Wednesday was a very long day.
We have arrived in Malawi though not without our share of excitement along the way. We are all very tired as our bodies deal with jet lag . At this point we are all ready to fall into bed...which is exactly what I will be doing upon completion of this blog entry.
The day's adventure began at the airport. It was there as we were checking in that one of our team members noticed that they had left a suitcase at the hotel. No biggie. While we are waiting for the bag I am continuing the process of getting the team checked in and calculating what our overweight baggage charges will be.
Finally that is added up and now it is about 45 minnutes until our plane departs and boarding has started. Once I go to another counter and pay the baggae fees we can go to our gate. The baggae people will not accept my credit card. So, I pull out my US money and I am told: "I am sorry, sir. We only accept Rand (the local currency). Great, now I have to go and exchange money before I pay the baggae charge.
The Holy Spirit enables me to remain calm and I give the rest of the group their passports and boarding passes and tell them to head to the gate. It is now less than thirty minutes until our plane leaves. I go downstairs and wait in line to exchange money. I exchange money and go back upstairs to wait in line to pay the baggage charges...fifteen minutes until the plane leaves.
At this point 40 pounds ago I would have been like O.J. Simpson in those old Hertz Car Rental adds; running through the terminal leaping over chairs and other travelers to get to my gate on time. It ain't happenin' today. So moving - and praying - as quickly as I can, I go through the security screening, clear passport control and walk to the complete opposite end of the terminal building. When I get there, only four people remain to get on the plane but at least the doors are not closed. Thank you, Jesus!
But when I approach the gate it is clear that one of the gate personnel is in some sort of distress. She is gasping for air and coughing, sheer panic written across her face. One of her colleagues say that she is having an asthma attack. My eight year old son, Joseph, has acute asthma attacks from time to time, so I have seen this before. I ask her if she has a rescue inhaler and she tells me no. I ask one of her co-workers to walk over to the nearby Gloria Jean's Coffee Bar and get a cup of ice cold water for her to begin sipping. Another passenger jumps in and asks the other gate staff to call someone to help.
As Carmen - the young woman's name - began to sip the cold water the manager of the Gloria Jean's came over with a paper sack for her to use. We encourage Carmen to breathe as slowly and as deeply as she can. She is begining to panic a bit. We lay Carmen down on the waiting area seats and gently encourage her. I grabbed her hand and knelt down next to her and said: "Carmen, you need to relax. I am going to pray for you right now." I began to pray softly where she could hear me and I asked God to intervene. I asked him to reduce the swelling and constriction that was making it hard for Carmen to breathe and that the Comforter would come and calm Carmen's spirit.
True to his nature, God responded. As I prayed Carmen's breathing became deeper and more relaxed. The trembling that she had experienced before was gone. She was not completely over her asthma attack but the affects had abated dramatically. Did this happen because I am a great pray-er? Of course not. It happened because God chose to use this moment to glorify himself. What we witnessed with our eyes was God being faithful and answering us when we prayed. It was simply God being God. I just happened to be there at the time.
By the way, I did make the flight and as I boarded the plane security personnel had arrived and were awaiting the medical staff. I do not know the final outcome of Carmen's episode, but I trust that God sustained her through the asthma attack.
Now it is your turn to pray. We have arrived in Blantyre and with the deisel fuel shortage that has suddenly paralyzed this country, some of our plans are uncertain at this point. Please pray that we will be open to the doors that are opened for us. You can pray that the fuek shortage would be resolved but that is not the biggest need. The biggest need is that our team be exactly where God ants us to be, encountering the people that God wants us to minister to. If that takes a fuel shortage for God to do this, then so be it. But please pray for our openness and obedience.
And don't forget to pray for Carmen.
Tomorrow our team will be visiting the Open Arms orphanage in Blantyre and leading a VBS at the Bodza feeding center. Most of the orphans who come to the feeding center are orphans because their parents have dies from HIV/AIDS. While most of the team will be doing that I will begin a three-day pastor training for 25 local pastors. Please pray for all of us. Pray that we will make time to get alone with God before we serve and that we will love as unconditionally as he loves us.
