Have we suffered?

Yesterday, I read an article entitled “Suffering for Christ” written by Dr. Scott Hildreth. In the article he makes the argument that all of the easy places which need the Gospel have been taken and the places left are the hard ones. He writes, “obeying the missionary call requires choosing the unknown and suffering over a life of familiarity and ease.” I have been meditating on this quote all day.

As many of you know Julia and I live in rural Africa working among the Maumprusi people. There is a proverb among the Maumprusi which states, “life is suffering.” Julia and I have endured a lot in our two years. We have lived out Dr. Hildreth’s quote.

We have suffered through constant power cuts and water troubles. This weekend we lost water to the entire hospital compound (hospital and 13 houses) and were without water for the night. When the water came back, the pressure from the water in the pipes pushed all of the dirt and mud in the pipes into all of the houses. We turned on our bathtub and were greeted with a mud bath. We have suffered through lack of entertainment and food. There are no fast food restaurants or any restaurants for that matter in our village. We have to drive three hours away to buy basic groceries once a month and there have been numerous months where we have driven into the city only to find that the delivery trucks have not come and the two stores have barely any supplies. We have suffered through post offices and other government buildings as we have attempted to conduct important business. Imagine going to the post office and having to elbow your way through the crowd just to get to the desk. Every time we visit a Government building it's one big scavenger hunt as we find the people we need to see and get their signature. We have suffered through 15 flat tires, numerous truck issues and being harassed by police, soldiers, and children on a daily basis. We have suffered through the loss of our identity as our language ability quickly became that of a 2 year old. We have suffered through 125 degree weather with no relief; taking a “cold” shower with all of your clothes on and sitting under a fan to “cool” off. We have endured carpet vipers, spitting cobras, scorpions, mosquitoes, tarantulas, rats, camel spiders and other critters. Julia endured being pregnant in 125 degree weather unable to satisfy her food cravings and gave birth in Senegal surrounded by women screaming at her in French; a language she doesn’t know. We have suffered through an Ebola scare, waking up to a gang of boys in our front yard, tribal warfare, exposure to tuberculosis, as well as watching numerous volunteers leave the hospital compound because life and ministry was “too hard.” We have suffered through a septic tank which was full and having to shovel all of the crap out of the tank. We have suffered through raising a new born in rural Africa; waking up and finding dead lizards on her, numerous bouts with heat rash, not having a regular family pediatrician  and vaccines (Is this vaccine safe? Where did it come from? Was it kept cool during transport?).  This is just a small picture of what we have suffered.

We have suffered in a temporal sense; but we have been blessed abundantly more than we have suffered. This is what Dr. Hildreth misses in his post. He fails to emphasize that when we choose a life of unknown and suffering God meets us and empowers/equips us to accomplish the mission. We would not trade our two years for a life of familiarity and ease.

God has been molding and shaping us during our time overseas. We have grown in our intimacy with God. We are learning what it means to depend on God for everything. We are learning to take all our worry, discontent, discouragement, despair, questioning, pain and suffering and toss it all onto God and trade it in for trust and peace in God which surpasses all understanding. We are learning that God is a friend who sticks closer than a brother during the good times and bad.

We are having our world view broadened as we encounter new people on a daily basis. We are learning how to minister to people living in poverty without creating dependency. We are learning how to minister to people who have lost a child or loved one. We are learning how every culture attempts to make sense of life. We are learning how to share the Gospel in culturally appropriate ways to best minister to the world view of a particular people.

We are learning that Christ blesses those who choose a life of suffering. Jesus, Himself, said, “there is no one who has given up father, mother, sister, brother who will not receive 100 times more in the next life.” Life is not easy but God fills us with His grace and we are able to push on. We are learning to take life one day at a time. God’s power is enough for today. We must not worry about tomorrow but focus on today.

We are learning that God answers prayers and provides for us. He has provided threw the sacrificial giving of so many. We have been blessed by Southern Baptists who give to the co-operative program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We have been blessed by the training we have received, the emphasis on language learning, our vehicle, and family support. We have seen God answer prayer as everyday a prayer request goes out via Facebook and Twitter; people see it and pray, God hears and God answers.

Finally, we are learning that the Gospel has implications for all of life. The Gospel influences every aspect of my life. The Gospel impacts how I interact with my Muslim friends and how I clean out my septic tank. The Gospel impacts when sharing Operation Christmas Child boxes and when I’m diagnosed with exposure to tuberculosis. The Gospel has importance when feeding orphans and when suffering through the heat. The Gospel impacts and has implications for all of life.

In conclusion, obeying the missionary call does require choosing a life of suffering over a life of ease; however, the reward/blessing of choosing suffering outweighs the cost. When you choose to walk away from ease and familiarity and walk towards the unknown and suffering you will find God walking with you empowering and equipping you to accomplish the mission. When you initially choose a life of suffering it will be hard and costly but you will eventually look back and find that in actuality you have chosen an abundant life filled with God’s provision and God’s power. God will sustain you and in the end you will say, “I never made a sacrifice.”