I received the July activity report letter from Jacob Weibe, a missionary who works in Mexico. Once again I was blessed as I read of God’s work in this man’s life. I asked his permission to share the following.
July 2013: In a spectacular display of blessings – that would rival any man-made fireworks, God is leaving His fingerprints all over our immediate personal skies. Ignited by one tiny spark at a time, multiple flares are bursting forth to hold us in awe of His majesty.
After months of pushing ourselves to the limit, trying to complete another phase of camp construction before D-day hits us, we scheduled a short break which included a family reunion in Missouri, followed by the wedding of Jacob Brandt, our oldest son. When our break-time was over, we initiated a mad dash back to Mexico.
Yet God…
At a junction outside of Little Rock, a simple road sign announcing El Dorado caught our attention. Immediately everyone in the vehicle felt the need to return and take that exit. That one innocuous decision precipitated a domino effect.
Ironically, what to us was but a minor detour – a brief visit of a few hours with friends and family – to God, was a designated stop-over. That evening we received His first cue that our agendas were not exactly in sync. A broken air conditioner unit forced an overnight stay.
“Okay, so we will scramble a little harder when we get home,” we thought.
Attending to this-and–that, we lost another travel day and ended up spending a second night – our second cue.
The next morning, Jake woke up with a bad case of ‘indigestion.’ A flat tire – a definite cue – stalled us a few hours longer, landing us at a dear friend’s tire shop. By this time, Jake’s pain was radiating throughout his chest cavity, and he consented to a Walmart drive-by to have his blood pressure checked as soon as the four new tires were installed and aligned. Meanwhile, an EMT, who ‘happened’ to be at the same shop, made contact with some of his paramedic friends just returning from a call. Within minutes, a cardiac unit unofficially paid a visit to the tire shop with the express purpose of checking out the visiting missionary’s condition.
Naturally, this free check-up terminated in an ER visit and an overnight hospital stay; but praise the Lord, all the EKG’s, enzymes and the 24-hour cardiac monitor ruled out the original heart attack diagnosis.
“Finally, we can hit the road and get on with what needs to get done,” we said.
Cue (what number is it now?) Bright and early a new crisis developed. Though his temperature barely registered 99 degrees, Jake went into a fever-and-chills episode like he had never experienced in his entire life, accompanied by a temporary lapse of responsiveness. Some strange infectious disease was suddenly on the table as a new diagnosis. A prayer chain extending from Alaska to central Mexico immediately went into effect.
Twenty minutes later, no fever, no chills and full consciousness returned. The pain was now localized in the lower right abdominal quadrant. A CAT scan was ordered, and the general consensus gravitated towards an acute appendicitis attack.
Jake was prepped for an emergency appendectomy, normally a fairly routine procedure, when your appendix is where it is supposed to be – instead of tucked away behind the intestines. We left the hospital with one large incision, two smaller ones and a $41,477.38 hospital bill. Jake’s Mexican insurance is absolutely useless under these circumstances, so we were offered a payment deal: $10,000 lump sum within 10 days; or $31,477.38 in 36 monthly installments.
Yet God…
The body of Christ scattered all over El Dorado inexplicably joined hands to come up with the entire $10,000 before what was obviously a scheduled ‘D-day‘ on God’s calendar of events. Other members of the Body are raising funds to offset the physician’s bills when they trickle in.
To God be the honor, and glory, and praise forever! For that simple road sign; that broken air conditioner; that flat tire; that case of indigestion – all insignificant in-and-of themselves, but each and every one a fuse in the Master’s hand to spark something much, much grander than themselves. Our unscheduled pit stop has served to challenge hearts, stretch faith horizons, strengthen bonds of love and friendship and last, but not least, bring our projected goals into alignment with His.
Thank you, Lord, for diverting us to El Dorado.
And thank you, to each and every sacrificial heart who responded to the subtle urgings of the Spirit! We have been truly blessed in your presence and through your gifts of love in His name.
Jake will be released to return to semi-active duty on Friday. While in sick-bay, he’s already repaired two broken toilets, puttered around with some mechanical jobs and defrosted a freezer, but according to him, he’s taking it easy!
Though Teen camp has been postponed till spring break, Kid’s camp is two weeks away – if God wills – and work teams from Belton, Kan., and Guadalajara, Mexico plan to be with us – if God wills. We’d be especially grateful should there be a re-uniting of that emergency prayer chain during those days.