Morning:

People often ask when we go on mission what happens with those who pray to receive Christ. This week we are seeing what happens or at least the journey for many of them. When Kidz Konnect from Jesus first started here in Belize the people were timid about coming to clinics and sharing information. The team we are here with are on their 21st visit here as a medical team and now not only are the people patients but they are friends. As each patient approaches the registration table it is not uncommon for one of the missionaries to call them by name. Smiles abound and conversations of family and friends are common. Many of these are the very ones who made professions of faith at the clinic or as a result of being drawn to the church where their spiritual journey began.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5

In the Greek language the word abide carries the connotation of remaining as one. As Jesus spoke with his disciples he commanded them to remain as one with him. This oneness implies a close and personal relationship. This relationship must be nourished and cherished. It requires daily time and attention. We are to abide. We are not to be separated; we are not to depart.

As we cultivate this abiding relationship with Christ we will begin to notice that our lives start looking more like his. Our desires become more like his desires. Our words become more like his words. Our actions reflect obedience to his commands. We are able to trust him and find delight in him. He is a source of joy. Our heartbeat will sound like that of the apostle Paul, “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8, New Living Translation).

Not only did Jesus command us to abide in him, but he also commissioned us to bear fruit for his Kingdom. “You did not chose me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit” (John 15:16). We are commanded to abide in him because we are commissioned to bear fruit and the only way we can bear fruit is by remaining one with him. We can do nothing apart from him. The fruit cannot grow without the vine. We will accomplish nothing of eternal significance if we do not have the power and presence of Christ in our lives.

An abiding relationship with Christ produces fruit. Fruit is the proof of our faith. As Jesus said, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:8). Paul prayed that the Colossians would continue in this abiding relationship because it produces a life that is pleasing to the Lord and bears fruit in every good work (see Colossians 1:9-10).

• Pray that you would abide in Christ.
• Pray that you would cultivate such a deep relationship with him that you count all things worthless when compared to knowing him. Abound in spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the King.
• Pray that as you remain in fellowship with him that your life would bear much fruit for the Kingdom.

Totally exhausted ! That describes our team after working clinic from 8:30 this am. As I sit here writing we are still waiting for the last patients to be seen. We have had many opportunities to share the gospel. A young woman came to the clinic today feeling an inner pull to attend the clinic. Her heart was unsettled with fear because she knew she had done things that might compromised her health. Two of our medical team members shared the goodness of Jesus with her. Our patient indicated that she was not good enough. Our team members assured her that Jesus forgives all sins and He could and would forgive her. Our young team member continued to assured her of God’ s love and forgiveness In the end our patient prayed and asked Jesus to forgive her sin. We rejoice because tonight we have a new sister in Christ.

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” Psalm 96:3

As Christians we frequently refer to the Great Commission where Jesus commands his followers to be his witnesses and make disciples of all nations (see Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18-20). We have been trained that this is our calling as believers. These New Testament verses are our battle cry as we seek to reach people and make disciples. So often we fail to realize that God’s call for us to be missionaries began in Genesis; it is not a calling that the people received once Jesus came. God’s plan has always been to reach the ends of the earth with his glory.

When God made his covenant with Abraham he promised him, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This blessing did not just apply to the nation of Israel. Here God is setting apart the descendants of Abraham to reach all the families of the earth. They were to be a kingdom of priests to display the glory of God among the nations (see Exodus 19:5-6). As God worked among the Israelites his power would be communicated throughout the land and people would worship him. Rahab, a Gentile, hid the Israelite spies because she had heard about the one, true God. “For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt…And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and the on the earth beneath” (Joshua 2:10-11).

God’s plan to reach all nations with the gospel began with him setting apart the people of Israel and working through them. Through the prophet Isaiah he told the people of Israel, “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). The light of the Israelites reached Rahab, Ruth and the people of Nineveh, among others.

God set Israel apart so that they could be a light to the people and declare his glory among the nations. This is still our calling today. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). We are now “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” that we “may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9). God has set you apart to be a light to the people and to declare his glory among every tribe, language, people and nation that they may worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Our God is on a mission to redeem all peoples of the earth. This mission began in Genesis and has been entrusted to his people throughout redemptive history. We must follow his call to reach people and make disciples, declaring his marvelous works among all the peoples. As we go about this difficult task we find hope in a vision of the future that God gave to the apostle John. God’s missional plan will succeed. For we know that in the future the song in heaven will be, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom of priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10).

