“The
Mission TEAM Which Would Not Give Up”
By Ron Bracy
The SACS Overseas Mission Trip of
2013-2014 was as unique as it was challenging.
It was a trip which will not be forgotten, because it was a trip which
almost was not. But, because of the
commitment of the students to go wherever God wanted, it was a trip which was greatly
blessed by God.
Like the previous eleven overseas
mission trips, the mission team of 2013-2014 was headed to Ukraine. Plans had been made; team members had been
chosen; dates had been scheduled; airline tickets had been reserved; room and
board had been set up; and, supplies had been selected. All was normal. Or, was it?
There were little things which were
troubling; beneath the surface, there was uncertainty. An article here; a newscast there; an email
from friends in Ukraine; and, photographs on the Internet. And, as the Fall months slowly passed, a
climax began to build in Eastern Europe.
Political and military actions in Ukraine and Crimea crashed upon the
scene in the last couple of months of 2013.
And, by December, it was clear that a decision was going to have to be
made. Was it safe to go to Ukraine?
In January, the mission team
leadership made a decision in conjunction with the parents, school
administrators, and Ukraine mission leadership.
The trip to Ukraine was cancelled.
Now, what to do?
After several weeks of exploring
various locations ranging from Latvia (in the Balkans) to other places in
Eastern Europe (Romania was one), the decision was made to go to Moldova (next door
to Ukraine). An opportunity to minister
was already in place in Moldova through a mission organization established by
Mr. Ganaway in 1991. Changes were made;
new airline reservations were scheduled; sites were determined for ministry;
and, all the other logistical issues were modified. However, the uncertainties had had one
effect; the mission team was smaller; but, still determined to go on. Moldova was the new mission site for the
trip.
But, again, God had other
plans. In the months of February and
March, clouds of political and military unrest continued to spread throughout
Eastern Europe, even within Moldova.
Again, the question was raised: was it safe to go to Moldova? And, once again, a climax came, and a
decision had to be made. In April, the
trip to Moldova was cancelled!
But, this mission team, now reduced
to twelve in number, would not give up.
At what, some thought was the final team meeting, the students voted
unanimously: “Wherever God wants to take
us, we want to go!” Within five hours,
God revealed the location where He had planned for the team to go all along –
Malawi, Africa. Through the efforts of a
local pastor, the SACS mission team joined with the mission team of another
church near Tyler, Texas. All the
logistics, airplane flights, room and board were already in place. And, the date, June 6-17, 2014, was exactly
the time frame which met the needs of the SACS mission team. When God puts His plans into motion, they are
always perfect!
The ministry in Malawi was awesome. The faithful Twelve, augmented by three
former SACS students (now in college) who had gone on previous mission trips,
and their two adult sponsors, found themselves walking in the steps of
Jesus. They shared the Gospel message,
personal salvation testimonies, and True Love Waits in five schools to over
4,000 Malawian students, literally going into the school classrooms to
speak. Each team member had a personal
interpreter, and two-by-two, they went into numerous villages going
door-to-door or into village squares to share the Good News of Jesus
Christ. They saw literally hundreds of
children and adults pray to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. On one afternoon, they shared in the baptisms
in a small river of 170 Malawian converts—and one of their own, Miss Hallie
Barr. They also worked in Zoe’s Place
and Hope House—mission stations—as they helped feed over 200 orphans each
day. Afterwards, they shared the Gospel
with the children through Bible stories, songs, and games. Try and imagine the faces and hearts of those
young children—and the adults—as they experienced the love of Jesus through the
lives of your SACS students!!!
Why was this particular mission trip so
blessed by God? The answer is
simple—this group of SACS students refused to give up. They knew in their hearts that God had called
them to missions for this year. And, they waited and waited and waited until
God revealed where He wanted them to go.
Then, they said with the prophet Isaiah, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)
There were two other actions which were
influenced by the efforts of the SACS mission team. The church near Tyler had never previously
taken a mission team of high school students with them. In their pastor’s words: “your students overwhelmed us by their
capabilities and hard work.” They have
invited SACS to go with them next year!
And, the local pastor who initially opened the door for us to go to
Malawi is now making plans to open another mission station in Malawi. Faithfulness to God’s call will always bear
bountiful fruit!!!
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