Many of you may know that seven years ago they found a good size tumor in me between my spine and esophagus when I went for a checkup when I was experiencing some back pain. I remember sitting in my doctor’s office when he got the results of the scans, and he began to tear up and say, “I am sorry to tell you this, but it does not look good.” Things in our life changed in a moment. From there I was told to get my things in order “just in case”. At that point I was ready to go anywhere and do anything to figure out my issue. Standard tests were not able to identify it so they were looking at NIH, NYU and MD Anderson in Houston as options for me to figure out my cancer and treatment. Without going into all of the details we were sent to MD Anderson in Houston. My tumor has shrunk with the treatment of massive amounts steroids, and they still are not sure if it is cancer, was cancer and in remission or something else. Although it’s a mystery, I am stable, in no pain, and I just get checked every six months to make sure the tumor, the size of a pea now, is not growing. I am so thankful my prognosis is good and I appreciate everyone’s prayers but the point I want to make in this is, I WOULD HAVE GONE ANYWHERE AND DONE ANYTHING to fix my problem.
As we approach Missions Sunday next week it is a beautiful thing to have the cure to an illness, which we all have but none of us can fix without its remedy. What a peace and joy to have Christ’s righteousness given to us knowing He has taken the consequences of our sin on the cross. We are free from the consequences of sin, we can have hope in a broken world that God is redeeming it, and we have tools to help us like His Word, His Spirit and the body of Christ!
THIS SUNDAY, October 22 we will be visited by nine GCC-supported missionaries who are sharing this good news locally and around the world. Sharing this good news can be challenging and having this time to meet them one-on-one can be a real encouragement to them and to you. I would encourage each of you to sign up to receive at least one missionary’s newsletters and to covenant to pray weekly for them. Also, sending them an email with encouraging verses or sharing your prayer requests would be seriously encouraging to them. Many serve in areas with few believers or in challenging environments. Remember getting a note or care package when you were at camp or away for an extended time and what that meant to you? Even more, they covet our prayers and connection. Make plans now to stay on Sunday to encourage and be encouraged by what God is doing here and abroad. It will be a fun time as youth will get passports to stamp to get gifts and adults can get a gift from Chik-fil-A for signing up to pray for a missionary. As they say in the Narnia books “Aslan is on the move”!
For those that want all the details, we will have Dan Iverson of MTW Japan preaching. During our teaching hour, missionaries will be in our kids’, youth, and adult Sunday School classes sharing what God is doing. We highly encourage you and your kids to stay for Foundations even if that isn’t your norm!
After our Sunday School time the fun will continue with lunch and a special opportunity to have one-on-one time with each of our missionaries! Two things will be happening simultaneously. There will be boxed lunches in the Sanctuary along with tables for eating. Gluten free and vegetarian options will be available. There will also be tables in the Narthex where you will be able to visit all of our visiting missionaries. (Some can eat first, some can visit missionaries first). Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to go to each missionary’s table and ask them at least one question. If you’re an adult, you will also be able to sign up to get their emails and prayer letters and commit to pray for them once a week. The kids will have little passports given to them during Sunday School, and the missionaries will reward them with a stamp in their passports after their visit. We will be giving out prizes to the kids based on the number of stamps they gathered in their passports. They will be able to win things like a Bible Bookmark, Tootsie Pops, bracelets, stuffed animals and have a chance to be in a drawing for 2 stomp rockets. Adults and teens can also earn coupons for free items at Chick-Fil-A by signing up to receive a missionary’s newsletter and committing to pray and correspond with them.
It is our prayer and hope that through our time together Sunday we can all be more engaged with those serving the Lord both near and far. We want to inspire our kids and adult members alike to get excited about what God is doing in the world and how He wants each of us to play a part sharing the cure to the worldwide illness of sin! And when we all leave, may we be inspired to remember that wherever the Lord takes us is our mission field as well!
