June 5, 2012

Sailing the High Seas: A letter from Randy & Maureen


“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
–William Shedd

For the past six weeks we have been in a season of new beginnings, docked in a safe harbor. After nine years of our focus primarily being on Mali, West Africa, specifically two un-reached tribal groups, we have seen much fruit including at least two solid church plants. However, in late March, Mali was thrown into turmoil as a result political upheaval and the violent nature of radical Islam. Sadly, this has sealed off most of the missionary work within the borders.
My heart was broken. We have a deep love for the Malians, and not only that we were in the process of training two teams to travel to Mali in the fall, one to work with the deaf and the other to work in the tribal regions. I was very frustrated to say the least! My calling is to work on the frontier mission fields, yet now I did not seem to have one! But God was at work, although at the time I simply could not see the hand of God moving.
The months of April and May were busy on our School to the Nations U.S. Base Campus with projects and the normal day-to-day issues of a mission organization, yet as the months passed I grew more anxious and frustrated. It seemed as though the frontiers came to a screeching halt! Daily I sought the Lord’s leading, but nothing seemed to develop. For example, I had been pursuing a new field in Southeast Asia and had been in correspondence with mission partners in that region since last July. Even though they wanted us to come, because of some leadership restructure on their end, nothing seemed to be happening. It was during this time in my daily devotions that a direct word from the Lord came in Paul’s similar story in Acts: “When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of Crete, off Salmone; and with difficulty sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.” (Acts 27:7-8) Reminded again of the value of learning to “wait upon the Lord,” I identified with this story, relieved my anxiety and frustration and simply said to the Lord, “I surrender, you lead. I will wait upon you in my own ‘Fair Havens’.”
Astonished once again at the mighty hand of God, in late May the winds of the Spirit began to blow again and School to the Nations discovered two new opportunities, two new fields in need of the Gospel! In the words of my wife, “we have already adopted but now are finding out we're pregnant too!” Only through God’s divine workings, our deaf team is now traveling to Botswana, Africa to evangelize and church plant among the deaf in that part of the world. A few days after hearing this news, a phone call from Southeast Asia came and we now are very close to sending our first vision team into a remote area of jungle to explore at least three options of tribal unreached groups that we anticipate to adopt as a new work begins.
As we come to a time when we are pulling up the anchor and leaving the safety of the harbor to sail the high seas of God’s global purpose, we are amazed at the work of the Holy Spirit which has made it possible to “Penetrate the Final Frontiers for the Glory of Jesus by Mobilizing the Next Generation to the Nations!”
“My soul, wait silently for God alone…”
Psalm 62:5

For His Glory,
Randy & Maureen Copeland

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