Cockroaches Part 2

Cockroaches seem to be a part of life here in Madagascar. Roaches in the shower, par for the course. Roaches on the table, apparently a normal occurrence. My recent experience with roaches in the hotel room is deemed quite normal by most people that I've interacted with here. Just a few days ago I would watch in horror as a giant roach would slither across the floor of the restaurant; now I'm almost oblivious.

Tonight at dinner I watched a massive one calmly slither across the floor of a very nice place without giving it a second thought. Yes, it's true. I'm becoming hardened to the presence of roaches. It no longer seems to bother me. However, one story did.

A friend of mine here in Madagascar sleeps with earplugs. During the night she headed to the restroom. At some point she realizes that one of her earplugs has fallen out. Hoping to find it before returning to bed, she takes a quick glance at the floor around her. Still somewhat groggy and not wanting to turn on the light, she sees what seems to be to her an ear plug on the floor. Without giving it a second thought she reaches down to pick up the ear plug and put it back in its proper place: her ear.

In so doing she lets out a scream realizing that the earplug has legs and is very much alive inside her hand. I don't know about you, but I shuddered when I heard the story. It was too close to home for me after my recent experience with the roaches in bed the other night.

The mental picture of a cockroach in your ear really doesn't sit right. How absurd! Can you see someone walking around with roaches hanging out of their ears? Yuck! However, the more I've thought about it, the more I'm concerned that this is actually what many people do. Of course, I don't mean naturally. Rather, spiritually. When I think of the ear I think of hearing. Spiritually speaking we are responsible for maintaining a posture of "hearing."

We do this through prayer, worship, the Word, godly counsel, accountability, fasting, obedience to the Lord, walking in love towards our brothers, etc... When one or more of these elements begins to falter it is easy to loose spiritual equilibrium. Instead of following the voice of the Good Shepherd we reach for other sources of direction and inspiration- men's opinions, cultural values, our own thoughts and ideas, life's pressures, etc... None of which are necessarily evil, but when they become the things directing and filling our hearing then I would call them cockroaches. They become filters perverting true hearing.

Jesus says multiple times "let him who has ears hear". This is a call to develop the capacity He has given us to hear His voice. In this hour may we be those who hear, obey, and rest in His voice. Hoping you have cockroach free ears! SK

Madagascar's welcoming committee

Arriving at Ivato International Airport in Antanarivo, Madagascar I was welcomed by a growing throng of people. Numbering in the thousands they encircled the airport parking lot and lined the streets leading into town. Quite the welcoming party! As much as I would like to say that the masses were present because of their great love for missions and missionaries, this would be a lie. Rather, they came out in number to welcome the ex-president's wife scheduled to return to Madagascar from a forced exile in South Africa just half an hour after my arrival. At the last minute the government warned her not to come just as they did for her husband two weeks ago. So the crowds quietly dispersed.

Later that night I was officially welcomed to Madagascar by some of the largest cockroaches I've seen. One was so cordial that he decided to crawl into bed with me feeling that I needed extra hospitality. After pumping enough bug spray in the room to cause my head to spin, I settled back down in bed. Just a few minutes later and another welcoming party decided to make their visit. Mosquitos. Lots of them. For nearly an hour I was serenaded by their sweet songs in my ears. With such beautiful melodies reverberating in the still night air I found it difficult to sleep. Some 40 bites later I decided I had been over-welcomed and decided it was my turn to do some welcoming.

The next morning the results of my hospitality were seen clearly: dead cockroaches strewn across the wooden floor and bloody splotches on the sheets where the mosquito committee met their match. Yes, it was quite the grand welcoming: crowds, giant insects, and mosquitos. Thankfully, there were some positive aspects of the welcome. Friends at the airport, warm sunshine, and lush vegetation.

I preached this morning on abiding with Christ. I wonder if sometimes we welcome Christ into our lives only to ask Him to dwell with creepy motivations and ambitions in our hearts, false cries of affection and adoration, and the distractions caused by the buzzing of too many things permitted in our lives from this world.

