June 2017 Team Trip
Monday, July 10, 2017
The 2 or More Principle?
It was our final day in the village in Kenya and after a few hours of journaling and sharing, all 28 of us boarded the big bus for the drive back to Nairobi Airport for our long flights home. It’s about 250 miles on tarmac but always seems to take all day somehow.
We left at 10:30 and a bit over
an hour out the driver stops and tells us he’s getting bottled water (ok, but
we already had some!?) and it would take about 10 minutes. 15 minutes later I ask him if we can go and
he says they need another tire and that’ll just take about 10 minutes. Another 15 minutes pass and I finally tell
him that we must leave (“Now!”) with or without the tire. He walks over to a group of men standing
around a tire (one that is not mounted on a wheel – not sure what good that it
will do us….) and he points at me, so they proceed to load it under the bus and
we’re soon underway again.
After our lunch break (we’re
about halfway), the driver tells me that they don’t have permits to enter the
airport. Later, as we enter Nairobi on
the highway, he pulls over, “the man with the documents is supposed to meet us
here.” After 10 or 15 minutes, I tell
him we need to go, with or without. We
have to drop some folks at a hotel on the way and we have about 2 ½ hours
before our flight leaves. The team on
the bus is getting anxious and they don’t know why these delays. (I’m not really sure myself.)
Some 10 minutes later, the
driver still standing out on the highway “waiting”, I give up and just start
leaning on the horn until he finally re-enters the bus and starts driving
again. I’ve got a map, directions and a
GPS so that I know where to turn (I’m used to the village drivers getting lost
in the big city). The driver is driving
rather slowly and keeps creeping toward the exits, so I keep telling him, “not
our exit…just deep driving…not our exit…just keep driving,” as we limp down the
highway.
Finally, with about 2 hours to
spare, we maneuver our way down the crowded, narrow street and drop off our
teammates at their hotel. We almost
missed that turn, but I kept hollering until they stopped and backed up 15 feet
to made the turnoff. Now we’re back on
the one-lane road that feeds the main downtown thoroughfare and traffic is at a
stand-still. After 10 minutes without
moving, I learn that the team is near panic about making our flights.
I know that many of them have
been praying silently, but are very stressed, so I stand mid-bus and address
the team with all the reassurance I can muster.
“I have full confidence that we will make the airport with plenty of
time for our flights,” I tell them. (OK,
actually I am a little worried that these drivers don’t know what they’re
doing, that we aren’t moving at all, and I don’t know what it means for us to
show up at the airport “without the permit.”)
“But,” I continue, “let’s pray for God’s help.”
I proceed to pray for Almighty
God to take charge of the situation and to help us trust that He is in control
and then I resume my seat of vigilance behind the drivers.
Within 2 minutes a new man gets
onto the bus and our driver tells me, “Oh, he is one of our drivers.” (We already had 2 drivers, but whatever….). This new man gets in the driver’s seat. I feel the need to keep up some pressure and
tell him, “we need to go to the airport now.”
And he looks at me with calm confidence and says, “No problem. We are going to the airport!” And the bus starts moving (!) and in a few
minutes the traffic clears and we’re at full-speed. (Ok, maybe I can start breathing again!)
We reach the entrance to the
airport where we all have to walk through detectors and then get back on the
bus. It is less than 2 hours before our
departure -–are they going to let us in?
At that point another new man enters the bus and the driver tells me, “he
has our permit.” Apparently he had
chased us down on a motorcycle!? And
about 10 minutes later we are off the bus, unloaded and approaching our
check-in counters, in plenty of time for our flights. And I’m left to reflect on what just happened!
Matthew
18: 19-20
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Because I’ve seen this in
operation many times over the years, I am now a believer in God’s “Two or More
Principle.” Weren’t there people praying
on the bus already – silently, by themselves?
(Yes, in fact, probably for our last hour in transit because things
seemed sketchy by then). And I know
that God has also honored silent prayers; I’ve experienced it. But so many times I’ve seen a dramatic change
of circumstances after an aloud, sometimes desperate prayer in the company of
other believers. This was a case in
point – things took a very dramatic turn immediately after that corporate
prayer.
I guess I need to be bolder
about publicly asking Him for help.
Friday, February 3, 2017
June 2017 -- It's going to be a BIG trip!
We are just beginning our planning for the trip in June but the team is now formed...and it is 31!!!
That's about twice the size of any prior team! It includes 12 teenagers, 9 family groups plus 5 individuals. It involves 8 or 9 different itineraries with some going early to Europe, some going early to Nairobi, some staying a day longer, some going on afterward to other parts. Whew!
There will be challenges but as always, it will be a phenomenal experience for everyone (how could it not be!).
That's about twice the size of any prior team! It includes 12 teenagers, 9 family groups plus 5 individuals. It involves 8 or 9 different itineraries with some going early to Europe, some going early to Nairobi, some staying a day longer, some going on afterward to other parts. Whew!
There will be challenges but as always, it will be a phenomenal experience for everyone (how could it not be!).
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