And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18
In 1969, Joe Cocker sang a familiar tune about his need for friendship and the support that follows. The inspiration and true quality of such friendship penned in the song are unclear, but life on the mission field proves this famous line to be true. I get by with a little help from my friends.
I struggle for a way to tell you, my friends, how appreciative I am of your support in helping me get by in my ministry. Perhaps one way might simply be to share with you the results of your help through prayer so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor and love.
Can you hear me now?
All trips to the field are in critical need of prayer support, and my most recent trip to Uganda was no different. The need for prayer began immediately before we even started our journey out of Cincinnati. There were five of us on the team. Three of the team members had already checked in and began their way through security, as our fifth team member (a Korean brother, by the name of Kangyu Lim) was still waiting to check in. I decided to stay behind to make sure there were no complications getting through, as he was traveling with a Chinese passport.
If you are familiar with flying, than I am sure you are also familiar with the complications which easily arise when dealing with travel plans. Houston, we have a problem…
Complication #1 The Delta ticket agent informed us that the name on Kangyu’s ticket did not match the name on his passport. Somewhere in the purchase process, Kangyu Lim’s name was reversed and improperly spaced; the name on the ticket read Lim Kang Yu. A simple mistake. Not a simple correction.
Complication #2 Our team was flying on multiple airlines. We began the trip on Delta and switched to KLM. Our return trip began on Kenya Air, then on Air France, and finally back to Delta. The ticket agent said he “might” be able to correct the name on the ticket for the Delta flights but could not for the other airlines. He informed me that I would need to get that changed.
At this point, we were only a few minutes before boarding was scheduled to start (Complication #3), so I began making phone calls and was working with the travel agent that the tickets were purchased through. As the minutes ticked by, I was put on hold several times while the ticket agent and Mr. Lim intently watched my facial expressions as I attempted to get this corrected on the spot. The last time I was put on hold seemed to last forever and now the boarding process started for our flight (#4).
When the travel agent finally returned on the line she regrettably informed me that Mr. Lim could not make the trip and I “might” be able to get a refund on the $2000 + ticket. I was at a loss for words and not sure how to inform Mr. Lim and the ticket agent, who were still watching my face very intently. I said “OK, thank you” to the travel agent and hung up.
And then you prayed.
The flight was already boarding and we still needed to clear security and travel through two terminals to get to our plane. Not only was this something beyond anything I could solve, but I still had to deal with informing Mr. Lim of the bad news. While my head began to swirl in unanswered questions, God began working out the details.
I cannot overstate the importance of and appreciation for those of you who pray, but I can tell you that they are answered and your investment is drawing interest in His Bank. About 15 minutes after hanging up from the travel agent, Mr. Lim and I had cleared security checks, traveled through the two terminals and boarded the plane just before the doors were closed.
Prayers answered and we had yet to experience take-off. What I do through Worldwide Biomedical Charitable Services (WBCS) is only made possible by you, my partners, as you pray, encourage and financially support this ministry. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. May you be encouraged as you see how He responded to your prayers on our behalf.
Stay tuned for more stories from my time spent in Uganda…
Rick