Rather, may we create an atmosphere and environment where the King is most welcome to abide in our hearts and lives.

Yes, I'm learning all kinds of new methods for welcoming. Should any of you choose to come visit, you will be probably feel most welcomed.

(There are pics posted on FB).

Great Missions Moments

Earlier this year a historic missiological moment occurred in the nation of Kenya. For the past 3 years there have been strategic outreaches to one of the people groups listed as unreached. A people group is considered unreached when less than 5% of the population have not had a credible born again experience. The Bible school that my parents helped to plant and where I grew up in Nairobi decided to adopt this people group as their primary focus of prayer and outreach.

They sent out teams over the school break to share the Gospel and minister to this unreached people group. During this year's outreach a great breakthrough occurred in which hundreds of people received Christ and joined the local churches. By the end of the outreach the stats indicated something phenomenal had just transpired. Over the past 3 years so many people had responded to the message of Christ that this people group now has more than 5% of their indigenous population as solid believers.

They are no longer listed as totally unreached!

Such a historic event requires involvement from many different sides, however, the primary person working amongst them is an elderly widow. God called her to plant one of the first churches among this people group. People laughed at her. Others told her she was crazy. She didn't speak the language. She was too old. She didn't have the finances. She lacked ministerial training and experience. The list goes on and on. Ignoring all the obstacles in her way she obeyed the voice of the Lord. Thanks to her diligence and faithful prayers many churches have been established and this people group is no longer considered "unreached."

One elderly widow named Maria is making a huge difference for the unreached of our world. What about you? What is God calling you to do to reach the unreached of our world? Will you obey?

Great missions quotes

"God had an only Son and He made Him a missionary" David Livingstone

"If God wills the evangelization of the world, and you refuse to support missions, then you are opposed to the will of God." Oswald J. Smith

"Not, how much of my money will I give to God, but how much of God's money will I keep for myself?" John Wesley

A listening ear at 20,000 feet

We had been in the air about an hour. Our location was somewhere over the Middle East between Dubai and Muscat on a Kenya Airways aircraft. Sitting next to me was a very eccentric Indian businessman just returning from a month in the Comoros Islands. He began to regale me with tales of strange Comorian people, places, and practices. After some 25 hours of travel I was ready to be off the plane. However, I decided to engage--listening as best as I could. As we approached Muscat- his final destination and my last layover before Nairobi, he elbowed me in the side.

With a hushed voice he said: "You know I thought it was all over today." My weary eyes just looked at him hoping that he would elaborate without having to expend the energy necessary to ask him what he meant. He pointed to the other passengers around us- most of whom were dressed in full Islamic garb. "They all got up out of their seats at the same time and started filling the aisle." I had boarded this particular aircraft in Dubai just an hour earlier. The businessman, however, had been on this same aircraft for five straight hours.

"What do you mean?" I asked with heightened interest. "The other passengers all got out of their seats and started chanting in Arabic." I started to chuckle anticipating what he was about to say. "I thought it was a terrorist attack, but then I realized that they were kneeling down in the aisle to pray." From what he said the other passengers had piled up on top of each other as they turned towards Mecca in the middle of the flight to pray. Finally, the flight steward had to ask them to move to the back of the plane so that in-flight services could resume. He started laughing now that he had voiced his concern.

We started to talk about religion. He had been raised in a Catholic school in India as a boy, but was an ardent Hindu currently living in the capital of Oman. He shared his fears and struggles living there. His family all lived in India while he exported scrap-metal from the Comoros to the Middle East. Apparently, he had struck it rich in the recycling business. Finally, he confessed that he was weary from his travels and ready to be home-- even though it really wasn't home. We landed: he bounded off to his own bed as I continued on the flight to Nairobi an additional 4 hours.

As we parted company, two Omanis sat down next to me. Both spoke fluent Zanzibari Swahili. For the next 3 hours we began to talk about life, fears, challenges, current world events, etc.. He and his brother, a government official, were traveling to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania for some much needed R&R. They would then go visit distant relatives in Rwanda. Their stories were fascinating. Their experiences touching. We exchanged contact information and I promised to pray for him.

