Mission to the Americas

Serving Ministries and Missions in Latin America

Praying for the city

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Just recently, Anakarina participated in a Girl Scout hike up Ancon hill, the hill just to the west of the city that gives you a great panoramic vista of the city skyline.

I love going up the hill, not only to see the city, but to pray for it.

Praying for the city

When Jesus saw the crowds, his heart broke. Matthew 9:36 reads

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

He had compassion on them.

To put it another way, he felt compassion for them.

I can imagine the heart of Christ that day on that hillside – pondering the injustice, the poverty, the lostness, the brokenness, the misery of human need, and their separation from God.

But also seeing not just a plural collective “them” but individuals with names, dreams, and families.

I can imagine the compassionate emotions swirling like in His heart like the foamy rapids of a river .

He felt it.

What happens when you pray for where you live and minister?

Sometimes my heart breaks with the compassion that might have been similar to what Jesus felt.

I imagine the crowds that steel skyscrapers and slum shacks on a muddy hillside represent – individuals who need Christ.

My heart breaks at times.

I imagine

  • the poor who try to make a living in a gang infested neighborhood where they might be killed by accident,
  • the laborers who work for minimum wage in dangerous unsafe occupations,
  • the injustices committed underhandedly,
  • the extortion and bribery that gets things done,
  • the pickpockets who steal just to get some food.

Not just for the collective crowd, but individuals.

I think of the toothless amputee, with swollen knobby fingers on his remaining hand.  He stopped me at a traffic intersection.  He used his teeth to hold the clean styrofoam cup while he maneuvered his one-legged body on crutches next to my car.  His swollen hand stuck that cup in my car window, begging for a donation of some kind.

I give him what I have, but drive away in tears.  I wish I could do more to help.

I remember the orphan who’s parents were murdered, and who had been a victim of human trafficking.

I remember the 7 year old who murdered a shop keeper.

I remember the first hand stories of gang rape and sexual abuse.

I remember seeing people eat with bare hands out of dumpsters and torn trash bags behind restaurants.

Feel the heart of God

I weep over my city.  I feel for my city.  I’ve seen brokenness that I wish I had never seen.

I sometimes spontaneously pray in desperation, “Lord send me to reach them.  Send me.”

I touch the heart of God.

The heart of evangelism is to connect with the heart of God.

Ask the Lord to share His heart for the city / town / rural area in which you live.

Ask the Lord to grow your sensitivity to His compassion.

Leaving our Nets

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fishing nets While in Nashville for an evangelism conference, I listened to a dramatic sermon about Andrew and Peter leaving their nets.

In the drama, Peter was ready to go “at once,” but Andrew was hesitant, trying to talk Peter out of it. As the drama continued, Peter turned reluctant to leave the nets.

What might have happened had they not left their nets that day?

What’s the worst that could happen?

The scene shifts to end of the John’s gospel, with Peter jumping out of the boat, racing to the shore after catching a large number of fish.

What foolishness to jump out of a boat and run to shore. . . . . . propelled by a deep love for the risen Jesus.

If they had not left their net, Peter would not have known this irresponsible reckless abandon of jumping out of a boat in a deep love for Jesus and appreciation for his offer of grace. He would never have known that restoration to ministry. He would not have known of Christ’s deep love for him.

That’s the worst that could happen — to miss out on stepping into God’s call for your life.

Our Family
Our family has made that step – to leave our nets behind because of our love and desire to serve Jesus.

Some may think this was foolishly irresponsible of us – to uproot our family, leave our jobs, sell our stuff and start over again.

Some may think that this was reckless stupidity – to cancel the predictable income from a stable job, give up our corporate insurance benefits and 401k matching funds, to leave the American education system. To sell our house, sell our cars, and leave our local church.

Some may think it was lacking judgment to start all over in a foreign country on the basis of a letter of invitation from a ministry to join their team in a non-paying position. No salary, and no money promised. No health benefits, and no 401k.

Perhaps this is what it seems.

Our choice of where we live will impact who our kids will marry, what friends will be in our life, and what support group we have in our life. How we generate money now will impact our ability to pay for college, give to the Kingdom, and provide an inheritance for the future.

Irresponsible. Reckless. Foolish. Stupid. Lacking in Judgment.

Adjectives used to describe both bad decisions, and the wondrous abandonment of someone in love.

When Peter jumped out of the boat, I can imagine the impulse propelled by seeing Him there after the resurrection – to see his friend again, a friend that he had grown to love and cherish.

We’ve been transformed by grace. My life is different because God revealed His grace to me in Jesus Christ. Our family is who they are because of the undeserved grace of Christ. Because of that grace, we have a profoundly deep relationship with God through Christ, a vibrant relationship with Him.

We are willing to jump out of the boat. Had I not left my nets several years ago to follow Christ, I would never have left these nets in America and stepped into a dream because of our love for Christ. I would have missed out on what God has designed us for and created us for.

What does the future hold? Of course, we don’t know. But we eagerly await what God will unfold for us.

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