well as for your friends and those who will attend!
Jesus
Who is Jesus?
Apostle John in his later years...
...forced into exile on Isle of Patmos, a Roman Penal Colony
...torn away from his flock
...long since having lost all of his brothers in the faith, the original disciples of Jesus
...was "in the Spirit" on the "Lord's Day." (Rev 1:9-10)
And it was during such lonely yet faith-sustained hour that he received one of the greatest revelation of Jesus Christ any one could have.
He saw Jesus.
John saw the kingly High Priest who intercedes on our behalf; he beheld the Perfect and Pure One whose eyes lwere ike blazing fire that pierces into the deepest recesses of the heart and yet never condemns; he encountered his Source of Strength and Protection--feet llike bronze a powerful combination of strength of iron and endurance of copper, his righteous right hand holding up the seven stars, the messengers, servants of the church; John heard the all-consuming, ever contant Voice of Love that swallows up every other distracting noise that surrounds us, yet speaks to us the piercing yet freeing Truth, the double-edge sword protruding from his mouth; and finally, he was blinded by the brilliance of the face that shone like the sun at high noon - the Light that shines at our darkest hour.
What do you "see" when you think of Jesus?
When all around you seem to shatter and fall apart, remember another vision John saw amidst terrifying and awe-inspiring events that would lead up to the end of days:
Jesus is in control, no matter what, with a crown of authority and kingship, his hand ready with the instrument of harvest - ready to fulfill the perfect will of His Father.
-From August 6th Sunday 2:30 PM EM Service
Apostle John in his later years...
...forced into exile on Isle of Patmos, a Roman Penal Colony
...torn away from his flock
...long since having lost all of his brothers in the faith, the original disciples of Jesus
...was "in the Spirit" on the "Lord's Day." (Rev 1:9-10)
And it was during such lonely yet faith-sustained hour that he received one of the greatest revelation of Jesus Christ any one could have.
He saw Jesus.
John saw the kingly High Priest who intercedes on our behalf; he beheld the Perfect and Pure One whose eyes lwere ike blazing fire that pierces into the deepest recesses of the heart and yet never condemns; he encountered his Source of Strength and Protection--feet llike bronze a powerful combination of strength of iron and endurance of copper, his righteous right hand holding up the seven stars, the messengers, servants of the church; John heard the all-consuming, ever contant Voice of Love that swallows up every other distracting noise that surrounds us, yet speaks to us the piercing yet freeing Truth, the double-edge sword protruding from his mouth; and finally, he was blinded by the brilliance of the face that shone like the sun at high noon - the Light that shines at our darkest hour.
What do you "see" when you think of Jesus?
When all around you seem to shatter and fall apart, remember another vision John saw amidst terrifying and awe-inspiring events that would lead up to the end of days:
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. (Rev 14:14)
Jesus is in control, no matter what, with a crown of authority and kingship, his hand ready with the instrument of harvest - ready to fulfill the perfect will of His Father.
-From August 6th Sunday 2:30 PM EM Service
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
think about it...
Behold the sun! Every square yard of the sun is constantly emitting 130,000 horse power, or the equivalent of 450 8-cylinder automobile engines. And yet our sun, as powerful as it is, is but one minor star in the 100 billion orbs which make up our Milky Way Galaxy. Hold a dime in your fingers and extend it arm's length toward the sky, allowing it to eclipse your vision, and you will block out 15 million stars from your view.
Consider the earth! Our globe's weight has been estimated at 6 sextillion tons (a six with twenty-one zeroes). Yet it is precisely tilted at 23 degrees; any more or any less and our seaons would be lost in a melted polar flood. Though our globe revolves at the rate of 1,000 miles per hour or 25,000 miles per day or 9,000,000 miles per year, none of us tumbles into orbit. Our God who "stretches the northern sky out over the empty space and hangs the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7) also created an invisible band of gravity to hold us secure.
Now...let me pose a few questions. If he is able to place the stars in their sockets and suspend the sky like a curtain, do you think it remotely possible that God is able to guide your life? If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that he is mighty enough to light your path? If he cares enough about the planet Saturn to give it rings or Venus to make it sparkle, is there an outside chance that he cares enough about you to meet your needs?
-excerpt from Max Lucado's The Great House of God
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