I'm reminded that despite linguistic, cultural, religious, and geographical boundaries we are all human. We all face the same challenges, the same uncertainties, the same fears, the same struggles, and the same need for a listening ear.

I'm amazed at the depth these 3 men shared with me on that flight as I listened. People sometimes ask me: what's the key to ministry? My current favorite answer is simple: listening.

I think Jesus was a listener. Sure he was a great teacher, a great communicator, and anointed orator, but I think what made him so remarkable was His capacity to listen-- both to the Father and to the people around Him. He heard heaven. He heard human hearts. The real beauty of Christ's life and legacy is His capacity of putting the two together. Heaven colliding with humanity. That's where the Kingdom exploded in people's lives.

Real listening is difficult though. Primarily because it makes others the center of attention. We struggle with that especially living in a me centered world. However, it is my observation that ministry follows listening. May our ears be open to hear.

The Copper Bandits

The price of copper on the world market has soared over the past couple of years. This presents great challenges for Kenya's telecommunication industry. Almost the entirety of their telephone lines are copper. Over the past six months, thieves have cashed in on the value of the telephone line. It started with a couple of phones here and there.

A customer would wake up in the morning with their line out of order. Upon investigation it was discovered that the line had disappeared- hundreds of meters at a time. Soon the case of the disappearing telephone lines spread to entire neighborhoods.

On my most recent visit to Kenya, the problem had become endemic. Entire regions of the city comprising tens of thousands of telephone lines have vanished.

The standard solution? Kenya's telecommunication system has decided not to replace the missing lines because of the exorbitant costs involved. So consumers are forced to rely on their cell phones. Landlines are are becoming a rare commodity.

The guilty culprits? Disgruntled employees who have been sacked in recent months. They understand the value of these lines and how to quickly excavate them in the middle of the night. The moral of the story? Keep your cell phone readily available in order to report any copper thieves pilfering your land line.

Internal sabotage has to be the worst. It's one thing to loose everything to a rival or adversary. While tragic such tactics are expected. It's an entirely different thing, however, to loose everything from self-inflicted stupidity.

Over the past year I've been considering the power of the purpose of God. Isaiah 14:27 says it well "For the Lord Almighty has purposed and who can thwart Him?" Hell can't stop God's purpose. Finances can't thwart it. Other people can't stop it. God's purpose will prevail. God's purpose will triumph. Phil 2:13 "It is God who works in you both to will and to act according to His GOOD purpose."

However, I'm also very aware that God's purpose depends on our cooperation. One verse previous in Phil 2:12 Paul reminds the people of God that they have a responsibility "to work out their salvation." What a fascinating picture: God works His purpose in us so that we can cooperate with Him in working His purpose out of us. Don't self-sabotage the communication line in your life. God's purpose requires our full participation.

Here's hoping your home phone line doesn't go missing!

Great Moments in Prayer by G. Campbell Morgan

"During the Welsh Revival, it is said, that a certain minister was marvelously successful in his preaching. He had but one sermon, but under it hundreds of men were saved. Far away from where he lived in a lonely valley, news of this wonderful success reached a brother preacher. Forthwith he became anxious to find out the secret of this man's success. At length, reaching the humble cottage where the good man lived, he said: "Brother where did you get that sermon?"

He was taken into a poorly furnished room and pointed to a spot where the carpet was worn shabby and bare, near a window that looked out toward the mountains. The minister said, "Brother, that's where I got that sermon. My heart was heavy for men. One evening I knelt there and cried for power to preach as I had never preached before.

The hours passed until the midnight struck and the stars looked down on the sleeping valley and silent hills; but the answer came not. So I prayed until at length I saw a faint gray shoot up in the east. Presently it became silver, and I watched and prayed until the silver became purple and gold, and on all the mountain crests blazed the fires of the new day; and then the sermon came and the power came.

I lay down and slept and arose and preached and scores fell down before the fire of God. That is where I got that sermon."