Soli Deo gloria,
Michael
We have arrived in Malawi though not without our share of excitement along the way. We are all very tired as our bodies deal with jet lag . At this point we are all ready to fall into bed...which is exactly what I will be doing upon completion of this blog entry.
The day's adventure began at the airport. It was there as we were checking in that one of our team members noticed that they had left a suitcase at the hotel. No biggie. While we are waiting for the bag I am continuing the process of getting the team checked in and calculating what our overweight baggage charges will be.
Finally that is added up and now it is about 45 minnutes until our plane departs and boarding has started. Once I go to another counter and pay the baggae fees we can go to our gate. The baggae people will not accept my credit card. So, I pull out my US money and I am told: "I am sorry, sir. We only accept Rand (the local currency). Great, now I have to go and exchange money before I pay the baggae charge.
The Holy Spirit enables me to remain calm and I give the rest of the group their passports and boarding passes and tell them to head to the gate. It is now less than thirty minutes until our plane leaves. I go downstairs and wait in line to exchange money. I exchange money and go back upstairs to wait in line to pay the baggage charges...fifteen minutes until the plane leaves.
At this point 40 pounds ago I would have been like O.J. Simpson in those old Hertz Car Rental adds; running through the terminal leaping over chairs and other travelers to get to my gate on time. It ain't happenin' today. So moving - and praying - as quickly as I can, I go through the security screening, clear passport control and walk to the complete opposite end of the terminal building. When I get there, only four people remain to get on the plane but at least the doors are not closed. Thank you, Jesus!
But when I approach the gate it is clear that one of the gate personnel is in some sort of distress. She is gasping for air and coughing, sheer panic written across her face. One of her colleagues say that she is having an asthma attack. My eight year old son, Joseph, has acute asthma attacks from time to time, so I have seen this before. I ask her if she has a rescue inhaler and she tells me no. I ask one of her co-workers to walk over to the nearby Gloria Jean's Coffee Bar and get a cup of ice cold water for her to begin sipping. Another passenger jumps in and asks the other gate staff to call someone to help.
As Carmen - the young woman's name - began to sip the cold water the manager of the Gloria Jean's came over with a paper sack for her to use. We encourage Carmen to breathe as slowly and as deeply as she can. She is begining to panic a bit. We lay Carmen down on the waiting area seats and gently encourage her. I grabbed her hand and knelt down next to her and said: "Carmen, you need to relax. I am going to pray for you right now." I began to pray softly where she could hear me and I asked God to intervene. I asked him to reduce the swelling and constriction that was making it hard for Carmen to breathe and that the Comforter would come and calm Carmen's spirit.
True to his nature, God responded. As I prayed Carmen's breathing became deeper and more relaxed. The trembling that she had experienced before was gone. She was not completely over her asthma attack but the affects had abated dramatically. Did this happen because I am a great pray-er? Of course not. It happened because God chose to use this moment to glorify himself. What we witnessed with our eyes was God being faithful and answering us when we prayed. It was simply God being God. I just happened to be there at the time.
By the way, I did make the flight and as I boarded the plane security personnel had arrived and were awaiting the medical staff. I do not know the final outcome of Carmen's episode, but I trust that God sustained her through the asthma attack.
Now it is your turn to pray. We have arrived in Blantyre and with the deisel fuel shortage that has suddenly paralyzed this country, some of our plans are uncertain at this point. Please pray that we will be open to the doors that are opened for us. You can pray that the fuek shortage would be resolved but that is not the biggest need. The biggest need is that our team be exactly where God ants us to be, encountering the people that God wants us to minister to. If that takes a fuel shortage for God to do this, then so be it. But please pray for our openness and obedience.
And don't forget to pray for Carmen.
Tomorrow our team will be visiting the Open Arms orphanage in Blantyre and leading a VBS at the Bodza feeding center. Most of the orphans who come to the feeding center are orphans because their parents have dies from HIV/AIDS. While most of the team will be doing that I will begin a three-day pastor training for 25 local pastors. Please pray for all of us. Pray that we will make time to get alone with God before we serve and that we will love as unconditionally as he loves us.
Soli Deo gloria,
Michael
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