September 30, 2021
BBEYOND EXPECTATIONS
Tamra Keller
Volunteer, Colorado
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
I had had no “call” other than I didn’t want my husband to be in such a remote area of the world without me. I had written as much on my application to the MMM Wells Program; that did not keep me from being accepted.
During the long flights to Malawi, I had decided I was not prepared for this mission. My fields were education and publishing. Yet I was assigned to drive a four-wheel pick-up with pipes, pumps, and people on board over non-existent roads in a country I could barely locate on a map. I was to pray and give instructions at each well site to people whose language I did not speak. I was told that I would be “shocked” by the poverty. Those were my expectations.
What I found: No services. No phones. No roads. No bathrooms. No fresh water… And after the first week, my reason for going had been sent north with a truck of his own! But I found something else in Africa: that I was, indeed, prepared for this mission. For much of my childhood, my family had no running water and no indoor facilities. While in junior high, I had had experience driving a hay-hauling truck in the hot Arizona sun; the MMM truck was easier to drive. Growing up in rural Michigan and in Arizona, I was familiar with the poverty of destitute neighbors and of the Native American reservations; not so very different from Malawi. And I had taught ESL for several years, learning to listen to English spoken by various tongues; Chewa was only one more.
I hadn’t expected to be prepared for this mission. However, I discovered that God prepares us for wherever He leads us; I had been prepared through my previous life experiences. And as I was doing God’s work, I experienced what Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Application Question: What is God preparing you to do?
Prayer: Lord, help us to be assured as we step out that You have prepared the place for us. Indeed, You have prepared us for the work you would have us do in Your name. Help us to remember that You do not send us out alone. You are always with us. Thank you, dear Lord. Amen.
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