May 10 - Vision, Passion, and Perseverance

Time to get things updated. This trip will likely have less pictures in the blog, as taking pictures can be a more sensitive matter in this part of the world.

Thursday May 10

Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. (John 4:35).

I arrived safely on Wednesday night about 8:30 p.m. local time, and I was greeted by Rev. Dick Westra at the airport.... and intense heat! It was over 90 when I arrived.

After a night of rest, I had some wonderful experiences on Thursday to get quickly acclimated to the culture: we attended the morning chapel service at the American Mission Hospital (AMH), I visited for about 3 hours at the Al Raja school and principle Peter Kappinga (Trinity-supported missionary), had lunch at a Turkish restaurant, attended the Arabic language worship service at 7:00 p.m., and went out for supper to an Indian restaurant with the associate pastor (Raj) of the English Language Congregation.

My first impressions of what God is doing through the leaders here are words like vision, passion, and perseverance. The RCA has three ministries - the hospital, the English congregation, and the school. Trinity has shares of support in Rev. Dick Westra at the church and Mr. Peter Kappinga at the school.

Vision

You can't help but be impressed with the vision around here for ministry. Both from the history of the missionaries and the ones who serve here today. 100 years ago someone had the vision and foresight to see 100 years into the future and they bought land - land that today would be impossible to buy and even harder to establish the buildings and uses for today. Praise God for their ideas and sacrifices.

But there is also great vision here today. The three current leaders of these three ministries have eyes on the next 100 years as well. The hospital CEO - Paul Amerding (RCA) has incredible insight into the next generation of work to be done. The school principle took a school that was in disrepair from program and facility and completely rebuilt the school and its focus. Something many thought was impossible. But his eyes are on the future. And the church - Oh my - is enjoying a revival of sorts with many new people coming, increased ministry among the youth, and a powerful testimony of God's provision and power. They completely remodeled and added on to the church and facilities over the last 10 years with no outside funds. In fact, the church's only mission assistance is for the English-speaking pastor. All other resources are now self-sufficient. (I'll talk more about the church in the next post).

Passion

It is abundantly clear that our mission personnel are completely resolved for being part of a great work in this part of the world. They are enthusiastic about their call, focused on mission and ministry, and excited for the future.

Perseverance

The other thing that impressed me was the perseverance it must have taken the missionaries 100 years ago and throughout the generations that followed. Today, Bahrain is a modern place, air conditioning takes the bite out of the heat, cars move freely, sky scrapers line the skies, gas is cheap ($1 a gallon!), and goods are in abundance. But it wasn't always the case. The early missionaries suffered much and labored hard. Others had to make difficult decisions to keep the ministry forward focused.

That was impressed upon me even more when I realized where I was staying - in the RCA mission house, where two Trinity families lived for some time - Ray and Dorothy Weiss, and John and Lynne Hubers. The church was served well by these servants and I've learned of their contributions during their years of ministry here. They built on someone else's foundation but always on Christ. They left the ministry in good hands for the next person to follow and the church prospered under their watch. It made me aware that all of us are part of something bigger than ourselves as the presence of God in the world through the work of the Holy Spirit.

There is here, an abundant love for the people of Bahrain and the peoples of the world who make their home in this island nation. Thanks be to God for the eyes of yesterday and today that see the field in which God is at work.