Does God care about Taxi Rides?

If you don't know, my wonderful friends came to visit me. Over the past week and a half Steven, Allison, Julie and I were on 4 flights, 2 major bus rides, 2 minor bus rides, 2 train rides and about a million taxis... and somehow each and every one had something crazy that happened.
I have to tell two of my favorites. The first was in a taxi on the way to catch a flight to Cusco. We agreed with the man on 20 soles (which i still thought was a rip off, but decided it wasn't worth arguing over the other 2 dollars) and got in. Half way to the airport we stop because has to get gas. He gets out of the car, leans his head back in and says, "I need 10 soles now so I can buy gas." Of course I refuse, but he insists that we will not make it to the airport unless I give him the 10, so I cave. He then proceeds to usher us all out of the taxi in order to pump gas (why is STILL beyond me). We finally all pile BACK into the taxi and head off once more to the airport. When we were about 5 minutes away from the airport, he starts digging around in his glove box to find his papers to get into the airport. I hear Allison gasp right before we hit another car. (Allison, use your words!) Luckily it was only a slight fender bender. So he gets out of the car to check damage and talk to the man in the other car. Two minutes later he pokes his head back into the car to ask for the other 10 soles that I will owe him in 5 minutes. Of course, I refuse (yet again) but he assures me that he will get us there and we WON'T get to the airport in time if I don't give him the other 10 soles. Hesitantly I handed it over and needless to say I made sure we never got in another taxi with that man.
Story number two... we were staying with some friends of ours in Cusco, but the main purpose of our visit was to go see Machu Picchu. The lady at the travel place told me about 10 times that we need to be at the train station at 6:30am because the train left at 6:50 (and NOT Ecuadorian or Peruvian time either!) So we worked it out with a taxi driver to pick us up at 5:45 so as not to be late (since they lived about 30 minutes outside of the city). At 5:45 that morning we were waiting and ready to go. We were still waiting at 6 and at 6:10... by the time 6:20 rolled around, we were sweating it. FINALLY the guy shows up and I tell Al I don't even WANT to know what time it is. Let's just say this trip into town definitely INCREASED my prayer life. It feels so dumb now, but at the time I was pleading with God for a miracle. I knew it was just a trip, nothing life or death, but it was going to be a royal pain if we went all the way there and didn't see Machu Picchu. So we're praying and the really late taxi driver is driving like a mad man... Al has stopped looking at her watch at this point as to not stress even more. We FINALLY hit the train station, Steven throws money at the man and we grab our stuff and run into the building. We bypass a bunch of people and jump over ropes that are supposed to keep us in line. And there it is, our miracle... the train hadn't left yet. We got on the train at 6:48 and no joke the train left 2 minutes later. Praise God for small (or not so small) miracles.
All that to say, we had a LOT of fun and got to see God show up in big and small ways.

La Virgin del Cisne

August 20th is a National Holiday in Loja. The normal little tiendas are closed and an almost eerie silence falls over Loja. There aren’t horns honking or dogs barking. There are children laughing or people calling for attention. There is silence as we walked towards the Door to the City. We arrived at 4:00 pm and waited. As the hours rolled on, more and more people gathered until the streets were full. All waiting for the Reina de Loja to arrive. You may be wondering who it is that calls a city to a stand still. She stands at about a foot and a half in height, with dark brown curly hair, a several thousand dollar dress and gold jewelry. “La Virgin del Cisne,” Loja’s virgin (see picture below).

The Virgin supposedly saved a man dying of thirst on the road to Cisne and from that point on, Lojanos have held the Virgin del Cisne in high esteem.
Every year thousands of people make the trek from Cisne to Loja (some 75 km) to show their worship of the Virgin. Some show their adoration by doing the entire 3 day journey barefoot.
My friends and I stood watching as they brought the Virgin down the street preceded by dancers and surrounded by police. They clapped, cried, threw flower petals and worshipped.
My heart was broken for the people of Loja as I watched them praise a small wooden doll which someone had made and someone else had dressed up. I wanted to weep as I saw them pay their respects to a god who had eyes but could not see their pain, who had ears, but could not hear their cries, who had a mouth put would not speak the words of love that so many of them are dying to hear.
As I walked home that night, I so longed to cry out to them, “There is a God who sees you. There is a God who knows you and wants you. There is a God who wants something real with you… his name is Jesus.”
Oh, how I long that all would know of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Nothing Too Hard...

