PRAYER & PRAISE REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2007

Dear Loved Ones of TMCI,

May God’s grace, mercy, love, and peace be yours today. "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for His sake" 2 Cor. 4:5. Your monthly reports provide a steady stream of reminders that God continues to bring healing to our broken world. Spencer Boulter recently shared this "real world" mission report from Costa Rica:

"Hey gang, It’s raining again. It’s a torrential, unrelenting, dark, soaking rain. I hear it beating on the roof with some rolling thunder in the distance. I normally don't mind the rain, which is good since it comes every afternoon almost like clock-work. However, today it feels like a physical manifestation of my soul. It’s as if all of nature is reflecting the despair and brokenness of this fallen world...It’s not just the death, disease, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, hurricanes, that we've heard about... It’s the spiritual warfare that beats down on your soul.

A few days ago I was in walking through downtown San Jose, when I noticed one of the young women I know from Juan Pablo. It was not a pleasant encounter like bumping into a friend on the street; this was an awkward heartbreaking reunion. She was downtown for only one reason…she was working as a prostitute. The especially, heartbreaking part was that she was raised in the church and claims to know Jesus Christ. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but said she had no choice.

No choice! I was filled with all the self-righteous anger and disgust of a Pharisee. She started to get teary-eyed, and almost crying said "please listen to me". I immediately realized that I was not reflecting Christ, and that I was not filled with a compassion or love for her. I realized that I was angry because it offended me, and that I had invested time, resources, and prayer into this young lady; and I wasn't getting the return on my investment that I expected. Then there was the fact that her actions were reflecting a failure on our my part. If I would have prayed harder, or with more faith, or if I would have done something different it would not have come to this. It upset me because things weren't going my way, and I wasn't getting what I wanted. This wasn't a righteous anger but a selfish judgmental anger. All kind of feelings raced through my mind, and in the end they all came back to me! Then it was like Jesus wanted to show me how incredibly selfish and self-righteous I was acting. Some how this wasn't about her anymore, it was about me! "Spencer, stop thinking about yourself; you selfish jerk, and try to love her as Christ would."

So I listened…Through her guilt, shame, and embarrassment....I realized, I could not judge her. I knew what she was doing was wrong, but so did she. I've never been in a situation where I was unable to provide for my family. I can't even imagine what it would be like to walk a mile in her shoes...At that moment, I decided that my only action would be one of love. I prayed with her right there on the street, and she cried. I prayed that God would remind her how much He loves her and provide a solution to her problem. I prayed that she wouldn't find any clients, but would find work and then I prayed that God would help me know how to love and help her.

The cool thing is that through my experience with this young lady God has reminded me, who Christ is, and how I'm supposed to reflect Him in my life. His grace and forgiveness is greater and more powerful than all of my sin and hers! I'm not called to judge or condemn, but to love others with compassion. To love others as myself and to love them unconditionally as He has loved me. To quote an old Christian cliche "Love the sinner hate the sin", there is a lot of wisdom and truth in that statement. It's just really hard to do sometimes.

So, I'm sitting here watching the rain wondering and praying what I should do. You know one of the nice things about the rain is it always stops. It’s only temporary. The darkness will subside and the sun will shine again. The birds will sing and the bright blue sky will return. You need the strength, faith, and courage to wait out the rain; and anxiously hope for the return of the sun. However, when you're standing in the rain a friend with an umbrella is a welcome sight. Love in Christ, Spencer

Praise God for reminders like this. He's our Shelter and we'll be seeing the "SON" again soon!

Another one of His "Jars of Clay"

Brother Scott Szalwinski

Please pray for this year's Annual Conference on the 19th-21st of this month here in Columbia. May the Lord send His spiritual rain to fill us all again to "show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us." 2 Corinthians 4:7