Ripe and Juicy

The harvest is great, but the workers are few.

So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields.

Luke 10:2

     This verse brings to mind a movie I watched way back in junior high and high school.  A farming family lost their dad and didn't know how they were going to manage.  The mom and her young boys were doing their best to keep up the farm, but of course they couldn't do everything on their own.  When the wheat was ripe, all the neighbors drove their combines (or whatever machine you use to cut the wheat) side by side through the fields and completed the harvest in record time.  The movie ends with this verse scrolling across the screen and soft music playing.  And then, of course, a missionary or guest speaker would get up and talk to us about the importance of missions.  They would challenge us to get involved in missions in some form or another, usually a short-term trip in the summer.

     Having grown up in church and being there practically every time the doors were open, I have been well exposed to missions.  As a child, we attended a Southern Baptist church.  Right up there with altar calls at the end of every service was the annual Lottie Moon Missions Offering.  I am sure we always gave to the offering, but really had no idea what or who the money went towards specifically.  I can't recall having missionaries "sent" from our church.  I was, however, familiar with the idea of missions.  I remember learning about different countries and trying "exoctic" foods like kiwi that missionaries in foreign lands would eat.  Through these experiences, God began to develop "a heart for missions" inside of me.  More than anything I wanted to be a missionary doctor to the deep, dark jungles of Africa.

     When I was in 5th grade, we moved and started going to a new church.  Once again, I was exposed to missions.  Pictures of missionaries who had grown up in the church or community and felt called to spread the Good News were displayed on a wall with a map.  Strings from their pictures went to places like England, Germany, Spain, Japan, Morocco, and Argentina.  God continued to work in my heart, and my desire to be missionary intensified.  My vision began to change, though, and I became more interested in working with children.  I also realized that the road to becoming a doctor was quite long, and I wasn't sure I wanted to spend that much time in school.  And so, I went to college to become a teacher!

     I didn't attend just any college, but Moody Bible Institute, who just so happens to "produce" quite a few missionaries.  When I was there, I think the stat was that 1 in every 4 missionaries graduated from Moody.  Living in the inner city and further exposure to missions in all forms stirred within me the desire to work with underprivileged children, providing them with a quality education and introducing them to Jesus in the process.  God opened doors, in some pretty big and obvious ways, for me to join Kids Alive International in the country of Haiti.  I lived there for nearly two years and experienced both the best and worst times in my life to that point.

     When I finished my two-year term and returned to the United States, I truly believed that I would only be here for a short time.  I was sure that God was going to send Lawrence and me back overseas, somewhere, hopefully Africa, to work with kids in some sort of educational setting and tell them about Jesus as we helped them learn math, reading, and writing skills.  Honestly, I didn't want to be in America.  I was judgmental of people who lived in big houses and drove nice cars.  I got overwhelmed walking into Wal-Mart, all that food and clothes and toys and electronics in ONE place was almost more than I could handle.  Let alone the idea that children in Haiti were starving while people tossed leftovers in the trash without a second thought.  I figured that sooner than later Lawrence and I would be moving to a foreign country far, far away, and that in the meantime I would have to "settle" for living and working in the good ol' US of A.  And in suburbia to boot!

      As I taught 5th grade, my goal was to expose my students to missions, to help them develop critical thinking skills, and to equip them to make a difference in the world -- whether it be their home, neighborhood, church, or some foreign land in the future.  I wanted them to realize how "good" they have it here in the United States.  More than that though, I longed for them to have deep personal relationships with Jesus, to truly KNOW Him, not just about Him.  I didn't want to fill them with knowledge about the Bible, I wanted to show them how to live it out, boldly and passionately.

     God was at work, way back then, helping me see that I didn't need to be in some country in Africa to be a missionary.  Nope, He had called me to work with children right here in the Heart of America.  God has made it very clear that the kids of Liberty/Kansas City, Missouri (and their families) are our mission field.  In addition to teaching our students in the classroom, He has given us the opportunity to invite these boys and girls to Ponca Bible Camp.  This will be the 6th year that we have invited Lawrence's students, and God has blown this ministry out of the water.  Back in 2007, we drove 9 kids down to camp in a 12-passenger van.  The next year 18 kids signed up for Ponca.  The third year, about 40 boys and girls attended camp.  Then 60, then 80.  I don't know the numbers for this year yet (as you can still register for one of the remaining 4 weeks of camp!).  I do know that A LOT of kids are going.  Some of the kids are going for two weeks of camp because they love Ponca so much.  I called about 25 parents for week 2, 13 for week 3, and then just today 12 or so more for week 4.  I still have 27 parents to call for week 5 and another 11 for week 6.  I think all together about 90 kids from the Liberty/Kansas City area will be going to Ponca!  Over half of these kids I don't even know!  Lawrence's former students (and mine too) have invited friends and those friends have invited other friends to come to camp.  I feel kind of weird calling complete strangers, but it's also extremely exciting to see how God is at work in getting kids to camp!

     My heart exploded when we got the bus lists, and I saw how many kids had registered for camp so far.  I had no idea!  I am anxious (in a good way) to watch God work in these boys and girls, not just the week they are at Ponca, but for the many years to come.  Crazy, next year some of our former students will be old enough to counsel at camp!!! 

     As I think about this amazing ministry God has given us, I can't help but get ansy as I think about the opportunity we will have to invite the boys and girls in the Kellybrook area once we actually live there in the midst of them.  So many kids live in those neighborhoods.  The harvest is certainly ripe and juicy!  And I can hardly wait to help harvest it!

      Amazing how God has turned me full circle.  Less than 5 years ago I couldn't wait to get out of America, and now I want more than anything to move into a subdivision in one of the top ten suburbs for people to live (according to an article we read last year).  We may not be moving overseas, but we are definitely answering the call to be missionaries!  Lawrence jokingly asked me last night if that means we have to start raising support :) 

      All I know is that God is filling my heart, and it's about ready to burst as I think about all He has for us, right here, right now.