Cup of Cold Water Ministries
Stories from the field
A Collection of Stories From The Heart Of A Missionary
AUTHOR: Shari Tvrdik The need was made obvious on social media, no hidden agenda, no hinting at what she "would like you to pray about." Instead, a flat out ask. "Winter is coming soon," the missionary wrote. "Mongolian's are preparing. Unfortunately, my church heating system was damaged and we will need to purchase a new one for the harsh winter in order to continue our ministry all year around. Most of our church members are not from well off families. We need to look for help from the outside."
She continued, "Our church needs to raise $1'500 in total. $500 has already been raised by the church. Please contact me personally if it's possible for you to give." I sat reading her post from the outside, of where I once was very much inside. I had spent eight winters in Ulaan Baatar, the coldest capital of the world. My memories of the deep freeze will never be forgotten. The Facebook post took me back in time to a woman carrying a bucket of wood on the coldest January day. She came into her home where I waited for her to return. The cold wind entered before she did. She stood there with wind burned cheeks and what I can only describe as cold bones. "I had two dollars," she said. "My family hasn't eaten in a couple of days and I was going to buy rice but then I chose wood instead." Setting the wood down next to her cold wood stove she spoke words that still wreck me to this day. "Freezing to death is more painful than starving." I set my phone down and laid my head on my pillow. I wondered if anyone from the outside would give to the furnace fund. We're all busy. The spinning globe is full of spinning needs...everywhere... and the other side of the world is so far away. Six hours later I awoke to find messages from some of our CCWM missionaries. "We'd like to give to the Mongolian church. Is it possible for you to take some of our funds and move them to help purchase the furnace." These missionaries don't have a whole lot more than "some" funds. They are just starting their own ministry out in a brand new community in another country. They should be consumed with their work. I recognized how counter intuitive this sort of gift was. If anyone had a good excuse to "sit this one out" it was these guys. And this isn't the first time a request like this has been made by one of our CCWM missionaries. Working for a mission sending organization I'm privy to these kind of emails. I'm blown away each time it happens, "Please transfer my funds to ________ we want to help." I stared at the email and let it sink in. I knew they were giving from what little they barely had, in order to cheer the Mongolia missionary forward....for HIS kingdom to come. Churches, missionaries, pastors, we can sometimes lean toward competitive can't we? We get protective, focused, a little self centered. Our work is important. It's valuable and we are pushing so hard to get where we believe the Father wants us to go. With sheer grit we overcome all the obstacles and build what we think is for His kingdom. Hammer, nails, focus, just... keep... building.... Without even realizing it we become a builder of our own kingdom. Ours. Our organization. Our mission. Our project. Our church. Our kingdom. Its a temptation worth fighting, because the other side of that, the opposite is quite a remarkable defeat of the enemy. These missionaries had a bigger call on their life than their own ministry. It was not boxed into a location, or a people group or even a specific affiliation. The call was to build HIS kingdom and to submit to HIS will. "Money is raised!" the missionary reported just a week after her candid ask. The church will be warm this winter, despite the negative forty degree average temps. The missionaries in another nation will soon be telling us about God's favor and blessing in their new ministry. I'm sure of it because this is how our Great God works when we line ourselves up with HIS plan, HIS kingdom, His purposes. And me, am I lined up? What am I building today?
4 Comments
Dieter Ruth
9/30/2019 09:39:56 pm
I would like to send some money to help with the furnace. Could I send a check to Cup of Cold Water Ministries. Your message touched me deeply, and God spoke to my heart about sending some money to help. We live in a land of plenty and truly, are so blessed by God. We can be thankful to God for all our blessings here in The United States of America. Thank you Jesus. May God bless you and your loved ones as you seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.
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10/1/2019 10:28:37 am
Hello Ruth,
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Dieter Ruth
10/1/2019 11:41:10 am
That sounds fine. Could I send a check to you at CCWM at your P.O. Box and let you please take care of the rest? I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
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10/1/2019 05:33:39 pm
Yes of course! You can mail a check to Cup Of Cold Water Ministries P.O. Box 318 Newark, IL 60541 . Please earmark the donation to TUVSHO. God Bless you!!! Leave a Reply. |
Stories From The Past
November 2019
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