Troubled Times

This past week was a tough one. Due to the economic tightening, which unfortunately often hits nonprofits the hardest, we had to lay off 6 people from our office. We had developed such a close-knit team among the staff, so this was especially hard not even considering the additional work load this will mean for those who are left. As hard as it was, I am so thankful that it was handled with love and caring - all of us felt God's presence in a very real way that entire day. We've already heard some good things from several of those who are gone about how God is already answering prayers. But either way, we miss them dearly. We fasted and prayed for two months that this could be avoided - yet when the time came and the December numbers were in, there was no doubt that this was necessary to stay afloat until things pick back up a bit.

So one wonders, "What is God up to?" A person could get pretty bogged down in theological questions. Did God will this? Did this happen because someone wasn't being obedient in their giving? Did this happen because somebody on Wall Street was greedy? Did this happen so that those laid off would be given new opportunities? Did this happen because the media has freaked everyone out? I guess we could drive ourselves crazy trying to answer such questions. I think the asking is normal any time there is pain, disappointment, suffering, or tragedy. When Jesus was asked a similar question about why the man was blind, due to his sins or the sins of his parents, He basically said, "Neither. So that God could be glorified."

Does God cause such things in order to be glorified? Well, I'm not going to touch that one or I'll be guaranteed a flood of e-mails! What I can know for sure is that God desires to be and can be glorified in any situation. He can be glorified in each of the lives of those laid off. He can be glorified in The Mission Society as we try to regroup and move forward. He can be glorified in the lives of those who have lost houses in this economic crunch as well as in the lives of those who have managed to hold on. The question is, will we look to Him?

A few months ago, my colleague at the Mission Society - Darrell - shared something he had noticed when in China. When people in America pray in times of difficulty, we usually pray for intervention - for God to protect us or change the situation. I can assure you, that's how I was praying last month regarding the possibilities of layoffs! But Darrell noticed that when the Chinese pray, they pray that God will enable them to be faithful in the situation. They've had corrupt governments for centuries - emperors, conquerors, communists. They really don't expect that to change - it's part of the landscape in a fallen world. But in Christ, they fully anticipate God to redeem each situation in their lives.

I've reflected a lot on that over the months. The question is not so much "Why did all this happen?" The question is, "Will we be submissive to God in the midst of it and seek to see Him glorified in us and in the situation." Sometimes He does His best work when folks respond with that level of submission to Him, submitting even the questions of "why me - why us?"

A Great Way to Start the New Year

On January 2, over 80 missionaries, missionary kids, Mission Society staff, and guests gathered in the mountains overlooking San Jose, Costa Rica for a conference. We had a wonderful time of fellowship, learning, worship, ministry, and fun. As we sought the Lord together, He answered with a spirit of unity and renewed commitment to being effective ministers of His Word throughout the region. I posted some photos on Picasa for those who might be interested in getting a visual picture of our time together.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimbobka/CostaRica2009?authkey=H67NBM2zDRE&feat=directlink

EARTHQUAKE!!!

I was in San Jose, Costa Rica at the airport, awaiting my flight back to the US when it hit. At first I thought a plane had crashed into another part of the airport, but within 2-3 seconds, I realized I was experiencing a humdinger of an earthquake. The whole building banged a couple times, as if someone had tossed us and we were bouncing to a stop.

It is quite a sensation - wondering if it will continue, if it will get worse, if those big speakers on the column above you will come down, if you'll spend all night at the airport, if you'll be a statistic on the evening news! As it turned out, things returned to normal at the airport within a couple hours. Whew, it passed.

But did it? As the reports trickled in over the past couple days, it is clear this was a life-changing event for hundreds and a life-ending event for several. Many homes were destroyed, some roads are still blocked by landslides and there are still people who are stranded.

I realized how much I tend to judge an event by how much it affects ME. All is back to normal. Thank you God for protecting ME. Glad I didn't miss MY flight. In fact, if I hadn't just been to Costa Rica, would I have even known it happened or, if I saw the news item, would I have paid any attention? No conclusions here - just a reminder of how life can be dramatically changed in an instant. And a reminder of how self-centered people are at their core.

Reflections From Ephesus

During a recent trip to explore the possibility of work in Turkey, I was able to spend a day in Ephesus. It is a huge archaeological dig that has been in process for much of the last century. What has been uncovered and reassembled is breathtaking. This was my first time to visit any site that has a key role in the Bible. It was surreal thinking that the apostles Paul and John would have been seeing the same structures. It was awe inspiring to stand in the amphitheater where Paul addressed the Ephesians and to see the harbor where they had their tearful farewell. This was one of the great cities of Rome and one of the cities where the early church was founded. Yet as the water receded from the harbor and earthquakes hit, the city died and soon was forgotten. There now actually is a small town nearby. We met with a couple of believers who work there - they told us there are no fellowships of believers meeting in that town.

One can't help but consider the parallels especially as we experience the current upheavals in our own civilization. A great city and civilization that must have seen impregnable and never-ending is now just an interesting archaeological dig. And the city where the Apostles themselves lived and where one of the first churches in history was established no longer has a single church. Yet the indicators were already there even as John penned revelation - John, who tradition holds spent his last years in Ephesus. We visited the place he is purported to be buried. In the letters to the churches in Revelation, Ephesus is the church who Christ rebukes for having "forsaken their first love."


