DO YOU THINK IT MAKES ANY DIFFERENCE?

This was a question posed to me, by a fellow tenor, at choir rehearsal about three weeks prior to our trip to La Mora, Nicaragua this past June. At first, I was not sure what he was talking about so I asked “What do you mean?” He said “down there, wherever you are going does it do any good?” I told him from my perspective it was like the parable in Mark 4 verses 3-9 where Jesus spoke about the sower and the four soils. We get to see the results of some seeds that had been sown prior to our visit to the village just as others will see the results of the seeds we planted during our few short days in the village. Some of the seeds will not receive the watering, nurturing and weed pulling they need and will soon wither and die but some will flourish.

We do not always know or anticipate the effects our small actions have on another but God knows everything and its all part of His plan. My small mind could never understand or comprehend all the ways that God uses me but only when I have time to sit and think on it is it revealed to me. In my office at work, I have the BMDMI yearly calendar on the wall as well as some photos from past trips, nametags from different teams, missionary postcards and a photo of some of the children from Good Shepherd Children’s Home. They create questions that I did not foresee when I placed them there but God knew what the result would be. I put them there as a reminder for myself but many times they generate conversation about the good works of BMDMI and the many opportunities. I regularly forward the monthly newsletter that comes from Bruce Johnson, to those that I think might be willing to read it as does my wife. Two different individuals that my wife works with have provided donations to GSCH as a result of this sharing. My small brain would have never seen the end result of simply forwarding an email newsletter but God knew it all along. My sister-in-law and her husband recently authored and had published a book titled “Right to God” and because she saw photos and links on my Facebook page to BMDMI, she wanted to know how they could donate some of the proceeds. So do I think all of the “small” things make a difference, in one word YES! more than we could ever hope for or imagine. What is even more amazing is that all of this happened after we moved to Washington, DC. I know it may be hard to believe with all you see and hear coming from the nation’s capitol but there are godly people here too. I have been joining the FBCOB mission teams for the past four years and have had the honor and privilege to work in the kitchen where I get to see the impact on all the North Americans as well as the locals. Working in the kitchen also provides the opportunity to see all the other mission areas is action. I am excited about Honduras 2011.

Marlin Ruhl