An International Lunch…In Central Illinois?

In the words of Ice Cube, “Today I had a good day.” This morning started out early for us as we rolled out of bed at 5:30am . We were able to share with the people of Mt. Pulaski Christian Church about what God is doing in New Zealand. It was great to meet some of the leaders from the church and see some old friends. Mt. Pulaski is the church that blessed me tremendously in my senior year at LCC by awarding me with the Intercultural Studies Scholarship and it was great to let them know that it made a difference.
The hours following church were also a great experience. Mt. Pulaski Christian Church is where Mike Nichols, our professor, colleague from South Fork, mentor, and friend, serves as an elder, so he and his family were at church today. His daughter and future son-in-law are good friends of ours and were on the praise team. After church, Mike & Julie invited me, Amy, Shannon Robinson (who is preparing to do ministry in Africa), and one other couple to eat lunch with his family. The other couple, Rodney & Linda, are currently missionaries in residence at Lincoln Christian College and are on furlough from Mexico. They are a godly and wise couple that inspired us as young missionaries. Rodney & Linda have served in Mexico for 27 years. That kind of longevity on the mission field is a rare accomplishment and gives us something to emulate. Spending the afternoon with old friends and new friends who share the same passion as we do was so refreshing. We felt like we were with family.
Some advice that Rodney and Linda gave us was to make sure that our own spiritual life was in check. They reminded us that in order to have a successful ministry, we need to constantly be spending time with God. Amy has felt like this is a theme that we have been reminded of often. In fact just last night she was thinking about how much we need to rely on God and decided to read John 15. Between reading John 15 and hearing Rodney and Linda, we keep hearing God remind us… “apart from me you can do nothing…” (John 15:5) We are reminded to remain in Christ and to remain in His love in John 15. Why do we try to do things on our own when we know we just need to be in God’s care and wait for his timing? Thanks for reminding us of our priorities Rodney and Linda!