Why Not Now?

We've been on vacation and our home computer has crashed, so I haven't started updates yet...but here is a story I sent to people on my blog distribution list. I'll post it here in case you're not on that list.

One thing I want to pass on about the trip now is from a situation one team experienced. They were talking with a lady that had heard the gospel from one of our translators at an earlier date. As they talked, the lady revealed that she believed that Christ was her Savior and wanted to be baptized. The team talked with her about ridding her home of idols and described different scenarios on how and when she could be baptized. The team said that they would talk to the translator, who could come and baptize her at a later date. One of the team members reported that after they had explained the gospel and situation for the fourth time (they wanted to make sure she understood what she was doing and was truly making this commitment), the lady responded with a question that I just can’t get out of my mind…”Why not now?”

Why not now?...so many times we come up with excuses on why not to go on a mission trip (too much money, too busy, kids too young, too scared of an area, too insecure to share our faith, too used to being comfortable, too addicted to creature comforts…). I know that there are legitimate reasons and excuses to not go…but they are normally valid for only a short season. Please pray about how and where you could go this upcoming year…it truly changes you in so many wonderful ways and allows you to see God at work and better understand how big He is and how much He loves the world.

Thankfully, the team did say, “Why not now?!” and they found (put together) a water spot and baptized her then and there. I happened to be on the prayer team that day. One of my team mates had prayed a prayer about Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch situation repeating itself in this particular valley (see Acts 8:26-40 for the story). Although she prayed it because of a different situation a team encountered…how sweet it was to know that God answered with a resounding YES that very day and that we were able to experience it firsthand!