Asian Mission

I opened the door cautiously, as it was a few minutes past 10:45.  On the right-hand side was a row of open seats, and I ambled across quietly.  To my surprise, I soon heard a young voice speaking in English.  “Welcome,” she said, and her smile addressed the whole congregation.  I had realized years ago that our church building hosted congregations in 3 different languages, among which only the English and the Spanish I was familiar.  The Laotian-Thai congregation was the one with which I’d never attended, and in recent months, my interest had renewed.  The previous Sunday, in fact, upon visiting the women’s restroom on the far side of our building, my ears perked up to the sound of a new language.  Quite possibly my heart leaped into a cartwheel, and being curious as to whether the Lord was orchestrating once again, I asked the girls there, “What congregation do you attend?”  And there we stood . . . with my heart all aflutter and my eyes probably bouncing up and down in excitement . . . in the women’s restroom, of all possible places!  I talked with one of the girls a little more at length, and it clearly seemed the Lord had provided me a personal escort for next Sunday’s Laotian-Thai worship service.  Next week came, and happy I was to see my new friend again.  More English was spoken than I expected, and I learned that Amen and Hallelujah translate straight across.  They sang “Just As I Am” in their language, and I sang it in mine, and we worshiped the same Jesus.  They opened to Deuteronomy, and so did I.  When they read from Proverbs, I was right there with them.  To hear the different voice sounds and to encounter a new taste of how Jesus' love reaches around the world was wonderfully enlightening and invigorating altogether.  What does the Lord have in store here?  I don’t know, but I love when He walks and when He turns left and turns right and takes me with Him. 

Tachikawa

The smallest of details, even possibly the least remembered ones, He knows how to use.  One such occasion came recently when I met a man in the hospital.  Dealing with bad news from his doctor, this man couldn’t help but spill his guts.  He paused a moment to gather his words, and then his voice shook to tell of his hospital stay being lengthened.  His eyes brimming with teardrops, he began to recount yesterday’s agony.  It was heartbreaking, and I soon realized a layer of anger buried inside his agony and underneath.  Our conversation resisted veering too far from his subject of health.  But then suddenly his eyes lifted, as hope seemed to have spoken.  I had mentioned being born at Tachikawa Air Force Base, and upon that comment, a new-found energy almost leaped him out of the wheelchair.  Practically in disbelief, he double-checked my words, “You were at Tachi?”  I smiled, “Yes.”  He added with vigor, “I used to play ball there!  I was a photographer most of my days, but then we played ball!”  From there, his countenance moved only forward, as he was entirely elated to revisit these fond memories.  I spoke simply some facts, particularly a detail of my life that doesn't even make conversation regularly, yet the Lord blessed the words that their purpose would soar far higher than fact.  With His touch, they lifted a man’s spirit, and we did acknowledge the Lord’s presence before parting ways.  I look now with different eyes at the childhood kimono hanging in my closet, considering how we pray for the Lord to guide our steps and our words, and indeed He does.

The blue car & the idle one

On Tuesday, I asked the Lord to bring people.  That afternoon, a blue car drove into the parking lot and pulled up near the sidewalk.  The driver asked if I worked in the building there.  No, I was simply ambling the public sidewalk in front.  She was in the area to visit doctors’ offices regarding home healthcare and, upon seeing me, was curious.  I explained that I was praying.  I posed, “Are you aware of what happens inside this building?”  She answered, “Yes . . . and I agree with you.”  We talked for a few minutes, and I wondered if the whole scenario was intriguing to her as well, seeming almost that she found herself in the parking lot without having planned to be there.  After she left, a car that had been sitting idle for maybe a half-hour pulled out of its parking space.  First I thought the driver was leaving the premises, but actually he moved closer to the sidewalk to wait, apparently for someone still inside the building.  As he was now within earshot, my sidewalk companion called, “We’re here for you, Sir, if you’d like to talk.”  She waved a brochure in the air, and he inched his car still closer, eventually stepping out to receive her brochure.  I floated high on excitement because I’d been praying for this young man, and I had prayed earlier too for the Lord to bring people to the sidewalk to talk.  Though I’d envisioned bringing people who walked in and out of the abortion center, the Lord brought people in their cars.  Right then and there, I loved the Lord's creativity!  He brought people beyond my scope, beyond my thinking.  I loved the fact that He is bigger than me and that He works many things together at once.  Hey, everybody, put on your pointy party hats!

Up by the bootstraps

On Friday I worked an estate sale.  People came, and they browsed and bought, and I loved being available to help my friend.  Yet something else was happening at the sale.  As customers came and went, there was opportunity to speak Spanish.  I hadn’t anticipated it, yet I found a few Spanish words rolling off my tongue.  Then a few more here and there, and the spontaneity of it was great fun.  It’s not as if I spoke for hours or told long stories or anything, but my friend had never heard me speak Spanish, and she got a kick out of it, and we laughed for a good while.  Some of the customers seemed quite surprised too at my joining in their conversations.  The wonderful blessing overall was that the laughter eased my shoulders, which had been aching with anxiety over an ever-changing list of things, both good and bad, including issues carrying over from weeks before.  Psalm 40 talks about the Lord lifting us up out of the mud and mire, and certainly I sensed the Lord lifting me.  Upon returning home that night, I mowed grass and worked outside with the radio on, soon realizing the Lord was still at work.  Air 1 Radio played “Lift Me Up” by the Afters.  Then came NeedToBreathe’s “Keep Your Eyes Open,” followed by the lyrics of Jamie Grace, saying “Lord, I love the way You hold me.”  Such common things the Lord was using to lift me, as if re-dressing me with new boots that would reset my stance and provide cushion all the way up to my shoulders.  The anxiety seemed to extract from my bones, pulling away from my shoulders and massaging at the same time.  So readily He entered my circumstances, weaving ordinary things to become extraordinary blessing.