I recently received this email from Pastor Tobias, our beloved Pastor and friend from Kisumu, Kenya. (Picture to the left is of Pastor Tobias and his amazing wife, Susan) The Lord has put this man through so much, but he continues to be faithful, even when it hurts. When I read this email, I was truly moved by his faith. I pray it speaks to your heart as well.

"After arguing, complaining, crying and thinking about so many things, I have come to learn of the following that I would love to share with you. The first thing that God told me is that He will not bless or heal me because of what I have done in the Ministry or for Him in the past or I am still doing, but He will heal and bless me because of the relationship that I have with Him. My relationship with Him is more important than any other thing.

Secondly, the Lord told me that I should do and continue doing good in each and every opportunity that comes my way without expecting any good from those whom I have done good to but to expect good that comes from Him only.

Thirdly after my legs started aching and swelling and walking was becoming a difficulty and the Doctor prescribing nerve medication for the next one month, He spoke to me through the below daily devotion from Steve Troxel.


Nothing Too Hard

Jeremiah had been a prophet for nearly forty years by the time Jerusalem came under attack by the Babylonians. He had long been proclaiming a message of repentance, but the people continued to ignore his words. Now the enemy had surrounded Jerusalem and the end was near. In this time of great turmoil, God told Jeremiah to purchase a field from his cousin.

This was a strange request, but Jeremiah obediently purchased the field. However, he soon began to question God's reasoning: "See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city? Though the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, You say to me, 'Buy the field'" (Jeremiah 32:24,25). Jeremiah had been a prophet for many years. He had been given the privilege of talking directly with God, but this command just didn't make sense. Why should he purchase a field when the enemy was invading and taking prisoners?

God answered Jeremiah with a simple, yet challenging question.
Jeremiah 32:27
"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?" Yes, the enemy had invaded the land and would soon overrun the city of Jerusalem. But God's plan was for the people to one day return: "I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in My furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be My people and I will be their God" (Jeremiah 32:37-38). Jeremiah's field was to be a reminder that God would one day restore His people - a reminder that He could be trusted even in the face
of overwhelming circumstances.

We often have a difficult time seeing how all the pieces of God's plan fit together. He leads us down a path and we fail to see the purpose - especially when the enemy begins to attack. We want to fight back, but God says to patiently trust Him and pray. We want to determine a solution and solve the problem, but God says to love Him with all our heart and share His love with others. The times in which we are most tested and pressed down ought to be the times of greatest growth and closeness with our Heavenly Father. When it seems we have no where else to turn, we ought to rejoice and trust Him even more! Let's put our life firmly in His Hands and submit to His guidance - even when we may not see where we are going or how we will get there. Let's trust His ways and always remember...for God, there is NOTHING too hard!

Thank you for your prayers and continual support in these difficult moments that we have been going through.

God bless you richly
--
Tobias A. Omollo,
Proverbs 16:3 " Commit your works to the Lord, And your plans will be established."

Do you have a Battle Plan?

I am an awesome fretter. I'm not even kidding. I will stress about the littlest and dumbest things ever. This is where Satan gets me. So let me tell you what happened recently...
I had an awesome time this week at SLIC (its a spiritual renewal conference). I was truly blessed by the speakers and I felt like the Lord really spoke to me and through me. It was great! Like a lot of conferences I came back on a bit of a high, which was to be diminished quite quickly. I walked in my house and started looking for the keys to my room (attached to my wallet with complete with credit card and ID), but they were no where to be found. I dumped my entire back on the living room floor but still, nothing. So what do I do? I panic. Due to the awesome week I had, it was on my mind to pray, so I did. And then I called the place we stayed to see if they had it and they didn't. So they I freaked out.
After that was over, I called my friend who has the master keys. While I was walking over to her house to get the key to my room, I prayed and told God that whether I found the keys or not, I would still give him praise because I knew he was good. I swear, those words barely crossed my lips when it down poured. I was completely soaked and I just laughed and thought to myself 'Really?' as I stepped in a big mud puddle.

