From Paul...dictated by Randal

My study of the Apostle Paul the past couple of weeks has brought several thoughts. Paul is known as one of the greatest men in the history of the church. His personal experience with the Lord was life changing at the least. However, I found there are some similarities between Paul's life and my own that the Lord revealed to me while I was studying that are worth sharing. 

There have been various times that I have questioned "Can God use me as a missionary?, Am I even qualified?" Another battle I face from the enemy is the reminder of my age. It was these questions and thoughts that the Lord brought such encouragement from studying Paul. Here are just a few comparisons that the Lord showed me from reading about his life and qualifications to be a missionary:

Both the Apostle Paul and myself...

• were over 40 years of age on our first missionary journey
• were a believer for at least 10 years before our first missionary journey
• were called by God
• were given great grace
• were given a thorn in the flesh that kept us humble (If you're unfamiliar with me, I lost my right hand in a tragic accident at the age of 10)
• have a great love for people
• were filled with the Spirit
• have a heart of a servant
• known to be diligent and persevered to run the race
• Paul was trained in theology, and I continue my training

Why are these important to know? Encouragement. It was the last 20 years of Paul's life that he had the most impact in his ministry. I'm excited at the thought of my next 20 years of ministry. My prayer is to be fruitful! A verse of Paul's that I love and relate to is Philippians 3:13-14, "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

I am thankful for the work the Lord has done in my heart, and how He continues to mold me. I pray you too have found encouragement to press on toward what is ahead in Christ. The outcome can only be good! I am 50 years old now, and will be leaving for my 2nd missionary journey to Ireland soon. God is never late!

"Ready to go home?"

If you've ever been in a situation where you've stepped away and asked, "how did I get here?", then you have a more understanding of my feelings the past week. To recall a few events... a little over a week ago I began to feel an unusual pain that I thought would just go away. Day after day, the pain began to increase to the point I could no longer walk, sit, or sleep. It was time to see a doctor. The diagnosis was a staff infection, and to see how it was with a couple of days of medication. The doctor mentioned we might need to go to the ER. As I  laid on my bed in severe pain for a couple of days, I asked myself "how did I get here?". There was no answer to how I came about this staff infection only that it came sudden.

After a couple of days, we visited the ER and then was admitted to the hospital for surgery. You can imagine that I questioned even more, "how did I get here?" while laying in the hospital for 3 days. I was never without pain, and most of the time it was difficult to rest. The day after the surgery one of the doctor's came by and said everything went well. However, due to the deepness of the infection and how much they needed to cut out, I'll be needing home health care twice a day. Again, "how did I get here?" With the talk of home health coming to my house to take care of me, I began to feel overwhelmed. How long was I to be bedridden? How much longer can I stay like this? I fully expected to take the medication given days before and be back to normal. Yet, this was not the case. 

It was on my last day there that all changed by a simple question, "ready to go home?" Up until now, my least favorite person was the surgeon. He wasn't very personable and usually inflicted a lot of pain to see what he needed to do. It was toward the end of the day when the surgeon walked into the room. At this point, I was ready to call it a day. Enough pain had been brought on from nurses and it was time to rest. I had received the bad news of home health from the other doctor earlier that day. The last thing I wanted was to see was the surgeon. In fact, I probably began to tear up as he walked in knowing that it meant more pain. I didn't escape the pain he brought to check my wound; however, after his examination he turned my situation around from dark to light by asking..."ready to go home?" What did this mean? No more examinations, no home health, and less pain! I would be able to heal on my own and I wouldn't be in this bed much longer.

It has been a few days since this experience. I am rejoicing that the Lord is healing me more each day. I can now walk, sleep more restful, and I am off pain medicine. As I look back over the past week, I am reminded how God is always with us. He will never put more on us than we can bear. I am also reminded that when it looks the darkest, he can turn your situation around even from your least favorite source, and it can happen in an instant.

These reminders are important to our family as we travel through our journey...His call. Our call to Ireland has been a journey, and we have gained much along the way. There have been questions of if we will make it, but know that even when it looks the darkest, he can turn our situation around in an instant. We are still believing the remainder of our budget to be raised, so we can set foot on a nation that God has planted in our hearts. The question the surgeon asked not only stirred my heart to be out of the hospital, but it stirred my heart for where God has called us...Ireland. Our family is "ready to go home"