| June 8, 2002 10:45 AM Jessie's been bugging me to update so I promised her I would update by this weekend. =) So here it is: I've been thinking a lot about missionaries and about the price that many of them are called to pay. I just recently finished reading this book called "If God Should Choose" and it's the biography of Jim and Roni Bowers. In case you don't know who they are, the Bowers were missionaries along the Amazon River in Peru. They had two adopted children, Cory and Charity. About a year ago, they were flying over the Amazon with another missionary, Kevin Donaldson, because they had just gone to get 6-month-old Charity's visa. A Peruvian air force fighter jet shot them down, killing Roni and Charity and severely wounding Kevin. Jim and Cory escaped unharmed. Jim Bowers was interviewed last year on Primetime Live with Diane Sawyer. I had watched with my parents and I remember thinking, Jim Bowers is a real human being with very real faith. You could tell that he was hurting beyond anything anyone could imagine but his voice was steady when he explained to Diane Sawyer that he trusted in his God and that he did not doubt the goodness of God. He knew that there was a reason that God took Roni and his baby girl to be with Him. It was a powerful testimony that was broadcast on national television. Two days ago, my dad told me that he heard on the news that Martin Burnham had been killed. The Burnhams were missionaries in the Philippines. They, along with a Philippine nurse, had been kidnapped over a year ago and had been held hostage all this time. A rescue attempt found Gracia Burnham as the sole survivor. They have 3 children. You can read about them on New Tribes Mission's website. Martin Burnham had written a letter of good-bye to his three children just days before he was killed. I guess he had a premonition that he was going to go be with the Lord soon. Thinking about these missionaries who gave up their lives for the sake of the Gospel has really made me think more about priorities and the cost of discipleship. I've lived a very sheltered life and I thank God for protecting me and my family from harm. But I wonder, will I still be thanking God if He decides for whatever reason to take my family away? Will I still be thanking Him when faced with tragedy like these 2 missionary families have faced? I think it's hard to really know what your faith is made up of until it's stretched to its limits. I pray that God will strengthen my faith. That I will be thankful in all circumstances. That I will trust in His sovereignty. That I will have the attitude of Paul in Acts 20:24, the attitude that these missionaries seemed to have: However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. *************************************************** Random aside: I went to Grace on Campus yesterday with Christina. They are a funny group. Because it was the end of the quarter, they sang this song that they call "their song" and while they sing it they all put their arms around each other and sway and sing and cheer after every line. Then, when the song is over, they all do their 8 clap UCLA cheer thingy. =) I met Pastor John MacArthur the other day but didn't exactly realize who he was at first. He was getting glasses adjusted at my dad's office and when I went to pick up my dad, he wanted to introduce me to Pastor MacArthur. For some reason, it didn't register that this was John MacArthur until we were chatting about whether or not people in Berkeley claim to know the truth and he mentioned that he wrote a little book on absolute truth called "Why One Way?" And THAT'S when it clicked and I realized who I was talking to. =) I talked to Jessie on the phone a couple days ago!!! It was great! I miss her!!!!!!!! I'm going to paint my room sage green. I'm excited. I wanted to do my own version of "Trading Spaces" but my mom says I just get to paint my walls and that's it. Oh wells. That'll take a long time just by itself. |