In the previous post I talked about the principle of planting abundantly. Today I want to tell you about somebody who did it.
I married an MK. That’s “missionary’s kid,” in case you’re uninitiated. It was enough of a culture shock to marry a Texan, but to say “I do” to somebody who could have repeated her vows in Thai if she wanted was really special. For 26 years I have heard the stories, met most of the major players, and lived vicariously through the memories, the loves, and the laughter of a family whose lives are invested to this day in Jesus’ mandate to take the gospel to the world.
All of that came calling the day after Christmas 2004. To this day Robin refers to the event as if it were a proper name – an evil killer who has somehow become an unwanted part of the family.
His name: Tsunami.
While we celebrated an Alabama country Christmas, Robin stood transfixed as television reports came in about an unspeakably tragic tidal wave that struck the coasts of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand. To most Americans, this was sad news of a foreign land. To Robin, this was a devastating shock from home.
From ages 3 to 15, Robin Willis grew up in Thailand. The third daughter of medical missionaries, while her parents languished in language school, she learned to speak Thai as her first language from the kids on the street. The family left in 1974 and moved to Texas. Each of them has returned on occasion; my father in law has gone back multiple times.
All except Robin. It has been her dream for years to take our children and me to the place of her childhood. But when the reports of the Tsunami devastation came in, Robin knew her time had come. And this would be no vacation.
While foreign relief agencies, individuals, and even local businesses began to rise to the occasion, Robin had a mission of her own. Her father was still licensed to practice medicine in Thailand, meaning he wasn’t confined to a Red Cross tent. From Alabama and Texas, she organized a medical relief team of doctors, nurses, and support personnel, including June Carter, our church office manager. She contacted the local news organizations in Lubbock to help publicize the need, not only for travel expenses, but for medical supplies, and, later, for homes and fishing boats.
It was incredible to watch how the Lord began preparing her for this journey. She began dreaming in Thai! She hadn’t spoken the language fluently in over 30 years (except when she was really mad at the dogs or kids). She told me that as soon as her feet touched the ground in Bangkok, she could speak that difficult language again fluently, as memories and experiences of a forgotten childhood flooded her memory and heart.
The team focused on three fishing villages that were away from the exotic tourist spots so exposed by the media. There they found – even six weeks later – people who had yet to cry. Who desperately held pictures of lost family members. Who panicked and fled to high ground when a strong breeze began to blow off the ocean. They found people who had lost every material possession, as well as their means of livelihood.
It was overwhelming – more than any person should have to handle. But one day at a time, Robin, June, and the rest of the team reached out and served. Doctors, nurses, professionals, and a missionary’s kid/pastor’s wife – just being themselves, abundantly planting God’s love. It wasn’t just the ten-day trip, though. Upon returning home, they raised thousands of dollars to help buy fishing boats and rebuild homes.
And there was a harvest. By Thai mission standards, a huge one. In a culture thoroughly steeped in Buddhism and extremely slow to respond to the gospel, 28 people received Christ while the team was there. Scores more in the area have come to Christ, and people are significantly more open to the gospel since then. Since somebody decided to plant abundantly.
The team adopted an island – Ko Kho Khao – and renamed it “Jesus Island.” The island was virtually annihilated by the tsunami; Robin and others set out to help survivors rebuild their homes, businesses and lives. While Robin was raising money back in the states, a Thai pastor relocated to the area to establish a children’s center, which would also double as a Christian worship facility on Sundays.
Two years later, Robin and June returned with another team from our church to help in the construction of the center. When they arrived, the team was asked to help island residents prepare for “the celebration.” Men helped build a stage, while the women helped prepare an enormous array of food. Excitement filled the air as more than once someone said to Robin, “We’ve been waiting for a year to do this.”
Robin and June were asked to take a seat just in front of the stage. There was a program. Children sang, people told stories. And one by one, these grateful people rose up and at great length told their own unique Tsunami story. They told of their great losses. And of how they had received the money to get a new house or fishing boat. One lady’s arm had been severely injured and nobody seemed to have a medical solution for her. But some Christians had prayed for her, and her arm was healed. She became a believer in the Christ of the Bible, who promised that in the world we would have tribulation, but that He had overcome the world (John 16:33).
One by one, these beautifully grateful people rose up and called my wife blessed. Men and women, eyes filled with tears, thanked her for helping restore what Tsunami had stolen. She had no idea that she was the reason for the celebration.
Later, one man took the whole team to see the business that the relief effort had helped rebuild. It was an exotic fish hatchery. Who knows? Maybe that angel fish in your aquarium came from Thailand, as the result of somebody who planted abundantly.
It doesn’t have to be dramatic, or a crisis, for you to abundantly plant. It just has to be, well, you. Believing. Sometimes working alongside others. Sometimes in tears. But offering your time, talent, treasure to make a difference. Rest assured. You will doubtless return with a harvest.
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Hey Andy,
What a great tribute to your wife. It helps me to realize what a blessing she is to me AND for you to lift her up to others in your love in action which is also an inspiration. What a great writer you are – I will read the other articles and send this one to my husband!
Thank you for sharing this story. Rejoicing in heaven for 28, and a great start to a new beginning. May God bless and protect “Jesus Island”
will hapemans last blog post..Bishop offends Catholics by Being One
Thanks, Will. There is now a flourishing children’s center and congregation, as more have continued to come to know Christ. A new pastor has come, and things seem to be going very well.