PTAP - Email RCVD
mood: 
hopeful
hopeful"I am really beginning to think all these agencies are a bunch of crock! You either WANT people and are willing to deal with them or not. So these [name omitted] people seem to be the only people taking me seriously and trying to make a way for me - so I think my best bet is to persue that. It's not thru an agency or even any denom but so far they are the ONLY ones I think are truly in this for the Lord and open to using me!"
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I think that C.T.Studd, founder of W.E.C. would understand you completely.
He ended up leaving the position of leadership with WEC because he really did believe that if someone had a conviction that the Lord could use them, then the Lord would make a way & that agencies often create more problems than they solve when they try to "protect"
the weak from going overseas.
(Paul addressed these issues in 2 Corinthians, I believe. He surely must have been the "worst" missionary ever, from an agency perspective & had a penchant for getting persecuted, BUT the Lord blessed because he was -willing-. Some in those days even thought his theology was suspect ... & some still do!!)
It is comical to me: I have a history of Bipolar disorder. However, an M.D. who has watched me did not believe it for a while until I spoke with him & said, "Yes, that is my diagnosis."
BTW: C.T.Studd & E.Stanley Jones both had bipolar disorder, as it would be called today. Amy Carmichael was bedridden for much of her life. William Carey had a mad wife. Fanny Crosby was blind. The missionaries to the Vikings were captured slaves. The first black man was evangelized by a deacon who didn't even have a ride back to his home. The first witness of the resurrection was a woman who had been demonized earlier. The first Christian escapees from jail were considered ghosts. Jesus had to evangelize the whole town of Samaria to get just a glass of cold water. Paul trembled when he preached in Corinth.
"Do you love Me?" That is all He asks.
"You, follow Me," He says.
Have a blessed trip to ... BTW: If you do go, please contact me if you will be going through ... & especially if you have a layover in DBX. Perhaps you could help PTAP in a small way.
Finally, Agencies & denominations have their place & role: to point to Jesus. When they remember that & do not try to supplant the Head, all is well. When they love the lost, even better. But, sometimes he uses saints such as yourself to bless those that will otherwise end up lost. Don't be discouraged by that. You are a pioneer. You don't fit the old patterns because the Lord is doing a New Thing. Always be mindful of the Freshness of the Spirit.
Peace in Christ,
Mert Hershberger
