Front Row: Jennifer Southland, Diane Lindsey, Janet Graasfma, Mary Wosinski
Middle Row: Jan Moore, Theresa Arkfeld, Deborah Bryant
Back Row: Marybeth Schneider, Julia Stevens, Tammi Wilson, Sharon Neely
We heard a few more testimonies and discussed what we think the Lord's purpose is for this trip. For several of us, this is our first missions trip!
I mentioned in the last post that our team is reading a book by Lonnie and Belinda Riley, the founders of Meridzo Ministries, an umbrella for several specific ministries in the Lynch, KY area. "Meridzo" is a Greek word that means "care". Sometimes Lonnie learns of a need, but can't provide, so he tells the person that if the provision comes his way, he will know who it's for. At other times, he will be offered something but doesn't need it yet. Usually, he will find "a match" for the need or the offer pretty quickly.
Here's just one example: A businessman from Cumberland, a "sister" town to Lynch, purchased an old theater. He wanted to use it for community revivals, prayer meetings, seminars, and anything that would help tell people about Jesus, but it needed lots of repairs. He called Lonnie and said that all of his money was tied up in the renovations, but he needed seats. He asked Lonnie if he had any. Lonnie said he didn't, but they prayed for God to provide. The NEXT morning, a friend from Illinois emailed Lonnie that a local college had ordered theater seats, but they were the wrong kind. He wanted to know if Lonnie had a need for them! Lonnie called the businessman back and told him God had provided the seats. The man said that was great, but they needed to be blue and fit a slanted floor. Lonnie told him that if God provided the seats, he felt confident they would be just what was needed. So, 450 theater seats, valued at about $100,000, arrived. They were exactly the right number, they were the exact shade of blue of the paint on the walls, and they fit a slanted floor!!! Since the theater opened in 2003, it has been used for many revivals, seminars, community events, youth rallies, weddings, etc.
Lonnie, who used to be a planner and had a motto in life of, "Make It Happen", now has a very different outlook. He and his wife, Belinda, know there are many opportunities for ministry in the area. But, they don't plan a certain number of projects for the year and then hope people will show up to complete them. Instead, they wait until someone calls and tells them what their group of volunteers wants to do. They believe God has already been at work in their hearts, and the Rileys don't want to get in the way of what God wants to accomplish. Tens of thousands of volunteers have come to the area since they arrived in 1999, to be a part of God's plan.
Their "philosophy" is rooted in the principles found in Henry Blackaby's book, Experiencing God. The Lord provided an opportunity for them to meet him. Henry told Lonnie that instead of making plans and asking God to bless them, Lonnie needed to get to know God, see where He was working, and join Him. That was the beginning of their walk of faith.
There are several things our team can do while we are in Lynch, but we want to know what God wants us to do. So far, He has not given us specific direction. It reminds me of following my GPS. I enter the destination. I "proceed to highlighted route" and am given my first instruction. After I have completed that segment, the next leg of the trip is revealed. I can go to another screen to see every turn of the trip, but with God's GPS (God's Positioning System), He often doesn't allow us to see all the turns.
Between now and our next meeting on July 15, we are praying for God to show us what He wants us to do. It's all about Him, not us... His glory, not ours. Yet, we can have the privilege of being a part of it! It gives us goosebumps! Will you join us in praying? Thanks!
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