Balancing Act

My twenty years of service in Brazil have been full of many joys and quite a few heartaches when it comes to helping individuals.  Seems I'm always investing my time and energy to help others, but often don't see the results I expect.  As a mother/wife/homeschool teacher I'm always limited in how much time I can use in assisting others.   I learned the hard way that running all over town to help others usually meant that my boys and home were not receiving the needed daily attention they deserved.  It's a definitely a balancing act.

These days I'm left with my last homeschooler, no more diapers and babies to supervise, no more toys to pick up from all over the house.  My last homeschooler is finishing up his ninth grade work for the school year.  I'm glad we found the right niche with the right books and a great system.  He does his work mostly independently with several self checking subjects.  Home life is a breeze this year.

But then, we needed some extra funds and I got a job or two!  Two days a week in the big city teaching English and some private English students here in our little town.  It's amazing how it all adds up to stuck the energy of a person right out.  Riding the bus into town for an hour and a half each way doesn't help much.

And what about ministry?  With the necessity of a "real" out of the home job {my other work isn't real, btw :)}, I had to consider what gets priority in the church work during this term of service.

I chose to stick to:

• one discipleship person, one day per week (preference for new converts and women)
• substituting for others for Sunday school (recently this has been every Sunday)
• taking care of the nursery during Sunday worship (the littles ones were being neglected without a structured nursery)
• weekly evangelism with the young people (I have to admit this one often tires me out with all the walking, but I do enjoy it and I'm working to make it happen most weeks)
• ministry of prayer for our youth.

Every once in a while something unusual comes up. It's like a real fire for firemen in a quiet town. They work to keep the firehouse clean and trucks ready, they train and practice and take classes, and then a call comes in.  That call messes up the routine of chores and training, but that is what they are there for, right?

A month or so ago we got such a call.  While on my normal weekly visit to do a Bible study with a newly converted young lady, it was obvious that something was going on in the house.  The young woman seemed upset and there was a constant flow of traffic in and out of the home and on the sidewalk.  Finally I stopped and asked if I should come back on another day.  Then I asked what was going on.  Seems a close cousin had been arrested that day and had just been released to come home.  He was a seventeen year old, drug addict, smoker, out of school and had just robbed a store the night before to get money for his addictions.

My "disciple" asked if I would walk with her to her uncle's house and pray with the family.  I did.  It was all sort of crazy, reminiscent of events with one of our boys, and very chaotic.  I had to listen to many stories of the same event by all present.  Finally I asked to pray for the boy and  the family.  There were no church people, they were not good Catholics, they just wanted someone to ask God Almighty for help.  I did.

After that first contact, I made some calls and got information about a Christian drug rehab about an hour away.   We volunteered to take the family and fellow to visit if the boy wanted.  It was better than thinking about the state home for delinquents so he agreed to go and see the place.  The family was happy and liked the center.  Plans were made to make an official visit to apply for acceptance.  Another trip, more fuel, another full day used up.

To actually be admitted there were medical exams to take care of and documents to be gathered.  We gave pointers and made some calls to get the ball rolling and told the family to let us know when they were ready.  No call.  It's a hard decision to make on one hand and they began to stall.  Finally all was ready - people and documents - and a day set to go.  We took the fellow with his parents and an adult sister and his belongings.  Another day, another trip.

fellow in red shirt

Two days later, the boy left the program and the family brought him home.  He cried to come home.

Over the years I've invested my time, money and prayers in many individuals.  Sometimes for good and many times with no visible results.  Was my time wasted?

That night when I sat with the young lady for our Bible study - the night we ended up going to see her uncle, she had yet to make a personal decision about Christ.  That Sunday after our interrupted study, she asked to receive Christ as Lord and Saviour. She told me that my concern and love towards her uncle and his family showed her something about God.   Was my time wasted?

Please pray for this young man and his family that each one pictured and others in the home might come to know Jesus Christ personally and that the whole house might be changed.  Pray for the newly converted cousin that she might be a catalyst in reaching the whole household.

John 4:53

So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed, and his whole household.