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Staff Reports
Reports of recent Trips and Work by Godspeed Missionary Care
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Staff Missionary Reports
Reports and Experiences of the Godspeed Staff
"For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has
anything been secret, but that it should to come to light."
Mark 4:22 NASB
"Jesus wept."
John 11:35 NASB
Things Seen and Unseen
It looks a lot like the part of Texas where I grew up, save
for the impala grazing outside the window, and the family of
bush pigs that stroll by the house. The weather is pleasant
with early autumn temperatures, but we cannot leave the windows
open because the monkeys might get in; they know how to break
through the screens. Although I have been assured that the
palm-sized spider occupying the closet is harmless, I don't
feel he and I have had adequate time to develop a trusting
relationship so am choosing to leave the closet door shut and
keep my clothes elsewhere.
Karen and I are in South Africa;
we arrived last weekend to meet with several missionaries who
work primarily in Johannesburg. After several days meeting
with them there, we have accompanied one of them to a lodge
owned by the mission organization where we will have these
last few days to meet further. The lodge is located in
northeastern South Africa, directly across the shallow
Crocodile River which marks the southern boundary of Kruger
Game Park. Separate barbed wire and electrified fences placed
this side of the river deter some animals, but others find
their way into adjacent land. We are advised to not walk
outdoors after dark.
Not being satisfied with the limited assortment of exotic (at
least to us) animals in our front yard, and to take some time
for a break from the intense work we are doing together, Karen
and I and the missionary spent Wednesday in Kruger Park,
reputedly the largest such park in the world. Roads wind
throughout, and one may drive long distances without seeing
anything extraordinary except for the many different varieties
of birds. Then suddenly, an elephant, or two, or six, or a
family of giraffes, or a kudu, or wildebeeste, or permutations
of all the above and more may appear by the roadside or
casually cross in front of the car. These are the things seen,
but there are those things unseen or unanticipated. After
watching the three of them eat immediately adjacent to our car,
we wait for a group of elephants to cross the road; as I then
accelerate to get around the last one, I quickly realize he
isn't the last one: four or five more, including a mother
with young ones, has been "hiding" in the trees and bush
beyond and now occupy the road. I find myself dodging through
a crowd of pachyderms, a skill one acquires rather immediately
when circumstances so dictate. But the longer stretches of
the drive are spent slowly cruising, looking into the distance,
trying to spot the more difficult targets, the lion, the
rhinoceros, the leopard. One person might think they see
something; we stop, everyone cranes: "Look, just past that
tree off in the distance, isn't that a lion's tail?" "I
don't know, do you mean the tree to the right or the left?"
"That one, that one, can't you see?!?!" "OK, I think I see
it." Maybe I saw it, maybe I didn't. Not sure if it was a
tail or a branch. Better to just move on, as staring at a
branch long enough will cause it to grow ears and eyes and
fangs and soon it will become the lion or the leopard. So
often other people are able to see that which I cannot from
my vantage point.
The missionaries we have come to visit have found themselves
each on their own personal safari, a journey neither sought nor
enjoyed. One couple we meet with are in a jungle of grief,
dealing with the accidental death of their precious four year
old granddaughter several months ago. There are the things
seen: sudden recollection, vision and emotion that jump out
at the most unexpected times. And there are those things
hidden which compel a search for the why, yielding only
agonizing and distorted glimpses of the what if and the if
only. Deeply devout servants of the Lord, they find themselves
wondering where their Guide is, if He even is aware of their
situation. Well-meaning friends who can see clearings from
their own vantage points urge the couple to have hope and to
get out of the darkness in which they feel permanently
trapped. Yet at this point in their (totally normal) grief
process, only emotional and spiritual numbness and overwhelming
disappointment abide. The other missionary we have come to
see struggles through her jungle: a tangle of cross-cultural,
social, and emotional missed and mixed communications that
led to profound conflict between team members and her being
abruptly relocated to South Africa, away from the country of
her calling and the ministry of her heart. Her thoughts are
dominated by the retracing of the paths that led her to this
situation: "What did I do? How did this happen?" She is
examining her own interpersonal guide skills, to see how she
could prevent finding herself in such a place again, but
even more importantly how she might find her way out of this
unfamiliar territory. Here, too, are things seen: reports and
conversations of the past, evidences of misspoken words and
misunderstood actions. But there are only fleeting shadows
of the unseen: the motivations and meanings of the actions of
others, the effects of her absence upon the ministry and people
she has served for a number of years. And over it all, the
daily, moment-to-moment plea to the Guide to make His presence
felt, to protect, to bring the light of purpose and meaning
into the darkness of feeling of loss of friendships and
ministry.
Our trip has been a mixture of awe and awfulness. Early
morning coffee and Bible study overlooking the Crocodile River
yelds a tiny awareness of the scope of God's creation power.
Hours of viewing (with my ears and heart) wide vistas of grief
and sadness, are seen through the lens of my absolute inadequacy
to be of any obvious help to these good people who are
undergoing such difficult times of testing. There are times
when we can only follow our Lord's example, and weep with those
who grieve.
We know that God is doing something here of Kingdom purpose
and value which at this time is hidden from us. We rejoice in
that belief, and thank Him for "...evidence of things unseen."
We thank each of you who have remembered us in prayer and have
written in encouragement; those prayers and words give us eyes
to see more clearly. I look forward to hearing from each of
you...
Godspeed,
Barney, for Karen and the Godspeed team
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