I got the keys to my house, came back and realized they were the WRONG keys. So I had to go BACK to my friend's house and get more keys. About this time I was on the verge of tears... so I cried and fretted and walked back in hopes of finding the right key. As I trudged back to my house, it suddenly hit me: SATAN was trying to LIE to me and DECEIVE me into believing that somehow God wasn't good and that somehow he was just trying to make my life miserable (like I said, I fret and make a big deal out of the dumbest thing!)
In that moment, I remembered something I had written a good 8 months before... "When being lied to by Satan there are a couple things you have to do":
1. Say out loud, THIS IS A LIE!
2. State the TRUTH.
3. Remind yourself of how God has been faithful in the past.
4. Remember the truth of God's Word and how he promises to be faithful in the future.

I know I sound like a self help book, but THIS really works for me (it might now work for you, but YOU have to come up with your own battle plan). So I said these things, felt better and then got a phone call from my roommate telling me that the hotel found my wallet and my keys with everything in it and they were going to bring it to me in an hour.
You see, I'm a great fretter, but I've realized that the Lord is not only bigger than my problems, he's bigger than my fretting, which is really impressive. So next time you begin to fret, pull out your battle plan... feel free to use mine until you get one of your own ;)

Take note... they've been with Jesus.

I had a conversation with a friend a while back on the existence of God and he's probably the most honest agnostic I've ever met. He told me, "Look, I don't have enough proof to say that there isn't a God but at the same time I don't have enough proof to say that there is one. So I'm just here and I'm ok with that. I try to be good to people and live by my set of morality." Honest. I liked it.
Needless, I was still thinking to myself, 'What can i do to help this guy out? How can I prove to him that God exists? Can I give him a scientific book that PROVES there is a higher being? Can I have him sit down with some really smart people and have an in depth discussion?' And as I was contemplating all of this, he went to church with one of our friends.
We started talking about Jesus again this week and he told me, "Oh yeah, I went to church on Sunday." (I was a little taken aback that he would even go!) And when I inquired as to what he thought about it, he said the most profound thing, "I was amazed at their passion, at their joy and their conviction of worshiping God."
I don't think this guy's opinion has changed THAT much on whether there is or isn't a God, but what struck me was that the thing that peaked this guy's interest was not some scientific argument or profound word of wisdom, it was people living a life of FAITH.
It makes me think about Acts when Peter and John stood up and proclaimed truth from God's Word. It says how amazed the teachers of the law were by what they said because they were ordinary and unschooled men. And then it says, "They took note that these men had been with Jesus."

Far from Boring...

Have you ever experienced adventure? Have you wanted to? I think most people do… each person’s great “adventure” looks a little different but at the core of each person, I think there is a desire to belong to something and to be involved in something that MATTERS and is edgy.
This week I was told that you had to choose either adventure OR Jesus. When I heard the guy say, “Do you want adventure? … or do you want Jesus??” I almost stood up and opposed him to his face. As I went home that night I realized that this is what most people think, ‘If I live my life for Jesus it will be boring. I will have to sit with my Bible in my lap, praying and singing Kumbaya.’

Tell me something; does this sound boring to you?
Receiving 39 lashes 5 times… being beaten with rods 3 times… stoned… shipwrecked a handful of times… in danger from everything under the sun (and everyone for that matter!)… going without sleep… hungry… thirsty… cold and naked… and constantly worried. This was the adventure that walking with Jesus got Paul.

