John White - Developing Church Leadership in the Russian Speaking World DCU, Prospect Ilicha 106-A, Donetsk 83059, UKRAINE May, 2008 011-38050-567-6550 | jwhite@alumni.princeton.edu | http://www.marucheck.net/jw
I'm working on writing a sermon today. I'm trying to understand how to explain the world of 2 Corinthians, chapter 12. This chapter is famous for Paul's recounting of his experience in 'the third heaven' and subsequently receiving a 'thorn in the flesh.' After asking God to remove this thorn three times, Paul is told by God that 'my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'
The Christian life often does not go as expected. The Lord does sometimes bless us with 'third heaven' experiences--for me, being able to teach in Russian, seeing students' lives change over their time of study and seeing my fellow Ukrainian teachers grow in their faith as they face spiritual, intellectual, health and (increasingly) financial challenges. Wait--perhaps some of these experiences actually come from thorns, don't they?
I suppose I haven't had the miraculous experiences that Paul had, but I do know that God has touched my life in special ways from time to time. I guess what I'm realizing is that we often experience God best not in the miracles of life but in the thorns. Turning to another apostle, I believe that Peter preferred the transfiguration to the crucifixion--he wanted to pitch a tent while Jesus was glorified (Matthew 17) and stayed away when Jesus was on the cross (Luke 22-23). Probably most of us feel the same way! Yet if we truly want to grow in our faith, often a thorn in the flesh is the best method, although not one we can choose for ourselves. Thorns come only from God, and through them, He gives grace.
It's been a good semester for me in teaching and in my DCU fundraising trip to the States with President Sergey. But, there are several 'thorns' that I can't remove right now. Financially, we at DCU struggle to provide our staff with a decent wage in the face of inflation. One fellow Ukrainian teacher, Slavik, has a son with severe asthma, so he'll have to move away from DCU (it's too polluted to stay in Donetsk). He was already in his fourth year of a part-time doctoral program, and it's tough to lose him. It looks like we will be losing several Ukrainian teachers and staff this year. This is difficult for many of us at DCU considering all that we have worked on together.
Yet, I know that God can bless each of these friends and kingdom coworkers in their new situations and ministries. And, I know that God can raise up new teachers and staff for us. I'd appreciate your prayers for Slavik as he hopes to move to Prague and finish his doctorate work there. He also hopes to continue as a part-time teacher for us. Your prayers for wisdom for the leadership of DCU are really needed (me included!), especially in dealing with a difficult financial picture. Please pray for God's grace to truly support us and for us to learn faith through it.
If you'd like to help the work at DCU, please make out a check to WorldVenture for DCU special project #6433-903. Thank you!
May you experience God's grace as well,
John
