Gone Fishing

If I had an office, somewhere on the downtown Boulevard, then hanging in the front window this week would be a sign reading “Gone Fishing”. My keyboard would be cold, my office dark and a lone mouse might be seen scurrying around under my desk after crumbs that were carelessly deposited there the week before. You see, the seat at the Carpenter’s Corner is not going to be occupied for about three weeks while I am off running around an undisclosed remote area of the world. I’ll be traveling on a distant journey in search of someone who might want to hear the “Good News” of Jesus Christ.

I think many of us are really “Hobbit-like” and rarely venture out of our homes on a quest or in search of adventure. We would rather just stay at home content with our boring routines with the occasional trip to the public library or store. Maybe we think that were safe in our homes far away from the snarling traffic found on our modern expressways. Or maybe we don’t like confrontation, so we keep to a low profile slinking around like we are living in some kind of cloak and dagger mystery. Actually nobody likes confrontation but sometimes it’s just plain unavoidable. 

My story begins one day about six months ago as I was sipping tea from the comfort of my “Hobbit-like” home. As the phone begins to ring I wonder if I should screen the call. It seems that every warm blooded telemarketer this side of the Mississippi River has my number. Tentatively, I answer the phone and discover the voice on the other end is warm and friendly, it’s my friend David. “How would you like to travel with a team to one of the highest, outmost regions on the earth?” David blurts out. But as I’m sipping on my Chamomile tea, looking at my feet snuggled in my warm Ugg boots a shiver of cold darts down the middle of my back. Me? Go on an adventure?

“Well, I don’t Know, I better pray about it” I said confidently, knowing that my bank account wouldn’t pay this month’s rent let alone a trip half way around the world. So I hesitated but reluctantly agreed to attend a class on missions that was meeting at a local church. I attended the meeting where the speakers were very interesting and sincere although my mind kept thinking about how terrible it would be to leave the comfort of the Shire. Glancing at my phone I desperately tried to think of a way to get up and slip out the door unnoticed.

Actually, I did pray about it. I told God that if He wanted me to go then three items on my “To Do” list must be crossed off. One, He needed to provide the funds for the entire trip. Two, He needed to provide funds for my entire family while I was away from home. And three, He needed to find a full time job for me when I returned. Snickering, I knew I had backed God into a corner and that there was absolutely no way He could accomplish all three of those items in the next six years let alone the next six months.

Five months passed very quickly and only a handful of support letter’s had came back. With only four weeks to go I had only collected a total $ 257.77 which meant I was just $ 3824.23 dollars shy towards my trip to Shambala. I knew I was not going to be able to go and began to consider what a waste of time and energy it was to send out all those letters. Then the phone rang again.

“Hello?” It was my friend David. “Dean, we had an anonymous donor pay for your entire trip!” My jaw dropped as I desperately thought back to my “things to do” list looking for another excuse why I couldn’t go on the trip. Well, OK God granted my first request to pay for my travel but He still had to provide funds for my family while I was gone and then land me a job when I returned. I was confident that was not going to happen and did not give the trip another thought.

So now here I am writing my story and packing for my trip. As you are reading this I will be well on my way trekking up some of the steepest terrain in the world. Needless to say God crossed off the other two items on my list. A coincidence some might interject but nothing short of a miracle in my mind. Not only did God provide the funds for my family He landed me my dream job that, by the way, starts the day I return. So God is able to do exceeding more than we can ever dream, hope or imagine!