I do not claim to have the most adventurous or dangerous life. Believe me, there are people around the world who will suffer more today than I will in my entire life. But can I tell you a little about what God has allowed me to be apart of in my short 26 years of life? I have been all over the world and met all different kinds of people. I have seen forgiveness given to a father who did not deserve it by a daughter who had held on to her anger for far too long. I have been able to walk with a teenage girl as she’s struggled with the daily pressures of teenage life. I have seen an apathetic kid take a huge step into missions and watch God rearrange his life. I was able to hold my friend’s hand as she took her first step into an Evangelical church. I’ve cried over a glue-sniffing Guatemalan girl as I mourned her lostness. I’ve seen the face of a crippled child as he held out his hands to a sun he only sees once every week. I’ve been yelled at and accused of not loving when I was giving tough love. I’ve had people not speak to me for months because of sensitive information that I had to tell their parents. All of these experiences, both good and bad are part of the adventure that the Lord has for me. And in each one, I can only say as Paul did, “Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weaknesses.” When you live a life sold out for Jesus, you won’t live a boring life, but it also won’t be pretty. You will live a life full of PAIN and full of JOY. Try it out, I promise you won’t regret it. Paul didn’t and neither do I.

Give to Anyone who has Need?

When you see people hurting what do you do? I am always tempted to turn the other way... to walk in the other direction... to ignore the problem. Well, today I came face to face with this exact thing. I need to preface this with something I heard on a podcast the other day. I was listening to Matt Chandler's series on Luke. He was talking about turning the other cheek, giving people your cloak and giving to anyone as he has need. It's something that stuck with me because he said it wasn't our job to judge if someone was scamming or not; if you felt God telling you to give, give without looking for anything in return.
Well, today I came face to face with this exact situation. A woman walked into our shop with a sob story about her son being in the hospital, being from another city and not being able to buy his medicine. So, we went to the local pharmacy and bought her the medicine she needed. I talked to her a while about her children and her situation. I prayed for her and went back to work.
About an hour later, she came back to tell me that she needed the receipt for the medicine because she needed to return it. As I inquired as to why, she burst into tears telling me that her 8 year old son had just died. My heart broke for her. The other wise women in my shop were a little more weary that I, so one of them took her back to the pharmacy and it turned out that she tried to take the medicine back before to get the money, but couldn't without the receipt.
Gloria came back to explain all this to me and told me that I had been played by this woman. This woman had used my concern for her to try and get money.
At first, I was mad. I can't believe this woman used my concern for her benefit! And then I thought about that verse in Luke and how many people "used" Jesus to get what they wanted (and he KNEW they were using him!). But he gave as they had need. If the only thing that this woman got today was $15 and seeing that someone had concern for her, I truly believe it was what I was called to do without casting judgment.

Missing something?

This weekend I have had more than one conversation about this topics... purpose, meaning and the point of life.
Yesterday I called one of my friends to hang out and she told me that she was really upset and couldn't place why. Over lunch we talked about it more and she shared with me that she felt like she was missing something in her life. What if you could know WHY you were here on this earth? What if you could know that you had purpose and that life meant something? Wouldn't that be great? I shared with her how empty my life would be if I didn't have Jesus. She just nodding and smiled, but I could tell that the wheels were turning.
In our Saturday Bible study we are reading through the book of Colossians and we were talking about why Paul made such a big deal in chapter one about who Jesus was if the people he was talking to were believers. And we discussed how often we as "Christians" MISS the focal point. We miss JESUS. As we talked about who Jesus was and his death and the life we find in him, I got so excited. Jesus isn't just the answer for those who don't believe, he is the answer. JESUS answers these questions. He IS how we can have purpose and hope and meaning and true life.
Then a guy at Faith night expressed his desire to truly KNOW that all this "stuff" was true. And as I shared with him about the saving grace of Jesus, I got really excited again. Later that night, I shared with my roommates that I think so often I FORGET about the grace that I have because of Jesus's death and resurrection.
Are you missing something? Are you lacking something in your life? Maybe you need Jesus. Or maybe you have Jesus, but you've forgot that he is the POINT.

A Donkey...

I heard a man’s story today at church that truly moved me. But let me back up for a second and tell you about my church. It’s probably one of the biggest churches in Loja… has a ton of teenage and college student, big building, really awesome band, lively worship music, and a good number of “programs” and meetings during the week. Here is the one thing about my church that breaks my heart, they rarely talk about Jesus. Last week, for example, the only time they said the name of Jesus was in worship songs or at the end of a prayer. This is something that continues to perplex me… what is a church without Jesus?

