Forty Years of Influence

Looking Back

Posted June 2, 2010

I was leaving the classroom area and walking home when Yobe, a recent seminary graduate, greeted me. During our customary exchange of greetings I asked about his family and he asked about mine. In my case the “family” in Zambia is now just Paula and I. “She’s fine,” I said, adding, “Come and see for yourself.” He accepted my invitation, and we chatted while we walked the short distance to our home.

After Paula and Yobe exchanged greetings, Yobe began telling us about a recent Bible school he and a missionary had conducted and about his ministry at the Baptist church he is serving in Kafue, just south of Lusaka. Paula had recently talked to a woman and her son from Kafue who wanted to have a True Love Waits training seminar for several people. The details were not yet finalized, and as we talked, Yobe became interested in helping with the arrangements, even offering to have his church prepare the noon meals needed at the seminar. Before we finished talking, tentative plans were made, phone numbers exchanged, and statements made that God was at work.

As Yobe left the campus, I thought about how this “interruption” was typical of our 40 years in Zambia. I thought of the many times unexpected and even unwanted encounters proved to be the work of God. I thought about how requests to help someone go to the hospital at inconvenient times had led to lifelong relationships and even the naming of a Zambian child Kilpatrick. I thought about how meeting Kennedy, a worker from the electric company doing a meter installation at the seminary, led to his being a student in our night classes and how he had brought several others along. I thought about how a cancelled flight gave us an opportunity to become better acquainted with a missionary couple from another country. I thought about how helping a Zambian who had locked his keys in his car at the post office get another set of keys from his home led to a meaningful friendship that has lasted many years. I thought about how a broken ferry delayed my crossing the Zambezi from Botswana for one day and led to a wonderful experience of sharing conversation and food with several truck drivers on the banks of the river. I thought about how waiting in long lines to pay bills had given me opportunities to share my faith with others. I thought about how taking an unexpected leave of absence to take care of Paula’s mother after she had a stroke had given us many opportunities of service at home. I thought about how an unexpected health condition requiring quarterly checkups in South Africa gave me opportunities to minister to people in that country.

There have been many interruptions in our lives over the years, but the Lord used them to accomplish his purpose in our lives and in the lives of others. The ministry of interruptions is sometimes obviously the work of the Lord. At other times the interruptions are inconvenient, and we have to trust the Lord to show us what he is teaching us through them.