Endurance

One of the definitions of endurance is “the capacity to withstand wear and tear,” which sums up with remarkable clarity the mission trip experience of the Nehemiah team. The pace has been relentless. Our living conditions have fluctuated between primitive and basic and our ministry schedule has been non-stop.

But this tiny little team has taken every trial and used it as an opportunity to thank God. Each night during prayer they celebrate the ways God showed up, met needs, and did the work through them in prayer and acknowledge that He has sustained them and given them supernatural strength. More than once they have been tapped out and semi-comatose following a ministry session (like today), yet they rise up and jump into the next work without complaint, knowing that God will give them what they need.

However, it was never meant to be that way. As trip leaders, we work hard to negotiate the balance of “pushing” the team and encouraging them to excel, while building in the breaks they need to process the experience and get refreshed. But despite my best efforts, it just hasn’t been that way.  Each time we arrive at a ministry site we are expected to jump into a program already set up and waiting, but with little warning and no chance to catch our breath. Like here in Madou (pronounced maa dough).

We arrived Monday after a nasty 30-hour travel day from Palawan. It didn’t help that our flight was delayed and we missed our connection from Manila to Taipei. We finally arrived here in Madou, ate dinner, and immediately set to work handing out flyers advertising a party we were to host on Thursday evening (tonight). We came to Madou expecting to host three, 45-minute afternoon classes to help Jr/Sr high students learn English by teaching games/songs/skits. Instead, we found that we were doing a quasi-VBS program from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. There was a 2 ½ break for lunch and rest, but that’s a long day. And instead of Jr/Sr high students, there were 24 students 8-13 years old. That is a huge difference.

The kids in the program had extremely limited English language skills and their behavior ranged from feral to barely compliant, to engaged and responsive. The majority fell into the first two categories. After the first full day (Tuesday) the girls were toast - ragged and worn. And for good reason since we weren’t given any time to rest.  But they persevered one session at a time.

And then there was tonight. God blessed our faithful but feeble efforts and made it all worthwhile. What was supposed to be a night geared towards a different adult crowd, turned out to be the same students we’d been working with all week! The only difference is that there weren’t any young ones there. And in the middle of it all was Mayhem – a name we gave to an 11-year-old boy who is out of control and excels at disruption. He was doing his best to do what he does best – interrupt, disturb, and distract the other students from what was being said.  But the girls persevered. And God moved.

Herman, a 14-year-old boy who just joined the program yesterday, was so moved by the testimonies that tears flowed down his cheeks.  Lydia, along with some Taiwanese women, was given the privilege to pray with him as he gave his life to Christ. And others, like Miya, were deeply moved…you could see it by how dialed in they were to all that was being said. The Holy Spirit was moving and despite his efforts, Mayhem couldn’t derail the Word that was falling on some of the other students.

The Nehemiah girls aren’t perfect; they are messy and often forgetful. I can remind them to pick up everything around them, only to have them walk away and leave stuff (like a partially eaten steamed bun, paper, and a scarf) five minutes later! REALLY? You didn’t notice the bun?

Or how can you pour uneaten oatmeal into an empty 45-gallon garbage bag and miss it?? And then leave the blob on the floor until another girl comes and steps on the oatmeal without noticing, thus smearing the mess along the dining room floor? For the love of everything that is holy, HOW…WHY??

But as frustrating as these things are, they are small issues in the big picture. The Nehemiah girls excel at the right things. Our quiet time discussions are long, deep, and meaningful. They pray vulnerable, sincere, and heartfelt prayers to the Lord that express gratitude for everything they are experiencing. They don’t complain. They are trusting God throughout all the trials. They get exhausted, but then dig deep, and get back up with energy and joy. And they get along well. The one conflict they had while planning, they resolved it. They remain friends. They learned from it and now laugh about it! Who are these girls?!

Unfortunately, I am frustrated by the inadequacy of my words to describe how well the Nehemiah girls are handling all that is being thrown at them. All of them have faced and withstood the wear and tear of ministry demands. And tomorrow we are off again to yet another (our fifth) ministry location. One team member noted we were like gypsies, always on the move. Another clarified, “We are Jesus Gypsy’s.”

It says in Romans 10:15, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news.” So yep, tomorrow this little band of Jesus Gypsy’s – messengers - are on our feet and on the move again to talk to more people about Christ. And while our feet may be nasty and dirty most of the time, God finds them pretty special!

Proudly, for the Nehemiah Team,

Tom

PS - Tomorrow night we are expected to run the youth group meeting without a rest between programs…but so what, that’s nothing new.

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