GO WITH GOD!

“Mamma, I have to GO!” These were the words that sparked a chain of events we never imagined God would have in store for us!

Grady Allen, a fellow member of ours at church, gave his testimony and presentation of a mission trip he participated in to Belize, Central America. Grady is an electrician and used his skills in helping re-wire the small hospital in Punta Gorda, Belize.

Upon hearing his testimony, and that of HIS Servants Ministries co-founders Fred Martin and Harold Maynard, Emily came to us and spoke those words…words that gripped my mother’s heart because she was only 16!

When God calls you into mission work, you’ll know it! There is no doubt about it. It’s a drawing that grips you and He won’t let you rest until you GO….wherever He calls you to serve.

For two years in a row, Emily went to Belize with HIS Servants Ministries as a summer camp counselor for visually impaired children and adults. Camp was held in a monastery near the border of Guatemala.

During summer camp, they scheduled field trips for the children and adults to places they may never get to see otherwise. Many of the children are from remote Mayan villages, where transportation is scarce. They also worked on life skills development and building career skills. Emily made some very precious friends those two years she worked at camp!

It was after seeing her pictures and hearing her testimonies on how God works on these trips that Johnny and I felt the urge to GO ourselves. It was more than an “urge”…it was a calling. Had to be. I don’t like to fly!

Johnny, Emily and I boarded the plane in Nashville, TN in November 2002, again with HIS Servants Ministries. This team was prepared to provide eye clinics in schools and villages around Punta Gorda, Belize. Johnny was part of the construction crew to help build the new youth outreach center that would eventually become home to Rick and Tracey Martin, Fred’s son and his wife. They were called to become full time missionaries to Belize. Their goal was to move into the outreach center and house mission teams traveling to “PG”, as the community is called.

We soon experienced the testimony that “things happen” on mission trips! Things we cannot explain, other than it was simply God at work! Let me take a moment and share with you a couple of our stories…

THE VANS

When we arrived in Belize City that hot November day we were presented with two passenger vans to use as our transportation for the week. We’d met our first challenge. These vans looked and acted like they were barely able to function…and we had to rely on them to drive for miles and miles through remote areas!

George Rooney, our eye doctor, drove a group of us into one of the Mayan villages to do his clinic. We had an incredibly blessed day with these beautiful and happy people! Emily and I, along with a special group of ladies, worked with the children in classrooms, and during recess/lunch breaks. We did Bible stories, clown skits, and puppets/songs, and crafts. They were adorable children…

After the clinic was done, and believe me George has his own stories to tell, we all piled back up in the van to head down the mountain toward PG. At the top of the hill George stops. We ask why. He says we need to stop and pray for the van. (Well, what else was new?!) This time he was serious. The brakes were gone. Flat out. And here we were at the top of the steep mountain trail. No phones. No cars. No English speaking people. Nothing. Just us, and God at the end of the day….

You could have heard a pin drop in that van. We knew we were in a pickle…and were totally reliant on God for help. You better believe we prayed! A lot!

George sat there a minute and finally said, “Let’s GO!” With confidence that God was with us, we started down the hill…and not 100 feet away, George felt those brakes engage once again!~

Later, George told us what we did not know. He said we didn’t realize just how close we were to going off the edge of the ravine when he turned the van around at the top. That’s when he realized the brakes were gone.….

Miracles still happen today….even in remote Mayan villages sitting in the middle of a rented van.

(FYI: The vans finally quit working on our last day. We ended up flying a little Mayan Island cesna from PG to Belize City to catch our plane home! Tommy prayed for God to “stretch us” on this trip. I learned. Don’t pray for that! Or for patience!)

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THE PAINT

On this same trip, God gave us another miracle! This one was just for the girls, however…

One of our tasks was to paint the new concrete bathhouse, adjacent to the outreach center building the guys were working on. (You need to remember that we were four hours away from any paint store.)

We had several gallons of paint to cover the inside and outside of the building with more than one coat. Concrete soaks up the first coat or two.

There were about six of us painting away and after a few hours we realized that we were definitely not going to have enough paint! No way, not at this rate. This was such a dilemma because our time was limited and the drive was just not a run of the mill trip to the hardware store!

We decided we’d keep going and just see how far we could get with what we had left. And pray…

He heard our prayers…and stretched our paint! We kept on painting and painting and when we got through with the project someone was hollering and shouting from behind the building! We not only had enough paint, but one of the girls realized there was an extra gallon that we hadn’t even opened yet! We all were silent for a minute because we knew what paint there was and what it should have covered….no way to describe that little event, other than “miracles happen on mission trips”!

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These are just two of the many stories we hold in our hearts! I went back to Belize just three short months later, in February 2003, to help with dental clinics in the villages. I have more stories from that trip!~

When God calls you to GO, be prepared. He won’t let you rest until you do, he will bless you greatly through obedience, and you’d better expect a miracle or two along the way. Things that are just for you. Things that will knock your socks off. Things that only come from Him. Things that no one else may understand or value. Things you will remember for a lifetime….

I remember going to the mission meetings with HIS Servants Ministries prior to our trips. One of the things that impressed upon my mind were the stories…stories of miracles such as these. Things I simply shook my head at and embraced in my heart! Miracles just for these servants of the Gospel message. Blessings from above for His people who GO.

Why have I made the word “go” in capital letters all through this writing? It was for a purpose! See, doing mission work is not just a calling, it is a command by the Savior! We are told to “GO, and make disciples from all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

This is not a request. It is not a laid back “if you would like to” statement. It is a verbal command by Jesus Christ Himself!

Pray for ways that you can GO with God…there are so many needs out there! Spiritual, physical, emotional…you will come back a changed individual. For good. You may think, “We go to bless”…but instead you will be blessed by those you serve! Trust me. People are hungry for God’s Word! Romans 10:15 says, “And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (NIV)

As of this writing, Rick and Tracey are living in Belize in the outreach center facility, and now have their first child. Plans are being made to construct three additional buildings on the property! In 2004 they developed the first radio station in the Toledo District of Belize, 99.9 Toledo Christian Radio, in addition to developing many other ministries in the area.

I keep a photo of a precious Mayan child on my computer table as a constant reminder of when we went with God to Belize. As Fred says, God always “shows up”. He’s always with you…wherever He sends you!

We have had a “season” of illness in our home for the past three years, and we don’t know if Belize is in our future ever again. But we do know this. Wherever He leads, we’ll go…..and we hope to be GOing with God again soon!

(HIS Servants Ministries is a Christian Medical, Evangelistic, and Discipleship Ministry. They are multi-denominational. Their desire is to open people’s eyes to missions. Due to the health care skills that God has given HSM’s leadership, an emphasis is put on providing health care to the underserved. Providing health care is only a means of opening doors to Evangelism and Discipleship. They take short-term mission trips to several areas of the world and now have full time missionaries in Belize, Guatemala, Thailand, and soon Kenya. If you’d like to learn more about HSM’s upcoming trips, see their website at www.hsministries.org.)