Missionary Story Time!!

Last night was the beginning of our Missions Conference at our little church. I will not be able to attend Friday night's meeting because I have to work but I will enjoy the other meetings...finishing with a Sunday afternoon meal and service. (THEN, Dylan's 6 year old birthday party AND the Super Bowl that night!! GOOOOO COLTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

The missionary the pastor asked to speak told a story that I thought was pretty incredible. Part of his "job" several years ago was to get Bibles into countries that weren't open to Christianity. He had asked people to start praying for this trip many many months before the trip. So, people started praying.
The first part of the trip was to go to Poland where they had lots of friends to help them. Please let me back up a little bit and tell you that the missionary's father was also a missionary and on the trip ( I knew him as a customer from a bank I worked and this little precious man was incredible...he spent part of his time in the bank witnessing to ME!!! It was a blessing!) Anyway, he was fluent in a tremendous amount of languages but the place they were going, he did not know the language. It was their plan to meet their "contact" to deliver the Bibles and this businessman would take them with him when he travelled into the final country. When they got to the train terminal, they had NO idea where to go. The man they were to meet did not have a phone and no one ANYWHERE spoke English. They waited for a long time, praying, and finally the terminal started closing down. They needed to leave within 48 hours of arrival or they had to register with the police...something they didn't want to have to do!
Suddenly, a man approached them. "YOU speak English?? I speak English!!" He went on to explain to him that this was the first time he was using his new skill. For "some reason" about nine months prior to this he had an overwhelming desire to learn English. He searched for classes or someone to teach him but no one knew English. He decided to learn on his own. (Hmm...oddly enough, that was about the same time that the missionary asked people to start praying for this every important and dangerous trip....)
This man took them where they needed to go. This was a true blessing because even an experienced cab driver would have spent several hours trying to find this place...there was no street signs in this city.
As they got ready to part, the missionaries wanted to give him a gift. Magazines from the United States are highly treasured because of the pictures of the new cars and the lifestyles from here, obviously no one could read the words but the pictures gave them glimpses of the USA. The man was very pleased with his gift but then he said, "Thank you so much, but do you happen to have anything of a "spiritual" nature with you?"

They had suitcases full of Bibles, but not in his language or in English. The missionary reached into his briefcase and pulled out his own new leather bound Bible. Since he could read English, he could read the Bible!

The missionary opened the Bible to Romans and started sharing the gospel of Salvation and it appeared that the man understood and believed!

Later when the missionaries got back home, they received a letter from the man thanking them for the "precious gift." He dared not say "Bible" just in case his letter was read by some government official.

Isn't it just amazing how God uses things in our lives? I love the story of Esther, especially when her Uncle told her that perhaps it was for "such a time as this" that she was made queen. She was able to use what God fore planned to save her people!

Sometimes I wonder why God previously allowed so many hurtful things to come into my life. I realize that some of those things would not have happened IF I had been doing God's will. But some times things happened that were really no fault of my own...things that would alter the course of my life forever. But I have to realize that "God meant it for good..." as Joseph said to his traitorous brothers in Genesis after being placed in a position that he could help save his nation from starvation.
I have yet to see ALL that God does for good in my life. I may never see all of it...things God does live on after us. But I can be assured that He is in control and that "All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose..."