"Through their message"

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be on, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world known that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" --John 17:20-21, 23

When I was working the Alumni Retreat at Cho-Yeh this weekend, this was a Bible verse that was read on the opening night, and I instinctively thought of Honduras. Our mission trip is being surrounded in my prayers as we speak--prayers for us, prayers for safe travels, prayers for the Hondurans. All of these things are important, but it seems so easy to be focused on praying for ourselves when we are praying for the mission trip. I catch myself all the time praying that I will be able to get the paperwork completed and finalized, that I will be safe while I'm there, that I will be effective, that I will be able to pull the money together, that I will have fun... That is how selfish we are today! This trip is NOT about me. It isn't about any of us that are going. It is solely about God and bringing Him the glory while sharing His beautiful message with those that don't know Him. No where in there am I needed. God could send anybody on this mission trip, if I wasn't going then He would send somebody else. He doesn't need ME to go. Therefore, although prayers for ourselves is important, what is MORE important is the prayers for the people who will be primarily effected by our efforts. The children, the employees at the orphanage, the families of the homes we are building, the people we will encounter at the airport, you catch my drift. That is what my prayers should be focused on. I am not the fundamental puzzle piece in this trip. That spot belongs to God, and then to those who we are going to serve. Therefore, join me in prayer for the people of Honduras, that our words may not be of us but rather that God will speak through us so that His beloved children in Honduras will be able to draw near to Him and understand the abundant life that we are given through Him. That they will feel the love that they may have never experienced, and know that the love comes from Jesus Christ. That God will (because we have faith and know that He can!) move mountains in Honduras and start a ripple that will turn into a wave to spread His love throughout that orphanage, community, and country!

God is big enough!