The Calm Before the Storm

We had plans.

Our missions trip to Peru was based on the notion that we would be digging wells for a community that needed access to cleaner water. What a cool thing to be doing. Meeting a need of the people, and showing God’s love by meeting that need. We even had cool T-shirts made that reflected our mission: H2O Axis Missions – Peru ’09

But that didn’t happen.

So we dealt with the change of plans and went with the flow of the circumstances; and we planned our next move. We ordered a box-load of lice shampoo as well as anti-parasite pills to hand out to a community in Iquitos. We split up into teams. One group to educate the people about the parasites found in the water and to administer the pills. Another group to shampoo the heads of the children. A group to entertain the children as they were waiting for the shampoo to work its magic. Yet another group to rinse the heads of the children after ten minutes. And then a group to comb the lice out of their tiny heads.

We were a well oiled machine.

I shampooed heads for at least four straight hours without a break. With five of us washing and working under the sun, we must’ve washed a minimum of 100 heads.

“Agachese”. I instructed the children as they straddled the mini chair in front of me. I was told that this meant “lower your head”. Whatever it was I said, they listened.  That was one thing that amazed me. It didn’t matter if they were two years old or if they were seventeen…they were all so obedient. It didn’t matter if they were a boy or a girl. They were obedient. It didn’t matter if they had ADD or if they were tired and hungry. They were obedient.

As the two of us sat there in silence while I washed their head (I don’t know any spanish), I thought to myself, why is it that a child who has lice in their hair, parasites in their body, bare feet, dirty and worn out clothes, and who knows what else…why is it that this child has such an obedient heart? What I came to realize was this: they have something that we as americans don’t have…they are poor. Yes, they are literally poor, but what I’m referring to is the fact that they are also poor in spirit. They are broken. But it’s that broken spirit that has them postured in such an obedient way (Psalm 51:17), and it’s that kind of obedience that will make them the inheritors of the earth.

You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

Matthew 5:5 – The Message

But I digress.

We administered 173 anti-parasite pills that day. It’s not as though those pills saved their lives (although it could have helped their quality of life at least a little), but 87 people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior that day. For those of us whose christianese radars just started beeping wildly, let me translate that – 87 people made the biggest and most life-changing decision of their lives that day! That’s crazy! That means that 1 in 2 people received what we had to say, and who’s to say that the rest of them won’t come into a relationship with Christ down the road? Again, here’s that obedient posture. They were receptive to God’s love.

This was big!

We had planned to do the same thing the next day. But the next morning, at 7:20am, while we were meeting to discuss the details of that day, our host leader got a phone call. There was a labor strike for transportation, which meant that we were stuck at the hotel. Our plans were foiled again.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

We didn’t waste a minute. Within an hour, we had split up into three teams to perform a song, skit, and bible drama for the purpose of performing them in the main town square of Iquitos and evangelize. This was not in the playbook.

Talk about an uncomfortable and stretching exercise. THIS was not my thing. Service projects? Yes. My thing. Evangelizing? Not my thing. I could feel the cold sweats forming, the tightening of the stomach muscles, the fake smile, the look of despair.

It’s not about me. It’s not about me.

I kept repeating this to myself over and over again.

We performed four times that day. Three in the afternoon, and once at night. And each time, the crowds got bigger and bigger. We don’t know how many people we reached that day, but each member of that team can tell you a story about how a life was changed because of us being there.

We knew it then, but I see it even more clearly now, God had a perfect plan. He knew what was going to happen all along. It’s not that what we had planned was bad, but He had something better in store for us and for others. Satan may have tried to spoil our plans and throw us off course, but we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 
neither are your ways my ways,” 
declares the LORD.

As the heavens are higher than the earth, 
so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

Have you had plans in your life that were good plans? Plans that were glorifying to God and from everything that you could tell, were according to His purpose? What happened to those plans? How did you respond? Did you stay at the hotel and stew about how your plans were foiled? Or did you continue to keep the lines of communication open with God and look to do His will where you were?