GO - For One

As I prepare to join forces and embark once again on a season of leading, serving, and equipping the next generation, I am humbled at God's faithfulness. An encounter with some young, passionate, and enthusiastic missionaries reminded me of a journey that God laid out for me fourteen years ago.

As I was contemplating God's timeline, I discovered an article I wrote after a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in 2012. Its contents are still relevant for today.

As I look back with reflective eyes on my third missionary journey to the Dominican Republic, I encountered a sobriety in my spirit like I’ve never encountered before.

This journey was unlike the previous trips in that I recognized a spiritual battle was being fought both with the team and with the territory that God was allowing me to tread upon.

Prior to going on this mission trip, I started a study on spiritual warfare. That probably wasn’t the best study to attempt to tackle, and eventually I had to withdraw from the study because the warfare became so intense in my own life. I knew I would resume the study upon return from the Dominican, but God showed me that spiritual warfare is an ongoing fight – one you cannot withdraw from even temporarily.

The things we set out to accomplish on this mission trip did not radically change from the past. We painted a school at a church, put together humanitarian aid packages of food and went into the barrios and gave testimonies, ministered to the people, prayed and played with the children. We visited a sugar cane plantation of Haitians and assisted the clinic with the AIDS testing and gave out medicine, entertained the children and gave away shoes.

On our last day of service, we visited several brothels where we again fed the women and men both natural and spiritual food. It seemed to be a typical mission trip, but God added another element to the trip. On our fourth day in the Dominican, we were able to go on a site visit in the one of the poorest and most violent communities in the Dominican Republic. We were able to visit with an Associate Pastor about the water treatment facility that they had installed in the community and about the empowerment efforts they were starting to assist children and women. And then, the Pastor took us down to the river.

Going down to the river may seem like a relatively easy thing to do, but this was not the case. This river was actually below ground level, deep within the heart of the community. I don’t know how many stories down, but it was a downward descent into the earth where an entire community of people lived – a hidden people.

As we descended down the narrow and cluttered steps, we encountered a new community of people who dwelled in carved out homes in the side of the mountain. At the bottom, there lived an entire village of people. I’ve never visited Haiti, but it reminded me of the pictures I’ve seen where all the homes are stacked on top of each other along a hillside.

It’s always easier to go down stairs than up them, so as I looked back at the stairs that we had just descended, I thought to myself, “How are we going to get out of here?” I wasn’t looking forward to the climb back up the stairs. Was there another way out – an easier way?

We didn’t stay long to interact with the people, but it only took a glance to see what the physical needs were. I imagine there were just as many spiritual needs as well. I encountered no outward sorrow there, but only saw a group of children playing with bottle tops as their toys, a little girl washing dishes in a bucket, and people eager to respond as you recognized their existence. I wondered what they thought about the group of strangers who had entered in the midst of them; surrounded by security guards and a couple of pastors.

The Pastor decided to take us around to the river and another way out. Well this seemed like a pretty good suggestion if we could avoid all those stairs, but it actually was a more difficult climb back up. Now we were walking along the river at the bottom of the mountain in the midst of green foliage and the unknown. It was a small and narrow carved out path in the brush walking over fallen tree trunks, leaping over wet places, and walking cautiously in unfamiliar territory. We could clearly see up the hillside and the shanties protruding from it. Yet, as we walked the strange terrain there was no end in sight.

Suddenly there was a shift in the direction. They decided to take us back up the mountain instead of around it. Now we were climbing over walls and brush and hilly places. We were on unstable ground in a foreign land following people we didn’t really know. Where would it lead us? God was allowing us to experience these rough and unsteady places for a reason. We needed each other not just on the descent down, but on the ascent back up again.

Yes, God was in the midst of us. There was probably more prayer going on as we wandered in alien territory than ever before. What was God trying to tell us? As we pushed and pulled each other up the rugged hillside, we finally made it back to some level ground.

But still there were stairs we had to face….not as many as before…but enough to make you pause. Barely able to catch our breath, we continued to labor up the steep stairs. It was a struggle for the fit and the unfit, the young and the old, and for both the men and women. But, it was a path the Dominicans in this community had to walk every single day. It was a regular part of their existence.

Our Dominican brothers helped us by carrying our backpacks. We helped each other by encouraging words and pulling each other up just a few more steps. Surely there was a lesson in this. The Holy Spirit is a master teacher and is always teaching us something. As the days went on, I would learn a little bit about the lessons He was teaching on this trip.

