Noah. We have just completed our Missions Workshop with Pastor Eidsmoe and this is a good time to talk about “going.” Noah and his extended family had been in the ark for a long time. The animals had been with him for a long time too--and there was no kitty-litter! God does not just open the door of the ark and let the occupants escape. No, God gives some instruction. They are to “go” and God gives some specific directions. Noah and his family go out of the ark.
Jesus. Think about Jesus for a minute. Ministry was no easy job--everybody was tired, people, disciples, AND Jesus. So what does Jesus do? He tells His disciples to “go” across the Sea of Galilee while He goes back to send the multitudes home. The directions are straight forward and the disciples follow those directions.
St. Paul. Now let’s go to St. Paul. He has appointed folks to get involved with an offering. The job of offering collection has gone well and now those funds need to get to Jerusalem, where the offering was to be received. He tells the Corinthians that the offering will get where it is going, and then he adds, “If it is fitting ..., I go also.” The idea, of course, is that he will accompany the group if the Lord appears to desire his “going.”
God and Going. Do you get the idea that God is involved in this “going” business? Now let’s get to November in 2006. In the early Fall I was talking to Pastor Del Palmer about our Missions Workshop that we just completed on October 29. I told him about our desire to support Pastor Luther’s St. Paul’s Lutheran School in India and the Bible placement program for Uganda. Then he says, “I want you to go to India with us in January.” If you had a camera, you could have gotten a pretty interesting picture of your pastor’s jaw dropping a mile! But, I said I would pray about it and bring it to our church Council. Pastor Palmer said he needed to know if I would go within just a few days, because he had to order plane tickets.
An Opportunity for a Reluctant Pastor. So, here’s what you need to know. Your pastor is not exactly an “eager beaver” when it comes to this kind of thing. In the first place, traveling is not my “thing.” The Lord typically does not hit me over the head with a command to do this or do that. It is only when we are resistant to His plans that He plays tough, like with Saul on the road to Damascus. I told our church Council about this trip coming up in the end of January, that I wasn’t sure that the Lord wanted me to go, but if they felt I should go, I needed to know in order to help Pastor Palmer make a plane reservation. The church Council talked it over, looked at church budget options for next year, and told me, “Go.”
The Role in India. When I shared this with Pastor Palmer in AFLC World Missions, I could detect enthusiasm right over the phone! The area of India where the Indian AFLC is ministering, does not speak English. The pastors and leaders do not have a lot of Christian materials in their heart language. Much of what our Team will do will be translated as we speak. There will be some basic Christian teaching by members of our AFLC World Missions Team. BUT, the Team can not go as church workers because they would not get visas very easily. Although I will be doing my share of teaching and preaching, I am officially going as an audiologist, the profession I practiced for a quarter century. On top of that, Pastor Dastry advises me that there are ten people in his church that can’t hear, so I will bring an audiometer and hearing aids along with me on this trip to India. I am “officially” going to visit my friend Luther Dastry, but unofficially sharing the love and teaching of Christ on behalf of Zion Lutheran Church while I am there.
Costs. “Going” is a costly business. This is especially expensive for a small church like Zion. We have a small membership base and we have cash flow problems at times during the year. I am sure the church Council wants to budget for this mission trip, but it would surely be great to fund a portion of it in advance. Here’s what things are going cost about: $100 visa; $1500 plane fare; $350 food and related expenses; $2000 hearing aid costs; $300 earmold and disposables costs; $125 audiometer calibration costs. I have obtained a donated audiometer and am working on getting other churches and groups to help with hearing aid donations, but you can see that this is not a cheapie trip.
God’s Supply. Here’s what you can do. It is the same thing that people of faith have done in Noah’s day, in Jesus’ day, and in Paul’s day. Pray! Pray that the Lord would provide the provisions for this trip so that our Zion Lutheran Church may be able to bless our brothers and sisters in the Indian Free Lutheran Church family. If you would like to support this trip, I would specifically ask that you do not support it with offerings you would ordinarily give to support the every-day work of Zion Lutheran Church. Any donations for this India project can be directed to Zion, but they need to be labeled clearly for India/World Missions. Chiefly, of course, I ask for your prayers on behalf of each of us who will comprise this AFLC Mission Team.
~Pastor Dave
