Team Hong Kong Newsletter #23
The Small Picture
May 26, 2008
by Joshua Blank
Sometimes writing a newsletter is hard because there does not seem to be much happening. There is no good story to tell, no major event that stirs the heart, no once in a lifetime incredible experience. But what I often forget is that life is not usually made up of huge cataclysmic events, but rather small day-by-day happenings that, when combined, form a beautiful web that can only be seen in small bits and pieces and certainly cannot be described in three or four paragraphs. But this past Sunday, I was able to catch a small glimpse of the amazing ways God has been using people to influence others in seemingly minuscule and often unnoticed ways.
Sunday afternoon we went out to the Tuen Mun Center for a short time of worship after which we traveled by bus to a nearby beach for a baptism in the ocean (similar to the one Ben talked about way back in newsletter #5). And there was nothing spectacular or too exciting that happened. But afterward I thought about the people being baptized and those that were helping with the baptism. Of those being baptized, three are ladies who are part of a small group that was formed by some women in the church willing to invest their love and time into the lives of others. The other, Lia Kauffman, is the daughter of one of the missionaries here. June Kauffman (Lia's mother) and Rita (another member of the church)have both been involved with the women's small group and led each person into the water to be baptized. The two men doing the actual baptism were Glenn Kauffman (husband of June and father of Lia) and Mr. Fu (the pastor who just recently joined the ministry at Tuen Mun). Glenn has been working with the Mennonite church in Hong Kong for about 15 years and Mr. Fu just came on board a few weeks ago, but has taken an active role in the church at Tuen Mun which has been really neat to see.
Above, from right to left, Rita, one of the ladies being baptized, June, Pastor Fu, and Glenn.
Well, that's a lot of details, so you're probably wondering what the point is. I guess it is just neat to think about all the little pieces that formed this rather nondescript-looking picture. So many different people involved in little ways that, seen from the outside, doesn't really look like much -- just a few people getting dunked in the ocean while a small crowd watches. But it is really a small picture of what God's work looks like: one event leading to another, one little opportunity taken to reach out into the life of someone else leading to another opportunity, one small commitment of time leading to a greater commitment -- an ongoing cycle that can radically transform lives, which goes on so slowly that it is little known or recognized by the world, yet celebrated with all sorts of rejoicing in Heaven.
So what opportunities am I missing? Too focused on the big picture and the big problems that need to be fixed, I lose track of the details and the day-by-day ordinary-looking choices, which is where God desires me to be acting. The truly great things, the things that will last the longest, are not one time here-and-done events, but a culmination of hundreds if not thousands of tiny choices, which seem so insignificant on their own. Sometimes none of the affects are ever seen until many years later, but the big picture never happens unless the small steps are taken.
Praises:
- How God is working, even when we don't see big immediate consequences of our actions.
- The blessing that the visit from Maria's parents was.
- The concern that the church here has shown for our brothers and sisters affected by the earthquake in China, resulting in an outpouring of prayer as well as financial support.
Prayer Requests:
- That we as a team could remain focused on our work here, not disengaging from the work until it is time for us to go home.
- That we would remain strong and able to continue doing whatever we need to be doing, even with the increasing heat and humidity that can be quite draining.
Maria with Lia Kauffman
