24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
1 Corinthians 9: 24-27
Many decades – and pounds – ago, I was a runner. Throughout high school and my first two years of college, I ran… a lot! When doing errands in the car I would run from the car to the store – and back to the car. When working at a 7/11 store I worked the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift and would run from the store to my house after 11 p.m., about 2 miles away. Another year I worked in a factory about a half-mile from my house and would run home - eat the lunch my mother had waiting for me - and run back so I clocked in just under the 30 minutes allotted.
Over that summer my goal was to run a thousand miles so I could be ready to compete in cross country that fall… plus get the bragging rights to wear a blue hooded sweatshirt that had the words “1,000 mile club” written across the front in scripted gold lettering.
Mercedes and I are now in our 60’s – and running in another kind of race. As we fly to the DR this Saturday I am reminded of the words from the Apostle Paul, that our faith walk is similar to the training and race described above. In this case, it is not a sweatshirt we are pursuing. It is to take to take the gospel to marginalized, illiterate housemaids in the DR who do not yet have a relationship with Jesus. And so we “run to get the prize… to get the crown that will last forever.” While it is difficult for me to visualize such imagery this far south of eternity, Mercedes and I do long to hear the words from Christ, “well done, good and faithful servant.” For us, hearing those words would be like getting a crown.
Would you join us in prayer as we spend the next three weeks in the DR? Here are our prayer points:
- For more churches to catch the vision to minister to “the least of these” – the housemaids in the Capital and surrounding area. We praise God that three new classes are underway!
- Successful workshop – We have 3 guests joining us – one of whom is a speech pathologist who will conduct a workshop to help teachers learn how to help students who have a learning disability. In each of our literacy classes, at least one student has a learning disability. In addition to our volunteer teachers, we are inviting teachers from two Christian schools in Santo Domingo.
- Safety in travel during the three weeks we are there (July 21 – August 11).
Thank you for standing with us. We are excited to go and will let you know the result of your prayers upon our return.
Yours in Christ,