This week I have the privilege of escorting MISSION POSSIBLE – Bethesda’s new short-term missions group into the Dominican Republic. The group is led by one of our elder teams, Glenn and Charm Reed. I am thankful for their dedication and the leadership they demonstrated in getting the team through the first part of the journey.
I am also excited about the encounters we have had and the new friends we have already made. I believe that God sent us here to make a difference.
That sounds like a “blanket” statement.
Of course if you are going to go through the expense and effort of traveling to another land on a mission, you are expected to make a difference. What I am referring to though is the immediate development of friendship and continuity we found with the people here. I feel very at home with the people in this place –as though we have already been connected for a long time. It is something that I consider to be very special and a great honor. I cannot wait to see what the next week will bring.
I have been reading about “synchronicity”. Without going into detail, there is something that occurs when you are willing to release yourself in obedience to God, that seems to place you in the right place at the right time with the right people. This action creates an environment wherein you can do things that under everyday circumstances might not have been possible. I like to call it “divine appointment.
I believe that this trip has already proven to be full of divine appointments. There were two other mission teams on the airplane to Santo Domingo, traveling for much the same purpose as us, but in different places around the country. I sat flanked between two different long-term missionaries, who did not know each other but were from the same city in South Carolina. They are also laboring in the DR.
We even encountered a popular rock band from the 70’s, who were in the airport waiting to catch the same plane as us for the first leg of their journey. They do not show any great indication of sharing our beliefs – and actually joked about being perceived as our “opposition”, yet in conversation,
they demonstrated genuine interest and even perhaps a little excitement
that our team was coming to reach out to “our fellow man”. They offered us well wishes, safe travel, and great success on our journey. More surprising, they talked openly with others as we stood in the airport line about the work we were setting out to do. I found it unexpected and encouraging.
That is a great combination. On such journeys, you anticipate the unexpected. You expect it. You also expect that your efforts with be very encouraging and faith building. But the thing that was cool was that in expecting the unexpected – I never expected to find encouragement where I found it.
For me, it has kind of changed the game a little bit. I came here expecting to connect with great people doing great things. I came “expecting the unexpected”. I also discovered today that I had a pre-conceived notion about what the unexpected would be. That has changed now. We are here for a Kairos moment – a super-naturally charged happening. But I am not going to limit myself to find the joy in the “expected” areas. I think that as we travel, we will encounter hidden joys that will add in great measure to what we accomplish here.
I look forward to seeing what comes tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. God willing and wireless connection holding out, I will share with you as we journey. Until then, expect the unexpected.
