What’s Up Here God?

Yesterday, I came into the office to get myself organized before the craziness of the week started. Within the next 12 hours, I had no idea the craziness that would begin…

First… another office staff person who was here as well came by and told me that he got an emergency email from a World Racer’s family. After a bit of digging it turns out that Sarah Lapp, a September Racer who just arrived in Africa, needs to come home. Her mother has just been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and within the course of a week, her symptoms spun out of control. The diagnosis looks pretty grim. So immediately we set into action… first in prayer for Sarah and her family, and second… getting in touch with Africa to get the news, with comfort, to Sarah and to begin plans for her to get home. Wow… every Racer’s nightmare come true right in front of us…

Then another office staffer… the wife of the first… came by. Turns out Ashley Musick… my co-worker, former teammate from World Race, and dearest friend here in Georgia… went into the hospital on Sunday morning. She’s been diagnosed with kidney stones. I was just with her Saturday night and she was sharing with us how she’s had some health problems. She prayed and asked the Lord to heal her and was feeling better. The main reason she immediately went to the Lord is because Ashley chose to sacrifice to be down here and work in the office. She chose to not look for a good paying job that would provide a great lifestyle. She chose instead to work here, in something she believes in, providing the support necessary to see others go on the world race. And a big part of that sacrifice was financial… which means she can’t afford insurance. So when she feels bad, she relies on the Lord to just heal her because she has no other choice. And now this… a huge blow and bills to come…

Followed by this morning… When we called Africa to find out about Sarah, our contact was at the hospital. An FYM staff was driving a van full of orphans on an outing and was hit by a truck full of sand. Inside this van was Donzula… a beautiful african orphan who miraculously stole the hearts of the January 2007 World Race Team (see the videos here). Donzi’s head was severely cut so there was tons of blood… so much so they couldn’t tell who was and wasn’t injured. Everyone will be fine in the end. The hard part though is this is the same FYM staff who was supposed to be in Kenya, but had to be rerouted due to the civil unrest there. Because they were no longer going to be in Kenya, some staff left and she has the FYM team all on her shoulders. Mix in that burden with the emotional upheaval of being in wreck, and that’s just a hard place.

So what do I do with this? Yeah… I pray. But I’m not up for some list of prayer requests to check off. I want to hear God’s heart… I want to know what’s going on here… why in the course of 24 hours are we dealing with 3 emergency situations? What is going on that I can’t see???

And then I heard Him… “I’m good. Look at Me. I’m good.” Just the simple reminder from above that God’s not absent. He didn’t take a nap and let Satan run wild. He knows the pain. He knows the hurt. He’s right here in the middle of it… and He’s more than capable. It’s in this moment when literally all Hell has broken loose and is coming after us… In that moment right there, when I can take my eyes off the situation and put them back where they belong… it’s right then that I find the power.

You see my Jesus isn’t surprised at Sarah’s mom’s illness… He remembers the woman who touched His cloak and was healed. My Jesus isn’t overwhelmed by Ashley’s medical bills… He multiplied fish to provide for the crowd. My Jesus isn’t shaken by the wreck in Africa or the upheaval in Kenya. He knew the events before they happened and already knows the resolution in every situation. And when I sit with Him, and He reminds me of that, my Spirit can then spring into action alongside His.

So what do we do for Sarah? Well… she’s on her way home. But she needs people to care for her. So check out her blog… leave comments… send her messages. And LISTEN. We have staff who will be with her just to listen… help her process.

What do we do for Ashley? Well… we can all skip a coke and send in a little right? As she has sacrificed to help build God’s Kingdom… I can sacrifice to help build her back up. If you want to send her something, make a check payable to Ashley Musick and send it to 6000 Wellspring Trail, Gainesville, GA 30506.

And what do we do for Africa? There’s no easy answers here… who do we support? Who do we encourage? I don’t know who’s right and who’s wrong here. But what I do know is that my Jesus knows. And He can make it happen. so most of all I pray. Second… you can give to support Kenya. Visit Kayla Phillips blog about supporting our pastors and partners in the country.

And most of all… we take our eyes off the here and now and we put them on the Eternal… Praise God, He’s got this one.