Safe and Secure

I’m not sure how much this blog post relates to missions or coffee, but it is an idea that has been stuck in my head for a couple weeks.  I think it is more about being an American in the process of moving overseas, so maybe it fits.

I’ve run into a small problem.  About three weeks ago I ran out of podcasts.  For the last six months I’ve been listening to the China History Podcast.  (Which is fantastic by the way.  If you’re interested, I’d highly recommend getting started on episodes 58, 83-90 or 130-131).  And I’m finally current on content.  No one is happier about my catching up than my wife, who is probably sick of having to listen to Chinese names every time we take a road trip.

So I’ve decided to do the good Christian thing and start listening to sermons from guys I know or whose books I’ve read recently.  It’s been great until it started messing with the way that I view the world.  A couple weeks ago I listened to a message on the calling of the disciples.  The crux of the message was about being usable by God, whatever that entails.  Towards the end, the call is made to be obedient, even if it means having an illness, being poor, or living a life of obscurity.

Most of the time obedience has been portrayed to us as: God will call you to do something, you might have some hardships along the way but if you work hard and are obedient then he’ll work everything out.  Like in Job.  Things get hard for a while but in the end he gets way more than he had before and is better off because of it.

But what if that’s not always the way that it works?

What if sometimes we are called to do things that may not work out all that great for us (at least by our standards)?  It isn’t exactly the Health and Wealth gospel, but I think a lot of times I buy into the equally wrong Safe and Secure Gospel.  Even with things that seem crazy like packing up my family and moving across the world, there’s still the thread of “Well if you’re obedient then you’ll be fine.”  To be honest, that may not be the case.  We’re called to obedience, not security.  And as I’ve been walking through packing up and leaving I’ve noticed that the two often are exclusive of each other.

As I’ve written several times before, I’ve been reading a lot of Hebrews 11.  One of the sections that doesn’t get much pulpit time is verses 35-38.  Those four verses are full of things that we don’t usually associate with being obedient.  But sometimes God calls us to obedience that can be hard or not make sense.

And I think that’s obedience.  If/when that call comes are we willing to take up our cross and follow him.  Hopefully it isn’t something involving being sawed in two.  But in the grand scheme of things, it sure makes me feel like packing up and moving across the world is not that hard of a thing.

A Quick Trip

So I'm fresh off the plane back from a quick visit to Asia.  Jet lag is awesome.  If anyone is bored at 4am, feel free to give me a call.  The last two weeks were spent with Luv-Luv going around and viewing some of the villages he's been working in during the last six months.  We also met with villagers and planned out some next steps.  The hope was to spend some time encouraging Luv-Luv and crystalize some plans in our move to the north.  It was a good time of encouraging Luv.  As far as crystalizing plans, the overwhelming need in this country muddied the waters and gave us some things to think about.

Over the past eight months, we've been looking at two different places that we can use coffee as a way to economically help villagers so that we can build inroads to share the gospel and plant churches.  One town the north and one in the south.  On the trip I spent time in both towns (and another town in the north which is also suitable for coffee and has huge need, basically adding a third option).  There were huge needs in all places, both spiritually and economically.  The amount of poverty and lostness was overwhelming at times.

In the last town we visited, Luv and I rented a four-wheel drive truck and went up to visit some of the coffee farmers in a small village.  An American friend sent us out with a girl that works in his office.  She is from that village and helped provide some relationship  and credibility when we talked to people.  On the one-hour drive to the village we were able to ask her lots of questions and realized that there were no believers in her village and that most had likely never heard of Jesus.  Later, as I sat in the village leaders house (see picture above) I asked him about the biggest needs in the village and what he would like to see.  He told me that the village had no access to basic equipment needed to process the coffee they grow and didn't have any access to the market.  Basically a big conglomerate sends employees to this village to buy fresh picked coffee from the farmers for pennies on the dollar.  Because the farmers have no means to process their coffee to a product that can be stored and there are no other buyers for their coffee, they are trapped in a cycle of poverty.  This village is just one of many.

We're continuing to pray and think through where we're going to land in this country.  The calling is there.  The need is there.  We just need to work out a few details on location.  As someone who is a planner, it is hard to not know all the details upfront.

This morning, I read through some of Abraham's story.  It is comforting to notice that when God called him in Genesis 12, there was no specific location.  God called him to go to the land that he would show him.  And Abraham went.  I'm all for planning (although sometimes I wonder if God really is), but at some point we have to step out on faith and trust that God will show us the next steps.  And that's where we are at UCI.  We're looking at the next step and praying through if it is to the left or the right.  In the north or in the south.

Probably some of the best advice I got while I was on the trip was from a long-time missionary who said, "If God is calling you here, just get over here and let him lead you the rest of the way once you're here.  When he shows you that step, take it."

Overseas Trip

Wanted to keep everyone in the loop and ask for prayers over the next two weeks.  On Monday I'm headed overseas to visit Luv-Luv, meet with several other people and scout out our new location.  There will be a lot going on, but specifically you can pray for:

• Checking out the new town (making sure coffee can grow, meeting people and looking at places to live).
• Favor as we talk to the gov't about visas and setting up coffee growing operations.
• Information that we can find out.  Getting info out of a developing country is incredibly difficult unless you are on the ground, and these next two weeks have potential to get a few questions answered.
• Safe travel on planes, buses, motorbikes and maybe even a boat or two.
• A good time of encouragement with Luv-Luv.  Aside from a few hours in an airport this past summer, he hasn't seen anyone from UCI in-person for over a year.
• Finally, for direction as we look ahead.

There will be lots of crazy bus rides, weird foods and probably pictures of Asians doing things that, as Americans, we think are weird.  If you're the social media type, I'm sure there will be pictures posted if/when I can find a secure internet connection.  I'll make sure and post a blog update once I get back in the country.

And if you order coffee over the next couple weeks, please forgive me if it is a little slow in getting to you.  I'll make sure and mail out all the orders once I get back.