Conversations With God

I spent this weekend in at the 44th Annual Gatlinburg Missions Conference with my church youth group. We had four different small group speakers, all from different mission projects. They were all good - I learned something from each one. It is so refreshing to hear about people who dedicate their lives to doing good. To something other than the pursuit of wealth and fame.



One of the small group speakers was from the Samaritan's Purse ministry Operation Christmas Child, also known as their shoebox ministry. It reminded me of an experience I had with our shoeboxes last year, which I wrote about for our church newsletter. I'm posting it for your reading enjoyment:


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Conversations with God
Or
How I Learned to Properly Put God in a Box

“Well Lord, it’s shoebox time again. How many should I pack this year?”
How many empty boxes can you fill?
“Let’s see, I have five empty shoeboxes in my closet – how about three?”
Five.
“Four? You want me to pack four?”
Five.
“Five? That’s more than I wanted to spend. What if I pack four big ones?”
Five.
“Oh, alright. Five. Now. Let’s make a list. What should I put in them? Toothpaste, toothbrush, washcloth, comb…”
A Bible.
“…Band-aids, soap, notebooks, pencils…”
A Bible.
“…candy, a yo-yo maybe, a flashlight, some batteries…”
A Bible.
“Will you stop with the Bible talk? We go through this every year. What are the odds that my boxes will go to kids that can speak English? They won’t be able to read them.”

Noah once asked me how all the animals would get to the ark. I told him to keep building, and let me worry about the incidentals.
“But it’s a waste of money! The kids can’t read English. Bibles will just take up space in the boxes.”
Ask your son.
“Ben? OK.”
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“Hey Ben – what do you want to put in these shoeboxes?”
”How about Bibles?”
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“Ok Lord, you win. A Bible it is. But I’m way over budget here. How about you help me find five Bibles, real cheap? Maybe like those New Testaments with the Psalms? Those must be cheap.”
A Bible.
“Right. New Testament and Psalms it is. Let’s go shopping.”
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“Let’s see – here’s a New Testament for $5. That’s $25 total if I buy five. I guess that’s doable, if that’s what you really want.”
No. Keep looking.
“Here’s one - $3.99 each! Even better.”
No.
“Oh wait, they only have three. I need five.”
Keep looking.
“Look at this! Wow! Big, soft cover Bibles for $1. Are you kidding me? And they’ll just fit in my boxes!”
Told you so.
“Wait, these are King James Bibles. Isn’t that kind of hard for a young boy to understand….I’m thinking an NIV would be better. What’s that noise? Are you…are you rolling your eyes at me?!?! That’s really loud. OK, I’ll get five of these.”
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“Did you see our shoebox dedication this morning? Pretty cool, wasn’t it? What a great ministry. I guess that’s it until next year.”
You’re not finished.
“Not finished? What else can I do? The boxes are gone. My part is done.”
You’re not finished.
“What do you want me to do?”
Pray.
“But I already have prayed. At the dedication. And before the dedication, for that matter. I’ve already prayed for those boxes.”
Pray more.
“What should I pray for?”
What do you want?
“I want whoever receives those boxes to be blessed by them. OK then, I’ll pray for the boys who receive the boxes. I pray they will be blessed by them.”
What else do you want?
“What else? I want their families to be blessed as well, I suppose.”
What else?

”Umm…what else? Oh – I know! I want the Samaritan’s Purse workers to be safe as they travel and as they serve.”
What else?

”That’s all. I can’t think of anything else.”

What do YOU want?

”Me? I don’t want anything. This isn’t about me.”

Yes it is.
“Me? Really? Well, I would like to know who gets my boxes. Who they are, where they live, that kind of thing.”
How can you know that?
"Ummm…they could send me a letter? That’s it! I would like a letter from them.”
OK. Pray for those things every day.
“Every day?”

You make me repeat myself a lot. Every day.
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“What’s this?”
Open it.
“It’s a letter from France. Who do I know in France? I thought I was boycotting France…”

Open it.
“Wait, there’s another letter in here. This one is from Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso!!! That’s in Africa –did you know that?”
Are you serious?
“Right, of course you know that. This must be from someone who got my shoebox!”
Open it.
“Right. It says….what does it say? Oh my gosh…it’s in French. I can’t read French!?!!? Wait a minute… are you…are you LAUGHING at me??”
You just said you wanted a letter, you didn’t say it needed to be in English.
“You think this is funny, don’t you?”

Hilarious. What does it say?

”Didn’t we just establish that I don’t speak French?”

But you took French in college.
“OK, let’s not go there. How can I read this letter if I don’t speak French?”

Look it over. What does it say?

”Well….I think it says thanks. I think it’s a thank-you note.”
It is. I told you not to worry about languages and understanding.
“Wait a minute! There’s a web site that will translate this for me! Did you know that?”
Are you serious?
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“Ok, I’ve translated the letter. The shoebox was received by a boy named Trene. Do you know him?”
Of course.
"He’s about to finish school. I’m glad I included a notebook and pen and pencils and stuff. Maybe he can use them.”
Yes, he can.
“What about the Bible? Is he using the Bible?”
What do you think?

”What do I think? I think…I think… I think I’ll pray about Trene and his Bible. How’s that sound?”

That sounds great to me.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Of course.
“Why did you choose to bless me in all of this? Isn’t this ministry about helping others?”
It is. But I’m just as interested in you as I am in them.
“You are? Wow. Thank you.”
Vous êtes bienvenu.

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These are pictures of the letter, and the picture that was painted and glued to the stationary. I have it framed in my living room now. It reminds me of the power of prayer.