Mark Wilkerson’s Blog

Mark Wilkerson

May 17, 2011

Had a chance this past weekend to visit with our friends from the mission in Haiti.  In addition, we met over 25 other people who run, support or are the missionaries in many other countries along with people who run Bible Colleges and write the Bible in different languages.   It is amazing to see these people so full of laughter and joy.  They are happy in their circumstances.  Let me say that again, they are happy in their circumstances and some are pretty rough.  Contrast that to how we can get upset at just the slightest tilt of our world.   Today, I listened to a couple of stories of health turning bad and the unknowns that come with that as well as the heart aches of people losing people.   Terrible circumstances and how do your find contentment in these conditions?  As I consider the options, contentment must be a state of being , not circumstantial.  I can only think of one way to exist in order to experience contentment no matter the circumstances.   In Christ.  Philippians 4: 11-13  Knowing that God’s plan was to offer Himself as a sacrifice for my sin; knowing that He has paid the price; knowing that existence in Him is salvation -offers contentment.  What about others?  I am certain of my salvation, what about others?  People I don’t know and people I do know, what about them?  All these missionaries are working to spread the Good News!  On behalf of you and me to those who’s hearts the Spirit is preparing.  We support their efforts in many ways with   prayer, money and getting to know them personally.  Take some time if you haven’t to get to know these servants of The Most High God.

Jenny Baker

May 16, 2011

I love being a mother. I’ve never experienced such lavish love from God that makes me overflow with joy. I would do anything for my little Luci. When she had her two- month old shots I realized just how hard it is to be a Mom. They had to give her four shots, two in each leg. The nurse asked me to hold her down while she administered the injections. As I gazed at Luci we locked eyes and she gave me a smile. Oh how my heart hurt knowing what was coming. I watched as her little face went from peace to horror with a hint of feeling betrayed by her mom who was supposed to protect her at all cost. She screamed horribly. I knew I had to keep looking at her and talking to her but through my tears I couldn’t. I felt so helpless.

I never want anything harmful to happen to Luci. I want to shelter her from the world. I will do anything to make sure she’s safe and taken care of, loved and protected.

I can imagine how painful it is for mother’s in Haiti to watch their children hurt, be hungry and go without. I can’t imagine watching Luci suffer and not be able to do something about it.  I can’t fathom hearing my babies little belly growl when I laid down at night, knowing it was because she hadn’t had a meal in two days. Interestingly, the vaccinations Luci got will rarely be available to children in Haiti. Watching my baby die of diarrhea is something I can’t even think about. And yet this is a reality for many Haitians due to the lack of available medical care.

I want to love those Moms. I want to love those children. I want to be the gospel, acted out, to the people of Haiti. That’s why I pledged and why I’ll fulfill it. I want a mother to be able to provide basic needs to her children and never have to watch them suffer from lack of physical resources. I don’t want a mother to lock eyes with her dying baby and feel hopeless. I want to give hope.

JENNY BAKER

May 15, 2011

It’s now been five days since my epic comeback into the world of running. Two half-marathons in 6 days was a pretty lofty goal. It seemed more reasonable before I had little Luci. It was fun and memorable and I do feel a sense of accomplishment. I’m also experiencing another feeling. Selflessness. There are big moments in each of our lives when things are not and can not be about our own needs, wants or desires. These moments are the hardest when I have skin in the game, when I am affected as deeply as the other person and yet am challenged to put self aside and uphold the other. The race on Saturday was the most difficult I’ve had. I’ve run 32 mile races, competed in triathlons and participated in ridiculous events and yet Saturday was the most difficult because it wasn’t about me. It was about Dad raising money for Haitians. It was about getting Dad across that finish line as fast and healthy as possible. This meant that in every moment of the race my pain and my frustration with an apparent lack of cooperation by my body, had to be ignored and replaced with positive encouragement and a giving of self. At mile three of the Indy race, I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it. I hurt like never before. I knew I couldn’t let fear creep in. I knew Dad needed a strong encourager, someone to remind him he could do and remind him to hydrate! At mile 6 Dad asked how I was. I was dying. In fact I felt like my insides were gonna fall out (another joyous after-math of childbirth). At that moment I had to make the choice to push beyond my pain and be a servant to him. Paul says in Ephesians that God strengthens us through His spirit. Selflessness requires a strength that comes not from our flesh but from the Holy Spirit himself. Paul, in his very dark moment of being imprisoned, beaten and persecuted was able to rely on this same strength from the Spirit, in order to be an encouragement to other believers. I like to eat when I run. Shoot, I like to eat when I don’t run. When you’re running long distances it’s important to keep your calories up and to do that I eat jellybeans. When we got to certain race points, it was important for me to eat. But it was also important to keep Dad going. For me this meant forgoing a pack of food I wanted in order to keep up with Dad and remind him of his nutrition. (I have to stop to get my jellybeans out…multi-tasking isn’t that easy when running!) There are moments when our needs can’t come first and can’t be met. There are moments in life when someone else’s needs are more important than our own. It doesn’t mean our needs go away, it means they must become less important. I find when I’m not walking closely with God my needs begin to take priority. I begin to justify why it’s more important for me to have what I want rather than serve someone else. We finished the race and passed more people than we expected. I didn’t die. I was uncomfortable for a moment. Okay, a little more than a moment. I hurt a little for the next few days. But when I found out how many people we passed and how much money we’ll be able to use to provide medical care, clean water and other necessities to the hurting people of Haiti, I was happy to hurt. I know giving money sometimes hurts. I know we make commitments and then other things come up. We pledged money and then found out Franklin’s pay was getting cut by 30%. And yet when we live by the Spirit’s strength, we rise above our own pain. My prayer for us all is that we may become servants, even slaves to Christ and one another. I pray as we begin to write the checks to fulfill our pledges, we rejoice in the pain that serving brings. The bible says that suffering leads to perseverance, perseverance produces character and character produces hope and hope does not fail. What you’re providing to the people of Haiti brings hope. Being a servant, in spite of suffering produces something beautiful. We need only look to the cross for our proof.

6 day after

May 13, 2011

Wilkerson Here:  Need everyone who pledged and haven’t got an email follow up, to check their filter.  We are finding some of our emails are not getting through.  This is the day last week just before the race.  Our lives are so pressed these days going from one thing to another, last Saturday seems a long time ago.  As I recall last week this time, tonight is much more relaxing.  Big mission fair on the agenda tomorrow and Sunday.  Will see our friends from Northwest Haiti Christian Mission at the event.  We will be able to give them some of the contributions you are sending in.  I have an envelope from the folks at OneAmerica Securities.  They chose a charity to sponsor each quarter.  We appreciate that lad they picked ours.  We will enjoy hearing of the work in Haiti and the vision for the future.  It will be an enjoyable visit.

5th Day After

May 12, 2011

Wilkerson Here:  As we send out the announcements of our success people are amazed at the amount of money generous people were willing to give.  Over a billion a year is estimated to be raised at these type races for many causes.   I would encourage you to consider the things you do as a hobby and see if you can turn your time at those activities, into contributions for some of those causes.  How often do we see the ordinary things of the day as a way to minister to others?  I suspect that if we pay more attention to those around us we could find many ways to minister all day.  Sometimes it is just a kind word at the right spot.   We often quote giving a “cup of cold water”.  It signifies a small kindness offered in the face of insurmountable odds, an act that will not go unnoticed.  How many cups could we offer in a day if we weren’t so self absorbed?  I offer my thanks for all of you.  In HIM