Rhodell-2012 Again!

 "Pieces of a Puzzle”
(pictures to follow - I hope)

It all started with an email.

From: Johnston Baptist Association
To: Evelyn Metz
Subject: Medical Mission Trip
Date:  Aug 2012

(I paraphrase)  Would you and Mike be able to coordinate a mission trip to Rhodell WV the week of Oct 15 (The week of Fall break [italics are mine]).  Some of the nursing students have expressed an interest in doing a mission trip as this is the week of fall break it might be a good time for them to go.  Thanks.

Hmm.  A call from God?  A rouse by the enemy to get us over committed (Evelyn’s in the middle of her doctorate degree and I’m short on vacation time).  And, if this is a medical mission don’t we need a doctor?  Where do we get a doctor for a mission trip?  Will the price of gas ever come down?  Will the St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series again…(sorry); but, what about a plumber?

We had a guest speaker a few months ago who has access to doctors and other medical people!  I’ll email him and see what comes from that! (I really was excited)

So things are being set in motion; we’re going on a mission :) (can’t you just feel the suspense building?).

Evelyn was scheduled to lead the Bible study for the nursing students.  She came home reporting that none of the nursing students would be able to participate in a mission trip.  We’re not going on a mission :(

So I email the guy from Shield of Faith Missions  http://www.shieldoffaithmissions.com/ who can get us a doctor to tell him we’re not going.  Do you know what he says?  “That’s disappointing.  I have a doctor, a physical therapist, and a physician assistant lined up to go.  I’m just waiting for authorization, which I hope to get by Friday.”  Wow!  We’re going on a mission :)

At this point we’re into Oct and we’ve been told that our contact should know something by the end of the week (sounds pretty suspenseful, huh?)  I email the Baptist organization in West Virginia to see if they can contact a church who can provide a plumber.  The response comes back the next day - “We don’t have one.”  Sigh.  It’s time to call another Baptist organization that supports West Virginia.  No answer.  How about email?  Okay.  And while I’m waiting I’ll call the alternate number.  Voicemail; sigh.

So, Friday gets here and being the patient guy that I am; I give Damon a call to see if he’s heard anything (No, I did have another reason for calling him).  He tells us he didn’t have authorization.  We’re not going on a mission :(  Then he says, “But, we’re going anyway!  We’re going on a mission :)

There was more discussion and more phone calls.  The doctor will not be able to practice medicine but will be able to advise and refer and we will have information briefings for the people there.  I have come to learn something about these trips; while our primary focus will be medical, the Lord will be doing other work through us.  More phone calls to coordinate our effort; and we find out there are other people who are coming!  What a great phone call!  WAIT!  Other people?  I pick up the phone and call back with the urgency of a 911 call.  “One of these people who wants to come…one wouldn’t happen to be a plumber, would they?”  “Well, as a matter of fact they are.  He’s not a licensed plumber but he does know what he’s doing.”  Yes!  A great phone call indeed.

Oh, of course.  Why the plumber?  See, when we went to Rhodell this past July we had brought a wall-mounted water cooler.  With our trip cut short by a day and attention being put on the completion of a swing set we didn’t have time to install the water cooler.  Sooo, with this trip it was my desire to see the task completed.  Praise the Lord - He provided a plumber.

With one week to go before the mission trip the time table is set and things are in motion.  Myself, Evelyn, and Bethany will travel Saturday to Rhodell, worship in Rhodell on Sunday, and be at the hotel to meet the team when they arrive Sunday afternoon. 

The week passes with it’s usual load of required demands.  I find I am barely able to get some flyers in the mail to Rhodell so word can get out about the health seminar.  At this point, the weeks leading up to the mission trip are as much a test of faith as the mission trip itself might be.

Saturday morning arrives with a dose of excited anticipation.  We’re not on a tight schedule today (this is unusual) so after Evelyn arrives home from work we pack.  We’re on the road after 12 noon.

