The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church in Corinth wanting them to know of his love for them and his desire to come and see them again. However, as he was in Ephesus, a WIDE DOOR for effective ministry had opened up to him so he stayed and ministered in Ephesus for a long period of time. This past weekend a wide door opened up to me and my wife that enabled us to minister to some folks in deep need.
First, on Friday I was contacted by a man who resides south of Mexico City, Mexico who teaches English in a school down there. To make a long story short, he ended up here in Leoti after the man he was riding with got mad at him (the man had been drinking). He dumped him out on hiway 96, and drove away (heading for Kansas City). The bottom line is he was in Kansas, 4 days from his home, had 8 dollars to his name, had no credit card and needed to get back home. Without going into details, I checked him out with the law, all was fine, drove him to Garden, connected him to a Mexican bus line, was able to refer him to a shelter in Garden, and was able to procure a bus ticket. A crazy day but it was amazing how the pieces fell together.
Unfortunately, Saturday was a more difficult day. We were hit with a white out blizzard west of town that left a man dead due to a series of vehicle accidents. I spent the afternoon at the hospital with the wife of the man as the staff at the hospital worked tirelessly to keep the man alive in E.R. Unfortunately the injuries were too severe and the man died leaving his wife here in a small town, 14 hours from her home, her friends, and her family. As God would have it, my wife called me during the ordeal and offered our house to the wife instead of the local motel so she could have a place to stay and someone to talk to. She accepted the offer and as a result we were able to help her with the logistics of working with law enforcement, the funeral homes (both locally and from the state she was from), the hospital staff, and a variety of phone calls. Most importantly, we were able to provide her with a place to cry, to talk, to feel safe, to feel loved and cared for. (Thanks a million to Mary Lou). As family arrived the next morning we were able to help them as well.
The bottom line is a wide door for effective ministry had opened up to us over the weekend. Sometimes the door is no fun to walk through but out of obedience we must do so. As a result, several families were ministered to, including our own. So as we begin a new week, there are many doors that the Lord will open for you. Will you walk through them?
P.S. The local EMTs, fire department, and hospital staff did a great job. they are to be commended. If you're local and reading this, let them know how much you appreciate them.
