We are now back in Costa Rica after enjoying the Christmas holidays with family and friends. We have one more trimester of language school and then it's on to the field in Mexico, where God has called us to serve.
I always heard about missionaries who returned to the United States and felt like aliens. I didn't really understand that feeling until lately. We are aware that many people think it is a strange thing that we have decided to follow God's call to go to Mexico. There have been times, after sharing about our call, that some people have seemingly tried to explain away our story. And then there is the fact that we are going to Mexico of all places. "Don't you know how dangerous it is there?" I even had one lady in a church tell me one time, "They are going to put a rope around your neck and string you up from a tree and, when they do, I want you to remember that I told you so." There are many ways to encourage a missionary, but I assure you, that is not one of them.
We are very aware of the dangers in the field where we are going to serve. We are also painfully aware of the danger of disobeying God. We prefer the first danger to the latter. I would like to share a story from one of my first trips to Mexico, that I have not shared much publicly. I shared it with my mother over the holidays and she did not lose it too badly, so that gives me greater freedom to share it with everybody.
On my second trip to Zacatecas, I was scheduled to go with my buddy, Bro. Rick Reeder, for a pastor's conference there. The Caldwell/Lyon Baptist Association in Kentucky hosts the conference every year and funds much of the expense of the conference. Rick is the director of missions in that association. We were supposed to fly out on a Monday. The previous day, Rick called me from the hospital and said that he had developed a condition that was going to require him to spend a few days in the hospital and that I would have to go to Mexico without him. He needed me to handle all the preparations and expenditures as well as host the conference in the event that he could not make it (He did end up coming on Wednesday of that week). He told me that I would have to stop by his house on my way to the airport and pick up several thousands of dollars in cash and when I arrived in Mexico, I would have to rent the car and drive through two large cities and start setting up the conference. I had very little Spanish at this time and had never driven anywhere alone in Mexico, certainly not in any cities. I was a bit nervous, but excited and honored to have the opportunity to help out in this way.
The flight went well and I rented the car with no trouble and drove through the big city of Aguascalientes, Mexico with no problems. On the north side of town, I began to feel (to put it gently) the need to spend some quality quiet time in the restroom, so I stopped at a convenience store on that side of the city and asked where the baño was. The guy in the store told me it was around the side of the building, so I quickly moved in that direction. As I came around the corner, I noticed a gang of guys looking at me from the field beside the store. I can tell you, I did not feel comfortable about my safety. But, what had to be done, had to be done, so I prayed, "Lord, you know why you have me in this country and you know how much cash I have on me, and you know what I have to do right now, so, please, keep me safe from any danger that might exist out there." I took care of business, washed my hands and proceeded to go out the door with that prayer still on my lips. When I went out, I noticed that the gang was gone and, on either side of the door, stood two armed guards dressed as federales (federal police) and holding automatic weapons. I paused for a moment and they did not look at me or say a word, nor I to them. I did not know if I was in some kind of trouble or not, but I proceeded to go out to the rental car, hoping I would not be detained. I turned around when I got to the car and looked back at the restroom door and no one was there. I had a strange feeling, but did not think too much about it at that time. I just thanked the Lord for His protection and went on to the city of Zacatecas.
That story did not mean much to me until about two years ago, when we were praying about going to Mexcio as missionaries and in the form of an attack on my mind came a deluge of doubts and questions such as, "What are you thinking about, taking your wife and your life into that country?" "Are you crazy?" "Have you lost the good sense that God gave a mule?" These thoughts and doubts went on for days, and as I was praying for a sense of God's leading it was as if He said to my mind, "Do you remember what I did for you at the bathroom?" "I know how to take care of my own, when they are doing my will." That was it, there was no more question in my mind and there were no more doubts! That attack stopped in its tracks.
"Have you lost the good sense God gave a mule?" I remember from the Bible, not a mule but a donkey that was carrying Balaam in Numbers 22. That donkey saw the angel of the Lord and refused to go in the direction he was forbidden to go. Balaam beat the donkey three times until the donkey had to speak up and say, "Why have you beaten me these three times, have I been in the habit of disobeying you?" It was then that Balaam saw the angel of the Lord and understood and fell down and worshiped. You see, Balaam's donkey was not afraid of beatings or danger from man, but he was afraid of disobeying the God who created him.
So, no, I have not lost the good sense God gave a mule (or donkey in this case). The safest place for any of you or I to be is in the middle of God's will. If anybody ever starts to string me up from a tree in Mexico or anywhere else, I know that the angels of the Lord will be encamped around, either to take me home or to stop what is about to take place. Either way, it does not matter. I am more afraid of going in a direction that God has said I shall not go.
We are grateful for your continued love, prayers and giving. I hope you better understand how important the prayer part is. Please keep loving, please keep giving and, by all means, please keep praying! Pray, not from fear for us, but with faith, that with God all things are possible and He knows how to take care of those who are obedient to Him.
Tony