So on to today’s story… a man stood up and gave testimony of how the Lord had rearranged his life. It was the kind that people love to hear… “I was drinking, smoking, doing drugs, being sexually promiscuous, and the like and then I found Jesus.” I really was expecting him to say, ‘I found Jesus and I never wanted to do any of that stuff EVER again.’ But he didn’t… instead he said, “I was sitting outside on a Saturday night smoking a joint and wondering to myself if I would go to church the next day.” Isn’t that real life? And then he said, “And the Lord spoke to me and said, you can’t live like this anymore.”

I was listening to an English sermon on line on the way to church and the guy said that we were all in different places in our spiritual life… all had struggles, and if we SAID we didn’t we were liars. And then he said, “You’re messed up and that’s ok… BUT its not ok to stay that way.” How profound is that… people fall on both sides of the fense here… you’re a Christian now, so you shouldn’t struggle with sin (which is a load of crap) OR it’s ok for me to stay in my sin and not grow and because Jesus saved me (which is also a load of crap). We are all in progress, but the point is that we are GROWING to know Jesus more every day.

At the end of this man’s testimony he did something that I’ve been waiting to hear at my church for a long time. He spoke the name of Jesus. He spoke his name in relation to Jesus’s death and resurrection being our salvation… he preached the gospel. I almost jumped out of my skin I was so excited. YES! That’s where you find true freedom and purpose!

But he didn’t stop there, he went on to say that God has called us to be used by him… and talked about all the things that God has used of the decades for his glory. Five rocks, a staff, the sea, frogs, jars of water… the list goes on. But my favorite was this example: “If God used a donkey to speak to a prophet, he can use me to speak to the nations.”

I was brought to tears because I realize that I really don’t think God can use my “junk,” he can only use what I would consider strengths. So in that moment I confessed that I’ve been too cocky about my strengths and too timid about my weaknesses. If God needs me to be a donkey, then a donkey I will be.

Bare...

All is laid bare… nothing is hidden from his sight. I can almost see it now, standing naked before the judge with the accuser screaming insults, displaying all of my faults before judge and jury. The accuser points his finger as I shrink back knowing that all he says is so horribly true. His case is so solid, “She SAYS she follows you, but look at her! Look at that pride, the ugliness in her heart, her lust, her idols! Do you really want that?!” As the judge is about to pronounce sentence upon me, my High Priest steps in, and before I realize what is happening, he swoops me up into his arms. I cry out, “No! I’m too dirty, I don’t deserve…” My muffled cries are silenced as he whispers in my ear, “I have taken your place. Your sins are forgiven” The shrieks of the accuser are silenced as my Priest declares, “She is mine. My blood paid for that pride, ugliness, lust, sin. I have given myself for her.” He looks on my filthy body with love. Through my tears, he sees me. Through my filth, he sees his grace. “Nothing can separate you from my love.” My lover has come for me.

As I read Hebrews 4 this morning, this was the scene that was laid out before me. All is laid bare before Him. How much more bare do you get than naked… and thanks to the first sin, in that state is where you will feel the most shame. God sees what you try to hide. He is not fooled by your mask or your good deeds. His Word is able to divide bone and marrow, don’t you think he can see who YOU really are?? He cannot look upon your sin and do nothing, otherwise he would not be just. So, he chose to do something. He chose to send you a High Priest who has been there. He DWELT among us. He didn’t belong on this earth, but he chose to be here… to be one of us, to be with us. To sit in the dirt and to know what is was to be human. And in that dwelling, he suffered and he died. So when the accuser begins his tirade, our High Priest can step in and say, “I have made the ultimate sacrifice once for all. The righteous for the unrighteous.”

I don’t know where you are right now, but I know that the Creator of the Universe wants to pick up the broken pieces of you and make you useful. He has shown me today all that he has given up for me. And through my muffled cries, I hear the words that save me, “You are mine.”