2011 Ministry Brochure!

Becky's new ministry brochure for 2011!

Unity!

"You thought you were doing one thing, but you were really doing something else," exhorted my 73-year-old missionary friend, Ben, in a recent conversation. I admire Ben's and Sally's tenacity and courage as they depart for another year to serve God teaching in China.  

The three of us served as missionaries in Belarus. They did their ministry. I did mine. We seldom ran into each other. Their last Sunday in Belarus eight years ago, the pastor of the International Church blessed them and we all said our goodbyes. For all I knew, that was the end of our encounters.  

Many months later, I was in Hawaii (not for vacation). Another ministry based there had flown me in for a few days to speak to their board about a potential construction project. For a few hours one day I borrowed a car to explore. Having heard that Youth With A Mission (YWAM) University of the Nations was nearby, I ventured onto the campus. I pulled into the circular drive to seek directions from the first live body I approached. Glory be, it was Ben! He and Sally were on sabbatical at YWAM, seeking God for their next mission field. Later at dinner with them, at the end of the earth with the Pacific Ocean our backdrop, Ben explained that he was going to knock on doors in a certain Arab nation while Sally sought opportunities in China for them.  

As a networker, I keep all addresses and phone numbers handy in an electronic handheld computer. It's one of the tools of my trade, so to speak. I never delete a contact. I have more than 2,000 all over the world. There at dinner, I shared my contacts in China with Ben and Sally. We also agreed that International Networx could channel their financial supply line into the Belarussian disciples that remained running their ministry.  

Ben and Sally have now thrived for seven years in that northeast Chinese city where one of my contacts became the open door for their next ministry, teaching young leaders at a university. And the supply line to their Belarus ministry still flows through our administrative pipeline.  

Nothing ever developed with the Hawaiian ministry that had brought me there. I thought I was there to help them. Instead, God created a divine intersection with Ben and Sally. I thought I was encouraging them as we talked on the phone. Instead, they encouraged me. One part of our ministry that is so fulfilling is when a divine network brings glory to God and fulfills the gifts and callings of those involved. I believe "networking" is the 21st century word for God's intended "unity!"  

There are three points to bring to your attention in this story: 
1. Networking and divine appointments happen often without my initiation, and always will since they are God's gifts within me working to accomplish His purposes.  
2. It was at the end of their sabbatical that God appointed the meeting with these silver-haired saints. Like them, I hope to still be serving Him in the strength of my senior years.  
3. The Apostle Paul took "forced" sabbaticals in prisons where he could do nothing but pray, praise, ponder, and write. Thank God for his writings! I much prefer doing the same "voluntarily" and in a pleasant location.