Bogota June 2011: Day 7

Today in our devotion we looked at…

Jesus the Daring

Matt. 14:25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.  26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.  27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Matt. 14:28   Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  29 And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  31 Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.  33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”

There is something I admire in Peter and desire for myself. Peter had a growing heart hunger to be with Jesus, no matter the risk, wherever Jesus wanted Him to be. Following Jesus is not for the faint of heart! If we are going to follow Jesus we must be daring!

“The majority of the time when God calls, He calls into empty space.” – Jerry Rankin from the book Spiritual Warfare and Missions

Omar Garcia in his blog Go Beyond says the following…

“In each of our lives there is a line that marks the farthest we’ve ever been or the most we’ve ever done for God and His purposes. Everything on our side of that line is familiar, convenient, manageable, and comfortable. No big surprises, no daunting challenges, no uncharted territory. Crossing that line requires a commitment to venture to places we’ve never been and the willingness to engage people we’ve never met. Only those with the courage to overcome their fears and who have the determination to persevere will dare to cross that line. All others will keep a safe distance away from it.

We must go beyond — stepping boldly across the line in order to advance the interests of God’s kingdom in our world. I have heard people remark about how they long to be a part of something exciting for the kingdom, only to watch them aggressively avoid the context in which these things happen. We must be willing to place ourselves in a context where we will see God work in and through us in new and exciting ways, in ways we never imagined. We must be willing to spend ourselves for God and His purposes — to work toward the day when the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. Step across the line and Go Beyond. Adventure awaits!”

One of my heroes from history who best exemplifies this was…

Gladys Alward

At 26 she failed the school of the China Inland Mission but she was not dissuaded. In 1930 took train across Russia to China to help aging missionary Agnes Lawson found an inn. The story of all that happened to her on the way is hair raising. 1932 Mandarin appointed her ‘foot -inspector’, a job she used to evangelize villagers all over his province. Prison riot valor in 1933 cemented her reputation as holy person and miracle worker. Became known as ‘Ai-weh-deh’, Chinese for ‘Virtuous One’. 1936 became Chinese citizen. 1940 wounded by Japanese soldiers, only months before she shepherded 100 orphans across mountains to safety. Nearly dead she ‘recovered’ to evangelize until Communists evicted her in late 1940’s. The Small Woman won her fame in 1957, increased by inaccurate but popular movie version ‘Inn of the Sixth Happiness’ starring Ingrid Bergman. Founded orphanage in 1958 in Taiwan, where she died January 3, 1970.

Gladys returned from China to England in the late 1940’s an unknown missionary. Alan Burgess, who was producing a series on war heroes for the BBC radio, visited her in the hope a missionary could tell him about heroes she had heard about in China. Well, no, she said in her rusty English. She didn’t actually know any heroes.

     “What about yourself?” he asked the little woman half-heartedly. “Did you have a scrape or two?”

     “I doubt people who listen to BBC would think I’ve done anything interesting.”

     “Didn’t you even come into contact with the Japanese invaders?” he pressed.

     “Yes,” she answered cryptically. It wouldn’t be very forgiving if she told Alan Burgess the Japanese had shot her down in a field outside Tsechow.  Bombed her too.  In Yangcheng.  Strafed her near Lingchuang too.  Smashed her on the noggin once with a rifle butt too.  Finally put a price on her head: dead or alive. “Some Japanese are very nice, you know,” she volunteered.

     “Apparently your life in China was rather sheltered,” he grunted dryly.

     Gladys had to offer the poor man something. “I did take some children to an orphanage near Sian.”

     “You don’t say?” he grumbled, not hiding disappointment. “Kids? To an orphanage?”

     “Yes, we had to cross some mountains.”

     Burgess perked up.  “Real mountains?”

     “Yes, I believe you would call them real mountains. The journey was made more difficult because we couldn’t walk on the main trails. Oh, and then we had to get across the Yellow River too.”

     “Isn’t that the notorious river that drowns so many it’s called ‘China’s Sorrow’?”

     Burgess was more and more aghast as Gladys detailed her trek. His voice choked. “You ran out of food? You had no money? Just you and 100 kids – many of whom were toddlers – trekked for one month across mountains, across the Yellow River, ducking Japanese patrols and dive bombers? And at Sian you were diagnosed with typhus and pneumonia and malnutrition? Yes, Miss Aylward, I think people who listen to BBC would think you’ve done something interesting…”

Today we get a chance to be our hero… We get to be Jesus… We get to be His hands and feet.

Today we visited Amparo De Ninas orphanage in Bogota. This is a place I have written of many times. I call the dirty, bumpy, alley that leads to the stone walled complex, The Trail of Tears, because I have cried so many on this road. It is the road I love to hate. I love it when we are arriving and I hate it when we are leaving.

They have been planning for months for us to return. Today they had a huge Quinceanera party for the girls in the orphanage turning 15. There was a worship service and then lunch and a fiesta. It was a very fun day. I was happy to see many of my old friends and make many new ones.

One of the workers told me that these children wait all year for the two times per year that we visit in January and June.

I was so happy to get to see my Goddaughter Ginary. She hugged me so tight when she saw me that it hurt. She is more than a Goddaughter to me. I love her as much as I love any of my children. I have tried several ways to bring her and my other Goddaughter, Heidy, home over the last two years but at this point God has given me the peace that I just have to live with two of my daughters in Colombia… the truth is though that my other four daughters have all told me that as soon as they can they will all be in Colombia too so maybe God will allow us to all be there together someday. I love this country and these people so deeply and desperately that it can only be from God. It is a supernatural love that defies explanation. I enjoyed being a one-day Daddy to many of the little girls here today. It always amazes me how desperate they are for a little father affection. My dear brother Dave Beach said something that so perfectly spoke to what was on my heart that I have to share it. He said, “Though I have 5 children, my heart is much bigger than that and so I need the Colombian orphans in order to fill it up.” Wow! That’s it. God has given me more love than one country can take. He has given me His shepherd’s heart for the other sheep (John 10:16).

Tonight we had a little surprise for the team. We took them up the cable car to the top of the mountain and looked down on the entire city. It was stunning. We had a worship service while we were up there that was breathtaking. First, Dave Beach gave a message about all of the mountain tops in the New Testament. It was excellent. He shared amazing points from the mount of transfiguration, mount of olives, mount calvary, mount of ascension, and others that were very pertinent to our mission here this week. Then Jair led us in several choruses of God of This City in Spanish and English. I have goosebumps right now just remembering.