With Each Spring Comes New Life… New Possibilities

A letter from the Editor

We were on the ground in Haiti when hurricane Matthew hit. Knowing it would hit the west coast of Haiti, a good distance from the capital, Port-au-Prince, we decided to go ahead with the scheduled visit. Our trip was primarily to spend time training, encouraging, and developing strategy for the future for the SLM Branch there, but we also took the opportunity to see some of the work God has been doing there through SLM. The trip was tremendously successful and beneficial for us in many ways, but it also reminded us that God is constantly changing the landscape of our ministry and presenting us with new opportunities. 

The earthquake in Haiti did that many years ago in presenting new opportunities for ministry and yet so much of the time, money, and efforts were wasted. When you travel around and see the country and interact with it’s people, you realize a majority of the momentum the earthquake could have created for the Gospel was never fully taken advantage of and maybe even misused. It was heartbreaking that ministries weren’t more intentional in responding adequately when God presented new opportunities.

We determined at that time to be intentional with our response to this new natural disaster, but not by sending in food, water, or shelter, we’ll let the other organizations do that. But we’ll respond to the spiritual needs, the ones we are more equipped to respond to as SLM.

Possibilities pop up like wildflowers around SLM at a furious rate and we constantly have to be on the lookout for God’s next opportunity to be intentional in our response.

Some are easy, like on my recent trip to Ivory Coast where Lydia, one of our orphan girls, had lost all her teeth due to a genetic disorder. She was a beautiful young lady who loved to sing in the choir, serve the family in the church and orphanage, and learn to style hair at her beauty school. But embarrassed by having no teeth and no money to have them replaced, she now stayed home, sad, and lonely.

Having heard her story through their prayer letter, I recognized her immediately as that subject of prayer, as she served me my meal after church. How could I not respond? My initial thought was, we need to raise some money for this girl, but then immediately figured I might even have enough cash in my wallet to change this girl’s situation, and upon asking I did. I told our director to start the process and the very next day they started.

I saw her the next day before she started her treatment, but for the first time, even though embarrassed, she uncontrollably smiled from ear to ear for the remainder of my visit. It was instant gratification for me knowing that in this small way, we could seize the moment of opportunity, and respond immediately, and make a significant difference in someone’s life. This girl loves sharing her testimony and her faith, and what if, by some small act of giving, we have emboldened this young evangelist to unashamedly spread the Good News.

Her story of acting intentionally on an opportunity was easy, other opportunities are far more complex and take years of hard work and determination, but there are doors we should open, in spite of the work it will entail.

I just met with the directors of Pakistan, Ivory Coast, Uganda, and Haiti in the last couple of months, and the doors that are opening are astounding. So we have begun to set plans in place, develop our strategy on how to accomplish them, and pray that God would direct us in our planning, guide us as we carry it out, give us patience as we wait for Him to provide, and intentionality when it is time to move.

I often feel like Joshua in these planning meetings when God told Joshua in verse one of chapter one, Now, Arise, go over this Jordan…. The Bible makes it sound so easy, but to take people who have waited at its shore for 40 years and to immediately be faced with such an obstacle, my flesh wants to respond, “yeah, right, easy for you to say.” But God’s faithfulness, time and time again in my life, in the lives of each of our missionaries, in the ministries of our Branches, in the fruit of the materials, are a powerful reminder, and the catalyst that gives me enough faith to say… “Let’s go SLM!”

Will you go with us? As you read this Reaper there will be opportunities for you to pray, give, and come serve with us… don’t miss your “possibility!”