The trip uneventful, we arrive in Rhodell and settled into our room.  The next morning we arose and were off to Rhodell to worship the Lord Jesus.  We arrived and entered just after the start of the service.  As Pastor Gary went around the room asking for prayer requests he came to us.  I shared our thanks for the opportunity to worship with them and made a request for prayer about the health seminar being conducted on Monday.  Pastor Gary didn’t give a title for his message from the Lord, yet it could have been, “Be a ‘salt’ shaker”.  Anyone want to guess the scripture reference he used?  Pastor Gary had a great deal of enthusiasm and energy when sharing the Word.  Now, take a moment to put some “pieces” together.  We are in Rhodell to do what?  And Pastor Gary’s message is on what?  Think about it.

Sunday night the rest of the team poured into Beckley.  Damon arrived with four people, the doctor and the physical therapist arrived together, and a family of four (one with plumbing skills and a seven year old girl with a “Friend Bag” ministry) were now ready for our mission briefing.  I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say we hashed out a lot of details in a short time - Praise the Lord.  Oh, I take a look at the “My Utmost for His Highest” devotion; know what the title is for Oct 14?  “The Key to the Missionary’s Work”!  I look at the page before to see if it is a series on missionary work - it’s not, it started on Oct 14.  Another “piece” - think about it.

Monday morning.  We get ready for our day.  Oct 15 reading of “My Utmost for His Highest” is titled…”The Key to the Missionary’s Message”!  I look at the next page to see if the theme continues - it does not!  Even as I type this I find myself thinking we need to go back and read these “pieces” more deeply.  We were to leave the hotel at 10 am.  Upon arrival it was almost military like how we all “moved into position” and worked on setting things up: a triage table, table for the doctor and physical therapist, “theater” set up for the Jesus movie and a short film from Kerry Shook ministries about feeling empty about life, and yes - the water fountain, Stewart and Will were all over it.

We made it a point to stop once things were set up and pray for the Lord’s blessing upon the work we were about to engage in.  I read from a devotional of messages by E. M. Bounds.  Want to guess what the title was?  For Oct 15, it was “No Harvest Without Prayer”!  Yet another “piece”?  Come on!  A message from a pastor we didn’t talk with, two readings about mission work from one book on the very days were there, a reading from another book about the harvest!!!  Something’s brewing.

From 11 am to about 3 pm 10 people were seen by the doctor or the physical therapist.  Friend Bags were being passed out by Courtney and Bethany throughout the day.  About 3 pm the presentations were made on heart issues, addiction and pregnancy, and diabetes.  Oh, and the water fountain; it was completed and a filter installed at about 4 pm.  Praise the Lord.  Just before the fountain was completed Evelyn was talking with one of the children (Michael, I think was his name.  About 11 years old I’d guess) who was playing outside.  He encouraged some of his friends to come in.  Next thing we know there’s about fifteen kids in The Open Door and Evelyn Susan and Lindsey were fixing them sandwiches!  As they finished and began filtering out there was one young girl staying behind to finish watching the Jesus movie (Lord, please let Your Word bless her heart).  Going outside myself I saw a lot of activity: Libby was over at the picnic table talking with people, Delise and Breanna were on the basketball court playing volleyball, the place seemed to bustle with activity.

Now, this may seem somewhat anticlimactic.  Here in lies our challenge when comparing how the Lord works and what we, as believers in Jesus Christ, expose ourselves to in the worlds form of entertainment.  Our ways are not  His ways.  We are to ensure we “wash” ourselves from being exposed to the things of this world.  Over time, the enemy can cause our expectations to line up with those of the world.  In TV and movies it’s about action: bullets, romance, the chase, the suspense.  Stacked up against the Christian life, being a follower of Jesus Christ can seem pretty boring.  When lived properly, being a follower of Jesus Christ is anything but boring.  It’s not at the same “level” as TV or movies, was never meant to be; but, the depth and importance can’t reach anywhere close to doing the work of the Lord!!!  This work is a process.  If puzzle pieces were people, in a 500 piece puzzle one corner piece wouldn’t know what the other corner pieces were doing - yet each is just as much part of the whole picture.  That’s what I believe each one of our trips are - the Lord adding another “piece” to His puzzle, for His glory.  The end result?  People will look at the complete puzzle picture and say, “WOW! Look what the Lord has done!