This has been an interesting week for me. I have been to the emergency room twice (in two different cities), have had surgery for kidney stones, and have been in an environment I’m not used to. The environment that I’m used to is leading people. My desire is to lead people in a way that helps them accomplish their goals and dreams, and be all that God has called them to be. But this was a week that I was called to watch people respond, and the whole goal was to make me well.

It was at the area fellowship in Rapid City, South Dakota, which was being led so well by Wade and April Wadsworth, that I began to realize that my kidney stone was acting up. I ended up in the emergency room of the Rapid City Regional Medical Center, and two missionaries just dropped everything and responded to my needs. Bill Aukamp, who not only picked me up at the airport but made sure I was cared for, dropped his normal routine and responded to my needs. Marie and Rick Parker stayed with me for five hours the first night I was in the hospital, discussing a lot of things, but mostly just caring for me. I loved seeing how people respond. In the hospital I was able to watch how nurses respond, technicians respond, and food service people respond, all with one goal – to help people get well.

I began to think that is what our mission ought to be like. We’re first responders. We do things that help people understand what it means to have a new life in Christ, and we respond to their physical and spiritual needs in such a powerful way that they get spiritually well.

I’m very glad to be on the back side of this week. I’m still having some struggles and some complications, but I know I’m in an environment where people respond with the purpose of making me well, and I pray that our mission will be first responders spiritually.