God continued to reveal Himself in new ways as we went to the sugar cane plantation; the betay. For most of the team, it was their first time there. Even though I visited several plantations on my first visit to the DR, this time was different. This plantation was close to the mountains in a most beautiful physical setting. To see such extreme poverty in the midst of such natural beauty is always a sight to wonder about. It wasn’t the poverty, however, that heightened my senses, but it was the sense of desperation, the violence and the chaos that disturbed my spirit. To see such a beautiful and intelligent people in such a plight that there was no sense of caring and concern for each other really bothered me.

The complexity of the Haitians and their situation on the sugar cane plantation gave me reason to wonder about God’s purpose for us there. I saw meanness in so many of the children that I didn’t see before. The pushing, punching and shoving just to get a pair of flip flops or even a balloon bothered my spirit this time more than before. The difficulty in gaining order just to play a simple child’s game amazed me.

It was more than just survival of the fittest – it was something else. It was even deeper than a language barrier. Something was missing that shoes, candy and toys could not replace. Where was the evidence of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, goodness, self-control, patience, and faithfulness? There were many things I questioned God about following this experience.

After all the “stuff” was gone and the people scattered in the sugar cane plantation only a small group of children hung around to mingle and play with the strangers in yellow shirts. As I sat in weariness and dejection on a little concrete slab and questioned God about my own calling to minister to these people, God sent one little girl with a balloon on a shoestring to play patty cake with me. She taught me some new things as she sang a song that was unfamiliar to me. She made me smile and laugh as she brought the chaotic day to a peaceful end.

As I later sat on the bathroom floor at three in the morning and engaged in my own spiritual battle of the mind, God brought that little girl back to my remembrance. I didn’t want to go back to the sugar cane plantation - ever. I didn’t see how we were impacting or making a difference there. In fact, I was battling in my mind that the thousands of dollars that I’ve spent going on various mission trips had been wasted. It didn’t make a difference. The need was just too great for one person to matter.

And then the Holy Ghost stepped into the middle of the battle and reminded me of His purposes and plans for my life. He asked me if I would go back for just that one little girl with the balloon. If there was just one soul that needed a touch from God, would I be willing to provide it?

Would I be willing to descend beneath the earth again knowing the struggle to get back up if there was just one person in that community He sent me for? Would I feed His sheep no matter what the cost? Would I go wherever He wanted me to go if it was just for one person? Would I sacrifice my own comforts and my own sense of order to go where He was calling me to go?

And as the tears flow now, they flowed that morning as I sobbed into a towel and said, “Yes Lord, I would go for just that one.”

God brought me down to the river to see under the surface level of my experiences. He allowed me to see a deeper level of need both in that community and in the betay; a level of need that requires some intensive spiritual warfare. God showed me that there was no easy way out – it was going to be a fight to free His people. But just like He brought us down to see it, He was able to bring us up again.

The path may have been unsteady and rough. The terrain may have been uneven and even a little frightening at times, but God was still there in the midst of it. And if we help each other, one at a time we will be able to climb up out of the darkness.

The call to study spiritual warfare prior to this trip was no accident; God was preparing me for the battle that lies ahead. It’s a battle that seeks to come against God’s own purposes and plans for the earth – not mine – His. It’s a battle that has been outlined clearly and distinctly in God’s Word. It’s a battle that Jesus fought on the cross by the sacrifice of His life; by His very own blood.

Oh, but when He rose again – death was defeated and we were able to cross over to victory. Victory is on the other side of the battle. Are you willing to engage?

Your contribution in the battle is more than just as a servant – you are called as a prayer warrior. Your petitions, supplications and your intercessions for people you don’t even know hundreds and thousands of miles away or merely next door make a difference. Your willingness to serve and be obedient to God’s calling does make a difference. Your love for just that one truly does impact the world.

I will continue to believe that nothing is impossible for God. God can bring order in the midst of chaos. God is not a liar! His promises are true just as He is True and Faithful. He has a plan for the nations. He is able to change the world. And, He changes it through you and I. Are you willing to be engaged in the battle to see that change? My prayer is that you will say, “Yes Lord, I will go for just that one.”

Fast forward ten years, and here I am today, ready again to adventure outside my own comfort zone to serve God's people. Tornadoes, fires, floods, and hurricanes are disasters that demand a response right here in the United States. Poverty, homelessness, and hopelessness are rampant across the fifty states of America. Likewise, the pandemic and economy has unveiled its own set of needs in our communities.

I've been asked to GO - and I will; even if it's just for one person. To extend a hand - to pull up and to lift each other is what God has called us all to do. Even more so, to share the reason behind what propels us to go. Our testimony of God's amazing grace, mercy and love in our own lives can encourage others to seek Him. And, when they seek HIM with all of their hearts, they will find Him.

Yes, this disciple will be on the move once again. It's time to reconnect with God's people and those who are waiting to hear the Good News of the Gospel.