Trail to Hope

I love that new show on NBC called Community. Have you seen it? Not only does it remind me of my community college days, it is a hilarious blend of characters who, although ridiculous, have some depth. But one of my favorite parts about the show is the love that the members of the Spanish "study group" have for one another. Of course, I love their antics, but what keeps them going through all their bizarre circumstances, is the solid faith that there are always people rooting for them, even if the young football star decides to take modern dance, or the always cool Jeff gets dumped by his girlfriend, or the fuddy duddy Pierce accidentally gets high during the Halloween party. Community is about just that: community.

I realized, as I chewed on this analogy of roots, that I believe instead of pulling up our roots, our Father is actually sending them further down and into the rich soil of fellowship. Our family on and off the mission field - and by family, I mean all those who love us and are connected to us by His grace - is our lifeline and our "sap." This is true of all those who are supporting us with prayer and financial support. We recognize that God delights in using the fellowship of His saints to build His kingdom. As we seek to forsake all that holds us too tightly to this world, the Apostle Paul's description of the Body and it's interconnectedness never was clearer to me than it is now. While we are blessed and pleased to be those who are called to go to the Yakama people, we greatly need the love and support of those whose ministry is elsewhere.

This is why we are investing so carefully in the lives of those who are committing to support us. While our current need seems to be mainly financial, I know there will come a time that we will need much more, including fellowship, encouragement, accountability, a place to stay when we visit, people to love our children as aunts and uncles and grandparents, and a listening ear when we need to talk and process.

We have recently encountered surprise that we are seeking to meet with all of our supporters, since this is so time consuming on our part, and while we don't force people to meet with us before committing to support us, we do encourage it and make it available.

Why would we do that? people wonder. We do it for a few reasons. The first is that it logically builds up a stronger base of support and investment on the part of our supporters. I would be much more likely to take a keen interest in the ministry of a couple that I had actually spent time with rather than having just heard at church, and we feel this is probably true for others as well. The second reason is that one of our top priorities in going is that the church in Kent, Spokane, Renton, San Diego, and beyond would be strengthened and would see new arenas for service to the Lord in caring for the poor and needy.

So, to bring it full circle, in true Native style, all believers need community, complete faith in Christ and the outworking of His grace through His children to meet our needs and the needs of others. We need to have solid trust that our family "has our back," even if we do something that seems as ridiculous as leaving home and family to enlarge His kingdom.

(Image credit to Paul Zadet's blog, although I don't know for sure where it originated)