And Today’s Hoop Is . . .

Many, many moons ago God “called” Sharon and I to “pursue missions.” After much prayer, doing the “easy thing” (the sending out of my résumé to the various Southern Baptist state conventions – which, by the way, got us no where), and then, with the urging of Henry Balckaby, we contacted the Foreign Mission Board.

Contacting the Board in 1994 set in motion the process of getting us to Brazil. We were actually appointed as missionaries on Valentine’s Day of 1995 and arrived on Brazil’s soil on July 17th the same year.

Getting to the mission field is in no way an easy task. The Board, just to be appointed, requires lots of forms, books to read, personal histories to write, etc. In order to pursue a Religious Visa in Brazil, there were many obstacles that had to be overcome as well. It is a process that I call “jumping through the hoops.”

Now, many of you have had to do this for one thing or another. Many of you have had to present “the blue form” only to find that “the green one” still has to be completed, in triplicate, signed, dated and notarized, before you can acquire permission to get a license, build a building, remodel the house, or whatever.

When we first came through the process to be appointed as missionaries, we had to jump through many different types, sizes and colors of hoops. There were days when it seemed like the response from the Mission Board, the Brazilian Consulate or whomever, was telling us, “Oh, I see that you currently have a green hoop. What we need from you today is the red one! And, uh, by the way, . . . the red also has to be 2 inches smaller.”

When missionaries return to the States, they are always asked to reevaluate their calling. It us suggested that they seek God’s face to be clear that this is still what He wants them to continue doing. We’ve known of colleagues who have returned to Brazil after being gone for furlough, or Stateside Assignment, only to discover that upon their return it was not what they were supposed to be doing. I can’t answer for them. I can’t say for sure that (1) they didn’t really seek God’s face, or (2) they misinterpreted what God wanted them to do, or (3) that they returned to Brazil only to be disenchanted with the way things were upon their return, verses when they left.

God is God! He doesn’t make bad decisions or give poor guidance. But, sometimes we don’t always seem to hear Him clear enough when we think that we need to. It’s not that God’s not clear, we just either don’t hear Him real well, or we misinterpret what it was that He was trying to tell us. By the way, EVERY ONE of those colleagues who returned to Brazil, only to realize that that was not where they were supposed to be, are now doing great things in the States and know that they are exactly where God wants them to be. It was a tough process for them, but one that they know that God was ultimately honored through what they are doing now.

We are currently seeking God’s face to see if serving Him as missionaries to Brazil is where He still wants us to serve. We still want to be sure that we are still in the middle of His will for us in our lives. I’ve told Sharon that being in the center of His will for us could mean; (1) returning to Brazil as a missionary, or (2) staying in the States doing some other form of ministry, or maybe even (3) continuing as a missionary, but to a third country and learning a third language and culture. I am willing to go or stay wherever He wants us to.

Also, as a part of this hoop jumping, we must do all that is asked from us to be able to get medically approved to return to Brazil. This is not always easy. This also means jumping through new hoops of various sizes and colors. To be honest, some of the hoops I don’t understand why or what the reasoning is behind the “suggested exam”. Some of the blood work, some of the exams, some of the specialized tasks that we’re being asked to do, I don’t get it! However, by doing this, it was discovered that I am a carrier of Tuberculosis. This doesn’t mean that if you and I were in a room together that I’d have to wear a mask or that you could catch it from me by breathing the same air. What it does mean is that currently I have latent Tuberculosis. After three different exams, one of them I have to do twice, they discovered that my lungs are clear. I have to take 9 months of antibiotics or if I got sick with something else, then I am at higher risk of coming down with active TB. So, now 6 months into the antibiotics, I am 2/3 of the way to having no TB. Was this a hoop worth jumping through? Absolutely!!

So, I guess, when the medical department of the Mission says, “Jeff, need you to . . .”, or “we want Sharon to . . . “ etc., then I’ll have to respond, “OK, what color and size of hoop for today?” God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the power to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference!