Friday, June 27, 2008

Teamwork

It takes teamwork and cooperation to get God’s work done. And it’s neat to see how that happens sometimes. This weekend, Kathy & I are doing a “Welcome to Ouagadougou!” presentation at Lisle Memorial Baptist Church, our main partner church in Toronto. This church was our introduction to cross-cultural ministry when we first moved to Toronto and we’ve worked together ever since.

Anyway, I needed to get some imitation Canadian passports made up for this event, so I asked a printer friend about the covers. He graciously ran off several hundred gratis. I printed the inserts with programme info at home, but then needed a paper cutter and long-reach stapler to finish assembling the passports. Our partner church in Barrie, Hiway Pentecostal, graciously allowed me to use their equipment.

As I sat there, cutting, assembling, stapling, and folding, I couldn’t help but think of how this all fit together into a larger picture: a white, middle class Canadian printer and a Pentecostal church in Barrie helping Wycliffe missionaries put on an African presentation for a West Indian Baptist church in Toronto! Pretty cool, eh?

Another example of teamwork in this ministry greeted me when I went to get the mail today. A single envelope lay in our box. When I opened it, out fell a money order for $50. It was accompanied by a short letter that said, in part, “This gift is small, but I’m hoping it may provide some pleasant compensation for the ‘pain’ experienced by visits to dentists and doctors, parting with ‘stuff’ and having to say goodbye again.” It was signed “Anonymous”.

Well, this person had obviously read our latest EMU and I laughed at their clever play on the word “pain”. But I was again reminded of the fact that we’re part of a larger team, a team assembled by God to accomplish a specific purpose. Kathy & I may be the visible front-line workers, but there are other less visible members that are just as crucial to the effort. In fact, we couldn’t do what we do unless there are people praying, providing finances and encouragement, and helping in a myriad of other ways.

If you’re reading this, Anonymous, please accept our sincere thanks for your contribution! And thanks to all of you who pray for us, send funds for our work, and help in one way or another. May God richly bless each one of you!

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