Update on the Missionary in a Thrift Store

At my volunteer work in a thrift store on the other end of town (whose proceeds go to fund care of orphans in Uganda as well as for a farm and clinic there), I have a lot of ministry opportunities and things that happen which make me consider my own walk with the Lord.

Last week Thursday, we had a lady come in who was in the store for nearly an hour but who was nearly ready to leave without finding anything. “Can I help you, ma'am?” I asked.

Her shoulders drooped as she spoke with me. “I really like hippos, you know. I collect them. I go to different thrift stores all the time to see if they have a T-shirt or any little figurines or anything with hippos on them. Guess I didn't find anything today.”

I was really shocked to hear that. Secretly, I thought there was no way that we might ever something with hippos in the store for a long while... we sell what people donate to us, and for the nearly month and a half or so that I had been in the store, I could not recall anything like that. “Um, as far as I know, we don't have anything in the store like that. But you could leave your name and number, and we'll call you when we do. Sorry, I just have no way of knowing when we will... it's not that common that people will donate something like that.”

Well, that's okay, I won't leave my name and number,” said the lady. “I live nearby here and come by here fairly often. I'll visit again looking for the same thing.”

I shook my head after she left, thinking that there was no way that we would have what she wanted.

The very next day however, someone donated a hippo! It was really unbelievable. It was this gigantic hippo someone bought in Kenya for decoration that is kind of painted weird colors like orange, yellow and red. It hangs on the wall with kitchen wooden spoons and a spatula hanging beneath. Each of the utensils also has a hippo at the top. Pretty cool- straight from Africa and exactly what this lady wanted!

This reminds me so much of how the Bible says that we should Ask, Seek, and Knock. We should not feel afraid to ask the Lord anything. If the Lord can the very next day give this hippo lady what she is searching for... such a minor, little thing that I don't think that she may have even bothered to pray for... then he will so much more hear and answer our own requests. Sometimes, we think the Lord may not be answering our requests, but his answer may in fact be “WAIT.”

Well, after two years of seeking to raise the financial support and having missed two deadlines set for me now by my missionary organization to raise 100% of the financial funds, it seems certain the Lord has something else in store for my future other than going to West Africa with this organization. We will find out more details about this situation in November.

Really, as Christians we are all called to be missionaries wherever we are now. Wherever you are now, God has put you there for a purpose. And wherever you are, you are to tell others about Jesus, to teach and make disciples of all as we are told in Matthew 28, where Jesus gives the Great Commission.

I know that the Lord is using me in surprising ways right here in the United States. On Tuesday of this week, I went over a friend's home for Fujinkai (Japanese Women's Bible Study). There I spoke to my friend's daughter Yoko, who has an incurable disease and spends much of her days on the couch or in the bed. I told Yoko she reminds me of the poet Emily Dickinson! She is quite smart and whenever I see her she is always so unbelievably cheerful (okay, maybe the poet Emily was not so cheerful heh heh). I enjoy speaking to her so much! Perhaps also I can bring her some sunshine (encouragement). When I saw her on in September during our Fujinkai (Japanese Women's Bible Study meeting), I told her that she should think about doing something with her free time and perhaps consider writing stories- perhaps for kids. It is something simple that she can easily do whenever she feels well and it will be a wonderful way to bring joy to the lives of others.

Yoko took a class in creative writing before, but she had not really considered that she could try to write stories outside of class. As soon as she heard what I had to say, she seemed really excited and sat up like someone had struck her by lightning. She asked many questions with great vigor, sitting up straight and speaking in a strong voice with her most radiant sunshiny smile. For a few moments she completely forgot her own illness and pain and looked like any other healthy person you might see on the street! Some of her questions were,“How do you write? Where do you get your ideas? Do you really think I could tell a story other people would be interested in?”

It was moving to be able to sit down and speak with her about writing and stories and boo, the word arts that have meant so much to me in my own life, comforting me much despite some very damaging abuse and difficult times that I experienced early in my life. When I left her home, I couldn't help wondering... if I was not in her life, who else would have shared this with her? I'm not sure. Who knows? Perhaps it was for such a time as this- precisely to encourage Yoko- that God has made me a part of that Fujinkai group from the beginning. Although Yoko is limited with her physical capabilities, she is such a precious person to me and I hope that we can find some ways (such as through her writing stories) that many other people in this world can appreciate her beautiful spirit.

There are other people too who God has placed into my life right now in Grand Rapids, using me to bless them in some surprising ways. I would like to speak about them too here in this blog, but since this post is long enough already I will save that for another time. For now, He is keeping me here to do more good work right here in my hometown. One person can make a world of difference.

DELAYED BUT NOT DENIED.

On a side note, this is a very challenging time in my life as my paternal grandmother Margaret is in and out of the hospital. We don't know how long she has to live, actually. Especially this is taking a big toll on my father, who is not a strong Christian and who does not really pray and leave things in the hands of the Lord. If you can pray for her health and his depression that would be good.

I'd like to close with this Scripture reading from the King James version of 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;”

NIV version: “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Same passage (plus a little more afterwards) from the Message version of the Bible: “We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us in trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in our lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!”

poem of pain, song of sorrow

My friend Connie and I ran into a local poet on the street here on the last day of voting for ArtPrize... the first poet laureate of Grand Rapids, Mrs. Linda Nemec Foster. She encouraged me to share some of my poetry on my blog. I guess I will try that.



yellowing leaves

last glimpse of light before night

all things are shadows



What does our guture hold? Death lies before us all my friends. But it is not the end. There is a life to come after this one. Are you ready for eternity?



This I write in pain, too sick to be able to go to church today. Still, I seek to share what I know about my Heavenly Father (Our Father) and my Jesus (Our Jesus) with the world. That is what it means to be a missionary, indeed. . .