Why a surprise?

It was incredibly surreal. As we were nearing the church where I was scheduled to speak yesterday morning, something familiar but totally out of place caught my attention. A group of Karen, (pronounced Kuh-Rin) were walking down the sidewalk in the 103 degree temperature at around 8:30 in the morning, headed toward the church that I would speaking at. How did I know they were Karen? They had on their colorful and very distinctive native dress and they walked as a group and with a posture that declared they were'nt from these parts! I had already been pondering how radical it was that some of them were in the U.S. and now I saw them in my environment for the first time and it was just one of those moments that you know you'll never forget. They were walking on concrete sidewalks with apartment complex after apartment complex on their left and a very busy 6 lane road to their right, on the other side of the curb. Was this for real?

A half an hour later I was speaking to a group of about 75 Karen people with Adam, one of the key leaders of the Karen congregation translating my message into their language. Then, the Karen pastor that led the service invited me to help distribute the communion elements as we celebrated the death and resurrection of the Lord.

The pastor had been in a refugee camp in Thailand up until 10 months ago and as the service unfolded the reality of what he's facing hit me. Talk about a challenge. Pastoring alone is a huge challenge, how much greater is the task when you and everyone in your congregation have been dropped into a location on the other side of the world that not only doesn't speak your language or navigate according to your cultural norms, but is in many ways the exact opposite of everything you've ever been exposed to. Your young people are going to public schools with more than a thousand other students and the adults are traveling far away to work in factories which are the only jobs available because of the language barrier everyone is trying to overcome. He's trying to improve his English at the same time everyone in his congregation is doing the same. Talk about a daunting task.

But oh, what a beautifully familiar taste the whole service had. From the incredible harmonies of Karen worship to the report on how the Karen youth helped their local soccer league team reach the championship game, and the truth filled song the teenage boys sang in English as a "special number", I was overwhelmed with God's goodness the whole morning.

As if that wasn't enough, right before the service I was introduced to a family that has been serving in Mongolia for the past 9 years. Why is that significant? The previous Wednesday I had met in Las Vegas with a couple who are being led by the Lord to serve in Mongolia and had questions that I just didn't have answers for. (Sounds like it might be a God-connect moment, heh?)

Michael, the missionary from Mongolia had just arrived with his family in the Phoenix area so that his six month old daughter could have heart surgery. It's a very long story, but suffice it to say that months ago, before they knew they'd be leaving Mongolia to go to Phoenix for surgery for his daughter, his two brothers and his parents had planned to be in Phoenix THIS WEEK for a little get away, (they were all from out of state.) And not only that, his older daughter who lives in a different state and is a professional dance instructor just happens to be in Phoenix THIS WEEK for a big dance event. He didn't know he was even leaving Mongolia a month ago, they planned their trips many months ago, and now as his daughter goes in for surgery this Thursday, basically his whole family is in the area.

It would take way too long to explain to you the number of ways that God showed His sovereignty afresh over the last few days, but He certainly has. There are no accidents or coincidences if the God of the scripture is who He claims to be. Why then are we continually surpised when we see Him orchestrating things like this? Why is it so difficult to consistently believe what His word says about His being at the controls of the universe He has created and sustains? Especially when He has revealed truths like that contained in Psalm 135:6? I haven't gotten it all figured out, at least not yet.

I think over the next few weeks I'll begin meandering down the path of what I've learned about seeing Him in the day to day, moment to moment, warp and woof of life, with "God-connects" abounding. Until next time, keep in mind that He is at the helm of the ship that is our universe.

Blessings,

Jeff