That 5-month old email!

 

First, let me say that this is my first attempt at  blogging.  Please have some grace here, but God kept impressing upon me to share this story so here it goes.

We had been here in Guatemala for a couple of months and I was clicking around on our website seeing what needed updated.  I ran across a button to click to send an email to the base if you had a question or inquiry.  I immediately thought, “wonder who gets those email cause I know I don’t”?  I proceeded to ask around and finally found out that the old base leader was the last one to have access to it and she had left in October of 2016.  My mind began to wonder just how many emails were sitting out there unopened and unanswered.  You probably don’t know this about me but emails are kinda my OCD thing.  I literally cannot stand to have unopened emails.  So to think that there were 5 months worth of emails that no one had tended to was driving me crazy.  I contacted our IT department and within a couple of days I had access to the account.

I began the process of reading and sorting through the emails, answering the ones that needed answering and explaining why it had taken 5 months to respond.  I honestly didn’t expect to hear back from any of the folks due to the length of time.  The one email that caught my attention was quite unique.  It was from a lady with 25 years of experience as a dental hygienist.  She was looking to plug in somewhere internationally to use her skills on the mission field.  Not every day you get that kind of request for sure.  Normally that kind of request would have been way out in left field.  Actually, not even in the ballpark…but not this time.  You see just the week prior I had been out visiting one of our ministry hosts in a city about 30 minutes away.  They were showing us their new facility and the new dentistry room that they were just praying and waiting for someone to come and use.  My mind immediately connected the two needs.  We started emailing back and forth and even did a Skype call to show her the facility. Within two weeks she had booked her flight down to determine if this was where God was calling her to serve.

Just this past Saturday she left Guatemala, headed back to Oregon to pack up her belongings.  She will be coming down to serve full time starting in July!!  Yes, this story is pretty amazing, but I think what has spoken to me the most through all of this is just how amazing God’s timing is.  You see, had that original email been received and answered (even if it takes some of you a few days to get to it) the response would have been, “thanks for your inquiry, but we do not have that kind of ministry currently in place here.  Good luck in your search.”  Instead, we are set to receive a wonderful gift of ministry here that we pray will open many doors and mouths to receive the gospel.

 

Bob