Still on The Launchpad

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

As a kid, waiting for the space shuttle to launch was both fascinating and frustrating to me. I would rush home from school and flick on the T.V., hoping to catch the exact moment of departure. On screen sat the massive white craft; a monotone voice counting down the hours till lift-off. The much anticipated final seconds “10..9..8..” seemed to take forever. To me it all appeared unnecessarily tedious. Why not just get to the exciting part and launch the thing? Only later did I learn that the days of waiting were crucial to the success of the whole mission. You deal with problems before blast-off that are impossible to address later.

Over the past few months I have felt again that old boyish impatience. Our family is preparing to embark on a new ministry in Peru. Frankly, we are more than eager to get going and get into orbit. Yet, our shuttle sits on the launch pad, waiting day in, day out for blast off. I can almost hear that same flat voice, “T minus one thousand…” It seems that the count drones on and on. For someone who perceives time as a rapidly diminishing commodity, the wait can be irksome.

Then I remember the Scripture, “My times are in your hand” (Psalm 31:15). God who governs the universe certainly directs the details of his people’s plans. And so I step back, take a deep breath and trust in the wisdom and omniscience that far exceeds my own limited perspective and preferences.

Besides, these days of waiting are crucial to the success of this mission as well. For example:

In the past few months we renewed old friendships and developed new ones with people interested in supporting and participating in our ministry. Our ability to go is largely related to who gets involved. Obviously we will not be able to meet people up here when we are down there.

Through contact with friends and family we are getting clearer picture of the situation in Peru. This summer we had a visit from a prominent Peruvian pastor with a good grasp of the condition of their church and nation. He confirmed firsthand that the congregations are indeed growing rapidly. Yet the believers need discipleship, pastors need training, families desperately need modeling, and children urgently need education. All these are our concerns. In short his visit confirmed our evaluation. The needs are real and even small efforts like our own can make a significant difference in many lives.

Finally we have seen providential answers to prayer in lives in our church and family here. This has shown us our Lord’s care for those we care about.

It is as though everything is getting ready for our departure. This has perhaps been the hardest part. Our friends and family are all very supportive and encouraging. They are dear to us and even more so as we contemplate leaving. It is difficult to let go. Good byes are all the more painful when they are drawn out indefinitely. However these months of waiting have given all of us time to transition.

So here we stand on the launch pad. We are eager to go. We are sad to leave. We are still not sure when the final moment of take off will occur. The tentative date now is the beginning of January. However it may be much sooner. We are on standby.

And in all things our prayer is, “My times are in your hand.” Oh Lord, “My times are in your hand.”

Thank you and Blessings,

G & A.