What a Mess!
by Daren Beck (Director, ACTION Cambodia)
Recently one evening I was picking up a friend to take him to the airport for his flight back to the States. This time of the year it is not unusual to have torrential downpours daily and as I made my way across town to pick him up the rain was really coming down! By the time I got to the guesthouse the streets were flooded and I had no choice but to wade through the water in order to make my way to the front door. One thing you have to keep in mind, is that once the streets flood here you inevitably have a not so sweet smelling concoction of water, waste and debris. The rainy season is necessary for the harvest but what a mess it can make! When I stepped out of the van I couldn’t see what I was knee deep in but I could feel it and smell it! For the most part I’m a gamer but this was not my idea of a good time. As I sloshed my way to retrieve his luggage from inside I could think of a half dozen places that I would rather be at the moment. The trip to the airport didn’t get much better because the roads were flooded enough that the water (and everything in it) made its way into my van. Thankfully we made it, my friend made his flight and I was left with a residual smell in the van and needing a good shower……but mission accomplished!
I have been preaching through I Corinthians at Shalom Church and have reflected how imperfect the church of Corinth was, many times thinking to myself that I would have given up on a church that was plagued by disunity, divisiveness, immorality, public infighting, and economic prejudice towards one another! Yet how patiently the Apostle Paul exhorted, encouraged and lovingly rebuked this infant body of believers. Despite the state of the Corinthian church Paul faithfully loved them by communicating truth, instructing them in sound doctrine and pointing them to Christ. At times we find the ministry in Cambodia to be painfully slow…..and so very messy! I like things nice, neat and well packaged. Laboring in a first generation Church is NOT very nice, there is nothing neat about it and it is generally speaking pretty chaotic. Whether working with pastors, new believers, children at risk, or orphans there seems to be a challenge at every turn. Can it be frustrating? Sure! Does it make us want to quit? No. There is a peace in knowing that Christ’s Church is being built, the Kingdom will be established and that our responsibility is to be faithful ministers of the gospel.
Many of you might have a missions emphasis at some point in the next two months. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will renew a burden in all of us for the lost (Matthew 9:36-38), cause us to count the cost of engaging in the Great Commission(Luke 9:57-62) and thrust us head long into the Harvest (Luke 10:2)! And you know what??? The harvest is not a nice, neat, orderly place (Matthew 10:16-42)! Identifying who needs to be reached with the gospel is the relatively easy part…..going and making disciples is the challenge. Two thirds of worlds population and 90% of the unreached peoples (those who live outside the influence and/or reach of the gospel) live in a small geographic region of the world referred to as the 10/40 Window. This region is also home to three major world religions (Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism) and is where some of the poorest people on the planet live (for more info check out http://www.win1040.com). If we are serious about living obediently to Christ’s final command in Matthew 28:19-20 then we need to embrace the reality that this side of Heaven we need to roll up our sleeves, count the cost and jump into the messy business of missions.
Thank you for standing with us as we slug it out in our own little messy corner of the world! We covet your prayers and are grateful for your faithful financial support. Keep pressing on where God has placed you as well for the glory of God and for the Lamb (Revelation 5:6-10).