Standing in that place and reflecting on those words, I could not help but be reminded that no people has an entitlement to God's favor nor any civilization a promise of longevity. In fact, it is when we begin to rest on those assumptions that complacency creeps in and we risk losing our first love. I could not help but be saddened to think that this place, so rich in the history of God's revelation, now is practically without a witness. When I look at my own culture as we argue over nativity scenes, when I see charitable giving as the first thing to go when economic times are uncertain, and when I am often confronted with a myopic view of what it means to be church, I wonder what would the content of a Revelation-style letter to the churches in our nation and our time in history be? Like the Ephesians, we are called to repent when we have lost our first love. We are called to recommit ourselves to being carriers of His Word to a nation and world who need to hear it. Just some reflections caused by a recent experience in the light of our current times.

Lost Voices

Well, my great plans for a travel blog during my trip to Prague didn't work out. I'm back home now. It was a great trip, though.

The most memorable, though, was a trip to Terezin I took on Saturday. It was the location of a Jewish Ghetto during the Nazi occupation - many lost their lives there due to horrible conditions. 84,000 passed through, ending up in the more well-known places of horror like Auschwitz where they lost their lives.

In one room, the wall was covered with names of those who perished. But it wasn't just anyone - it was limited to children. The tragedy was overwhelming. As I looked at the birth dates, I realized these people would be my parents' age. Most were born in the 30's, but perished from 1942-1945. Thousands of lives lost - what contributions would they have made to the world had they not been destroyed by that evil? How many children and grandchildren would now be in the world today if that generation of children had been allowed to live.

As you walk into the room, you are met by a photo of a boy of about 12 years old. Here is the poem he wrote while in the ghetto. He later died in a concentration camp.

A little garden,
Fragrant and full of roses.
The path is narrow
And a little boy walks along it.
A little boy, a sweet boy,
Like that growing blossom.
When the blossom comes to bloom,
The little boy will be no more.

To read such words in the context of that place created an incredible sense of sadness. Yet even today, children's lives are cut short by hunger, war, and sex trafficking and their innocence is destroyed by the self-centeredness of many adults. It must grieve the heart of God.

Praying for Us - They Really Mean It!

Last weekend Shawn, Rebekah, and I traveled down to Tallahassee to visit the folks at Killearn United Methodist Church. This church, and particularly a women's fellowship group, have been supporting us and praying for us since we first started preparing to go to Kaz back in 1995. They invited us down to help kick off a day of service they were doing in the community, then share with them in their worship services on Sunday (4 services, no less).

It was truly a joy to be with them and see the enthusiasm of the people who turned out on a Saturday to go out and serve. But the greatest blessing was the number of women from the fellowship group who came up to us - many had never even met us - and asked knowingly about our family and ministry. They had been praying for us. One woman - Mrs Dorothy, is 91 years old. She asked very specifically about things I had shared about in newsletters many months ago. She asked about each of our children, again knowing what they were up to, remembering what we've shared about them over the years.

We've had this experience before, but it always humbles me when we meet others who say they pray for us and really mean it. It is truly the lifeline of all people - would that we all prayed for one another with that same fervor that we as missionaries are blessed to receive.

Economic woes or opportunity for faith?

Like many folks, I've been afraid to even look at my retirement accounts for fear of how much lower the value is than it was just a week ago, not to mention a year ago. I get nervous when I hear predictions of economic collapse. I am tempted to get impatient with the gas stations with no gas here in Atlanta this week. I want to grumble about paying $4.50 a gallon after waiting in line when I do find a pump. And I wonder at the intensity and meanness of the political dialogue (if one could call it that!).

But what if I just stop for a few minutes and consider the things that are not on the radar screen of most of us in the USA? Even if my retirement vaporized, the fact I am in a house still puts me among the wealthiest people in the world. If our whole economy were to collapse - I'd be no worse off than the many friends we had in Kazakhstan when we moved there in 1996. I don't like paying $4.50/gallon for gas, but in most countries it's much higher, and the vast majority of people in this world don't even own a car. And as inane as the political debate is and the meanness of the tone, at least varying opinions are allowed and I'm not likely to be shot by someone who holds an opposing view as mine.

I don't know where all the current challenges will lead, but I do know that the Lord does not want us to be myopically focused only on that which affects us. RIght now, hundreds of Christians in the Orissa State of India have fled to the jungles after having their houses burned in a wave of militant Hindu violence. Dozens have been killed. Yet that hasn't shown up once on my home screen of Google's top five news stories. In our churches, are we praying for our brothers and sisters in India in addition to praying for our own economy and our retirement accounts?

Lest anyone think I'm standing in judgement here, let me hasten to assure that I include myself in this. I am astonished at how quickly even someone who lived in a collapsed economy for 10 years among people with limited freedom and now who has seen poverty around the world can get grumpy about waiting 15 minutes to get gas and having to pay more for it! I expect Shawn could identify such a person - she has to live with him!

I guess I would encourage myself and all of us who testify to Christ as Lord that we need to ask Him to help us see the world as He sees it and to maintain His heart for the world, even in times when our self-centered nature pulls us toward self-pity. Especially in uncertain times as this, we can be witnesses to faith in a sovereign Lord, for whom NONE of this is a surprise or even a "blip" on his time line. Can the God - who gives strength to the believers in Orissa who choose death rather than recant their faith - can that God be trusted to see us through these times, regardless of who gets elected, which way the stocks bounce, or whether or not the local gas pump is empty? Let's allow the uncertainty of the times help us not focus on the uncertainty but on God's faithfulness and constancy.