Thinning the Troops
Theme of the Week: High-Stakes Adventure
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
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Key Bible Verse: "Therefore, tell the people, 'Whoever is timid or afraid may leave and go home'" (Judges 7:3). Bonus Reading:Judges 7:1-7
Mike felt the need to encourage the believers in the Guate-malan village of Sumalito, and see if there were openings for the gospel. I felt concern for the 15 students who'd make the trip given the uncertainty of our reception by the villagers or Marxist guerrillas in the area. As we loaded the pickup trucks, a messenger drove up to report that there'd been a landslide, and the road we were to travel was impassable. We'd have to pack it in. Mike said it meant hiking 12 hours longer—and across the landslide. Some students elected not to go.
Within minutes another messenger arrived with news that there'd been an outbreak of cholera in a village we were to pass through, and two boys had died. A couple more students dropped out.
Was this a signal from God not to make the trip? Mike and I prayed with the leaders at the clinic, and felt certain that God wanted us to go despite our fears. After saying sober goodbyes to my wife and three children, we left. The mudslide crossing was dizzying but uneventful, and we saw no sign of cholera. I saw two Sumalito families give their lives to Christ.
—Mack Stiles in Mack & Leeann's Guide to Short-Term Missions
My Response: When has a risk of mine proved worthwhile?
Thought to Apply: Those who propose avoiding risks and gaining safety will invariably find that what they acquire instead are obsessions.
—Frank Furedi (sociologist)
Adapted from Mack & Leeann's Guide to Short-Term Missions (InterVarsity, 2000) by permission.
Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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In light of what You endured for me, Savior, empower me to move out of my comfort zone for You.
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