Look carefully...you can see the little olives on the tree!
Allan and Seba
Greetings, Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Jesus!
I Love Baptism Services! What a blessing it is to see our wonderful Polish friends immersed in the deep and loving personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! (has nothing to do with today's blog....just looking at pictures of the Baptisms!!)
We recently returned from our AGM (Annual General Meeting), in Eretria, Greece. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and worship!!
I've been thinking a lot about Greece since we left on Saturday the 27th of this month (June 2009). I've thought about the lovely island, the excellent food (especially the olives and baklava)...I've thought of the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the Olive Trees, that I find so beautifully twisted and gnarled...tiny, green olives, shimmering in the sunlight among the pale green leaves, I've thought a lot about our friends...some of whom we had not seen since our days at MLC, and thought we'd never see again in this earthly life, I've pondered the excitement of the LMCO Auction and the wild abandoned way everyone throws caution to the wind, in favor of 'winning' the bid for an American or National product...usually difficult or impossible to find anywhere within reach...and so the bidding reaches fever pitch, until someone gives way (the plan is to donate to LMCO, anyway...so why not make it fun!!?) I have thought about the long hours of waiting at airports, and so you see, many things have taken up my wandering mind these past few days.
I have even thought about the exorbitant costs of such an undertaking...and I have asked myself a hundred times..... is it worth it (outside the awesomeness of the time on a luxury island), and I have asked God...is the money wisely spent?
Then I think about those in Russia, the Ukraine, Romania, East Asia, Africa, the desert of the middle east, the expanse of the Mongolian regions, the cold winters, the smog and air pollution, the struggles with trying to share the gospel in the deepest throes of Satan's clutches, the long periods of time without seeing friends, family, or loved ones, the tossing of highly valued words of Christ, on a tract, -into the nearest trash can, the frustration at trying to organize meetings and house church to ones who may or may not show, the long hours of prayer for someone-anyone to respond to Jesus' call in their life, The many times we work and pray and don't see any fruit (although we KNOW HE will faithfully bring the harvest in His timing), driving or getting around in a country village with no roads or road signs, being lost in a city and having no way to communicate, struggling on a day-to-day basis just to survive. I think about the people wanting to believe and being so confused; they synchronize all of their favorite parts of each 'faith' into their own special blend of 'religion' They come out with a 'melting pot' of religions, and need discipleship desperately...I think about the time, energy, and disappointments of trying to help them sort it all out, and they think they really 'have it, now'
I began to think about the loneliness and often times, depression, some go through...about to give up, wondering if people will ever see and know the truth, and worse yet, do they even want to know it? In my own mind, I can see Jesus, daily, going for His R&R...His walks and talks with His Father....I can see Him on that Greek island, sitting under the big, old, silvery-green leafed Olive Tree. (OK, not Greek Island!!!)
I can hear Him praying for His disciples and for the lost of the nations. I can see His footprints along the beach, His arms raised to heaven, smiling, talking to Abba Father. I can see Him also, under the many Olive Trees in Gethsemane.....crying out to God, "if it is possible, take this cup from me, yet not My will, but Thine be done!" The cup was not the cup of pain, or the cup of death, neither was it the cup of sorrows, nor fear, or mockery...it was the cup of all the sin of the world placed on Him in Atonement for every person that would EVER live and die, and all OUR sin forever....He agreed to do this- He CAME for this purpose....His brokenness was for the separation from His Father! He was broken beyond any human understanding.....He did it SO THAT we would NOT have to ever be separated from the Father, ourselves...not for a second!
Why, then, do we allow anything to grieve Him? Anything? What does this have to do with Greece, or any other AGM? It has to do with worship, praise, thankfulness, love, fellowship, and really taking time to appreciate our labor for the kingdom of God, and we do that effectively, when we rest in Him. It has to do with the gift of rest that God requires of us.
God has given us the ability and the finances to accomplish great and mighty things.....He has also given us a command to rest one day a week...many can not/will not do that while in their city, village, desert, tundra, or workplace of any kind (for various reasons).
********Prayer is not the prelude to our work- prayer IS our work! ********The Board has, for years, given the missionaries and their families, the chance to have rest and recuperation, and with that comes opportunities for education, fellowship, music, training, activities with friends long-ago seen, a chance for our youth to share their field experiences, their 'ups and downs' with friends, to share talents (old and young alike), to hear the Word of God in our own language (equally as important as the nationals hearing it in theirs!).
The company, through the very generous LMCO and other offerings, has been able to make life in the field an enjoyable one....along with each pain and sorrow, hurt and disappointment, joys, and rejoicing, praise and testimony, we have security, safety, and a strong sense of stability and support. The many ways the LMCO supports the teams are too numerous to mention. The gratitude of the many families across the globe is beyond words! To say thank you sounds so weak, but we thank you from the very depth of our ability to communicate.....how can we say it- just THANK YOU!!! I thank my God at every remembrance of you!
Allan and I will be going home to Michigan in September, as many of you know. We will continue our faithful prayers, our blog, and will continue all personal e-mail (anyone who writes to us, we will answer a soon as possible!)
We have had the most blessed time in this walk with our Lord...and our walk is taking another turn, we don't know what is around the corner, or the next bend, we don't know what tomorrow holds-BUT we know WHO holds tomorrow!
We want to thank each one of you for your faithful prayers! We both thank you for your Christmas gifts and cards, for all the letters, and for reading the blog! We appreciate your prayers on behalf of our family, both in Michigan and East Asia. We thank you for your LMCO that makes it possible to do this work for our Lord, without too many distractions....the way the SBC does their missions is absolutely the best way among all the different organizations I've seen and been in contact with.....I pray that we will keep digging deep for the Storehouse of God's work for His laborers to reach the nations-Quickly!!
I awaken about five a.m. every morning with songs of praise and worship in my heart, I am so thankful for that. God has blessed us in so many ways...I love the song: He knows my name, He sees each tear that falls.....He knows my name, and hears me when I call! Isn't it the greatest blessing on earth, to know the God of all creation, hears us when we call, and really cares about our every concern! To be able to serve the Living God and have a close- friend relationship with Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Savior of the world! How truly awesome that is!
Think about this: we really do see dimly through a glass, and He will reveal Himself in His entirety one day...and we WILL know Him as fully as He NOW knows us! I'm looking forward to that day, when I see Him face-to-face, and I will know all....no questions needed!
Thank you for 'listening' to my heart today! let me know how I can pray for you, Please
In Christ Alone Our Hope Is Found!
Matt. 4:19
"I'll never know how much it cost, to see MY sin upon that cross!..." (thank You, Lord for taking MY place there!)
Sue and Allan Weaver
The Fishermensline
Krakow, Poland
June 30, 2009
