Last week, my wife and I had the privilege of hosting a Hungarian pastor and his family for a night as they drove back from Southern California to St. Louis. Pastor Adam graduated from seminary a few weeks ago after a year and a half of study. The whole family leaves for Hungary in a couple of weeks, where he will step back into his role as the pastor of what is likely the only evangelical Christian church in his city of 65,000 people. His humility and his ability to summarize the plight of his people and their country was astounding. The challenges he faces as he pastors in a very difficult environment are huge. Keep him in prayer.
Even though I can't remember the exact way the conversation unfolded as we stayed up late Wednesday evening discussing what God was doing, I felt prompted to share with him something that I'd like to share with you.
Knowing the foreign field experience that God has permitted me to have, he asked if I was content with not being able to live or even travel outside the U.S. in recent years. In other words, he wanted to know if I was content doing what I'm doing here in Phoenix. Trying to answer that question provoked me to share an analogy with him that I used to use fairly regularly.
To make it as simple as possible, until God planted us here in Phoenix and permitted me to work with refugees from all over the world, I genuinely felt like I was an 8 cylinder engine that regularly ran on 7 cylinders, but not contented to be doing so. Although I know this is probably an expression of my lack of spiritual maturity, the familiarity of life and ministry here in the U.S., (first in Southern California, and then in Nevada,) just didn't seem to require all 8 cylinders to be running to be the blessing I felt God wanted me to His people and to those who don't know Him.
But anytime I buckled into a seatbelt and a plane lifted off from LAX taking me to some overseas destination, as soon as the plane crossed the shoreline of the West coast, Texas, or the East coast, something inside of me came alive that seemed to be lying dormant while I was living and ministering in the U.S. It was like that 8th cylinder was now needed to do what God had called me to do, and it was exhilarating and fulfilling. But as soon as I boarded the plane to head back to the U.S. that cylinder seemed to go dormant again and remain so, as much as I tried to revive it for ministry here in the U.S. Strange, I know.
But now, right here in the U.S. Right here in Phoenix. That 8th cylinder kicks in regularly, (although not all the time.) Plunging into the world of refugees and entering into their apartments and their lives, is sufficient exposure to that which is foreign to require that 8th cylinder to begin operating. And the exhilaration and fulfillment, right here in the U.S., feels SOOOO good!
Can anyone relate?
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2 comments:
I can relate to that experience when leading ST missions trips overseas. In my experience, the enemy steps up the spiritual warfare whenever we fire up the 8th cylinder, because he hates it when we are serving God in that mode. Praise God for his faithful protection, provision and almighty power, which He has been demonstrating in Phoenix!
Oh yes! I agree with you Jeff, and you are plenty mature in Christ. I love this analogy and I love that God has brought you to the time and place in your life, where you are content. I think for most of us, it is a process getting there.
For me, it is not traveling to some place or another, but I sense that same excitement when I know that I am genuinely being used of and for God. It is not nearly often enough. But whenever and however, I want to be in that state of be ready, willing and able to be dispatched by the King and useful for every good work, He has planned in advance. Thanks for sharing and for telling us about these great saints from all over the world. God bless Pastor Adam.
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