Hello everyone. I’m not going to make any excuses on my blog tardiness. I will say however that I stared a Twitter account to hopefully offset my delay of long blog posts with shorter missions minded tweets. If you want to follow along, go over to the right of this blog, and click the link.
I recently finished reading the autobiography of John G. Paton. I must tell you that if you have never read it, I would consider it a must read, as well as one of my top 3 favorite missionary biography’s. John Paton was a missionary to the New Hebrides (the modern day islands of Vanuatu) in the South Pacific. Around 1862 John Paton had been on the island of Tana for 4 years trying to teach the cannibals about the love of Jesus. At that point he had lost his wife and newborn son, some of his missionary friends had been killed and eaten, and he himself was daily trying to save his life from the hands of the Tannese who waned to kill him. One night while trying to run away from an angry mob that was chasing him, he climbed up a tall tree and hid in the darkness of the jungle. He writes,
I climbed into the tree and was left there alone in the bush. The hours I spent there live all before me as if it were but yesterday. I heard the frequent discharging of muskets, and the yells of the savages. Yet I sat there among the branches, as safe in the arms of Jesus. Never in all my sorrows, did my Lord draw nearer to me, and speak more soothingly in my soul, then when the moonlight flickered among those chestnut leaves, and the night air played on my throbbing brow, as I told all my heart to Jesus. Alone, yet not alone! If it be to glorify my God, I will not grudge to spend many nights alone in such a tree, to feel again my Saviour’s spiritual presence, to enjoy His counseling fellowship. If thus thrown back upon your own soul, alone, all, all alone, in the midnight, in the bush, in the very embrace of death itself, have you a Friend that will not fail you then?
Wow, what a quote! Some of you may have seen a recent show on the travel channel called “Meet the Natives” where a group of tribal Indians from the island of Tanna (sound familiar) come to the US to experience it’s customs and culture (and also give a message of stopping violence and war – how ironic right) ? It’s very interesting, but to me what’s more interesting is the history behind these people, and the gospel that had reached them 147 years before hand through John G. Paton! I think I’m going to share about the life on John G. Paton at our Missions Conference here at C.C. Philly on Saturday, May 22nd – that’s right, mark your calendars. I’m sure I’ll write some more about his life. The book was an absolute blessing in my life, I’m sure it will be the same for you.
Missions wise, 2010 has a lot of awesome stuff already lined up. Construction trip/ pastors conferences in Kasempa, Zambia. Two trips to help out the small church plants in the mountains of El Salvador, a trip to Israel and Jordan, as well as some other surprises. Keep checking back for some more updates. Lastly, pray for me as I attend the annual Calvary Chapel Missions Conference in Murrieta, California in a couple of weeks. Pray that the Lord would impart in me more of His heart for all peoples to know Him and declare His glory. Pray that I could be an encouragement to any missionary that needs it, and also for divine appointments set up by our Saviour. Thanks guys!
Blessings,
Carlos