• Pray that God’s heartbeat for reaching the nations with the gospel would be your heartbeat as well.
• Pray that God would use you to declare his marvelous works among all peoples.
• Pray that many would see the light in you and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Morning:
This morning we started off with the most important beginning of a day with a conversation with our Father. Then some of the team went to work preparing the camp for the rest of the team arrival. Shirley and Cindy went to do a wound check and change on a man who had experienced a hand injury from a machine. Then we gathered some supplies and another team member. We went to the nursing school to prepare those who will assist us this week. We will shortly pick up part of the team and go to a children’s home to do well child checks. Then we will return to camp for orientation and pill counting.

Evening:
We made beds for 20 ladies and 11 men. We swept every dorm and cabin. We counted thousands of pills. Every pill that will be dispensed will have to be counted, bagged and labeled. Thank you to each of you who gave. I wish you could see the faces of the sweet people who will receive them. We worshiped as a team this evening and had our first meal together. We are 38 strong and are praying to be a mighty force for the Kingdom this week. We will divide into 2 teams and will provide medical care in 2 different parts of the area. Please pray for divine encounters along the way.

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2

Our lives should be marked by constant communication with our heavenly Father. There is to be an attitude of continual transparency and vulnerability before the Lord. We are to be ever mindful of his presence and sovereignty.

Throughout the New Testament we see commands such as: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18) and “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

Luke records of Jesus, “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (18:1). Prayer is vital in the life of a Christian.

So often we come before the Lord with a set of demands for ourselves and those we love. God does tell us to be persistent in our requests and to pray about everything, but there is so much more to prayer than checking off a list of our desires and hoping God will come through. Prayer is also about thanksgiving. It is about taking the time to thank God for what he has done for us, in us and through us. It is about being thankful that he will answer every prayer in a way that he sees fit, in a way that brings us the most good and the most glory to himself. We can rest in his sovereignty and trust that he will give us wisdom for every situation if we ask (see James 1:5).

God always answers our prayers. The prayer of the believer does not fall on deaf ears. He is attentive when we call upon his name and approach the throne of grace. However, often we are so busy looking for the answer we want that we are not watching for his answer. It then appears that he is not listening. The problem is not with God—it is that we are not being watchful. God might say yes, he could say no, and sometimes he says wait. Whatever the answer, we can be thankful because we know God wants the best for us (see Matthew 7:11). We are to continue to be steadfast in prayer and then watch to see what God will do.

The prophet Habakkuk cried to the Lord, “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (1:1). He felt as though God was tolerating sin instead of punishing it. God heard Habakkuk but had greater plans than Habakkuk could see. He answered him, “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” (1:5, NIV). Pray. Then watch.

Pray that God would use you as you are on mission for him. Pray for those you will minister to and alongside. Present your requests before him with thanksgiving and then ask the Spirit to open your eyes to behold the wonderful things he will do.

Thank you for praying for our team. We have seen God’s hand all over our trip. We started our morning with Pleasant, a beautiful Delta agent. She lived up to her name!

We proceeded to the security where the woman processing documents asked the couple in front of me if they were… They said yes they were and she said “I was praying for you yesterday.”. They looked as shocked as I was but thanked the sweet lady. I asked if she went to church with the them and she said no. I just thought about them yesterday and prayed for them. I quickly told her we were a mission team and would love for her to pray for us. Immediately she began praying out loud for us and for the people of Belize that their hearts would be open to the gospel and that we would be as blessed as those we would see. As she said amen she handed us our documents, then said “Have a great trip.” We were blown away.

God was blessing us in crazy ways. One woman walked past us just out of the blue and said she had overheard what we were doing and she was praying for us. One of my favorite stories was Glenda, another wonderful flight attendant who asked one of our team members if she wanted cookies, pretzels, or peanuts. Our team member said yes and a Coke. Again the attendant asked cookies, pretzels, peanuts? To which again the team member said yes and a Coke. Laughing I said no she is asking which one. The team member laughed and said “oh cookies and a Coke.” She served our other team members then turned with a grin and with two hands full of snacks she gifted us snacks galore.

What a great picture of the bounty God has given us all day long. Thank you for your prayers. Please keep them coming. The rest of the team comes tomorrow.