No sooner had we remodeled our home in Guatemala than we fled to America. A run-in with criminals forced us to leave. The trauma of the robbery at gunpoint took the foreground; the irony of our “lost investment” sat in the background.
The stylized ceiling and modernized kitchen seemed like a good investment. We had lived in Guatemala for 15 years and did not foresee leaving our beloved missionary life. The threat of kidnapping changed that abruptly. The money already spent proved pointless.
Pointless.
Our stay in Guatemala was NOT permanent. It was temporary. So too our life here on Earth is short. 
Moses called his son Gershom, which means foreigner, because he felt like he didn’t belong in Midian. Peter says we’re only sojourners here on the globe. Our true home is Heaven.
What we invest for 
pleasure here is… well, it kind of seems pointless.
Was that what God was telling me? Whatever you do for eternity — even if it’s only five minutes of prayer today because that’s the best you can do — stands forever. We are here only briefly, so if all your effort is focused for this earth, try to enjoy these fleeting moments as much as possible. My recommendation: Work for eternity.
Mustard Seed Budget 
Matthew 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 🙂 Amen!
😀
I’ve been there in the high and low life. There is no guarantee here and anything can be taken away without warning. Hopefully, we can pull ourselves out of the rat race, from competing with the Joneses and concentrate what’s real (in Heaven). Hard pill to swallow for most of us. I for one am guilty to the highest degree.
Hey! I thought you spoke Singlish! (Didn’t know “rat race” and “keeping up with the Joneses” was part of Singlish!) Don’t stress. Just love God.
Amen 😀
😉
Amen! Its so easy to get caught up in earthly things (like possessions, houses, etc) and forget that really the most valuable thing we have in our lives are ‘intangible’ yet priceless – our lives, our family, and where we will end up for all eternity – in heaven.
😀
Great exhortation bro. I need to hear it time and again. Thanks
You’re the greatest!
This seems to be the message God is trying to get across, at least to me. It’s all temporary. God bless you and may He return your investment 100-fold.
amen!
Just what He told me today. Spending time with Him is the best investment i can make. I was just saying to Him i frlt we werent doing anything important, haha. Btw. Is this story old or just recent? Did you just ‘flee’?
we left Guatemala 2 and 1/2 years ago. I was afraid they would immediately come back to kidnap. I stayed at a friends house until our new passports were issued in emergency fashion (the robbers got the old ones).
Wow!!!! What a traumatic experience. I feared often this would happen to us in Costa Rica if we had stayed longer. We lived there 5 years, but in 2 different cities. The capital is bad right now for those kinds of things. Our friends were also robbed at gunpoint. Local married to a Dutch girl, so they suspect lots of money on property plus all the other foreigners in ministry with them.
How long have you been back?
8 years out of mission field. After Costa Rica we went to Hawaii, then Jamaica. Jamaica was the unsafest!!! Multiple break ins on the ministry property. It was constant. We were there for one year and then we settled here. It seems sooo long, 8 years.
all beautiful countries!
On a most mundane level, I loved the landscape photograph at top. A fairyland.
yes, indeed, Love it too! I don’t think it is mundane. I try to always have beauty on my blog, beautiful words, beautiful thoughts, beautiful pictures. I can’t say I always achieve it, but I always try!
A beautiful reminder. And an incredible ordeal that must have been! I too love the imagery at the top. Where is that?
Another great post.
hahahaha! I have no idea where these places are.
do you like the straw man?
yes! very much. very interesting!
sort of different from the Wizard of Oz’s straw man
Indeed!
Well, I haven’t been on the mission field…yet 🙂 Though I suppose the city streets can be pretty unsafe too sometimes. I guess like you guys were once sojourners on the mission field we are really just sojourners here on this planet 🙂 My post had the same theme this morning…maybe He’s trying to say something…Blessings to you!
😀
An old friend messaged me today about a guy I knew eons ago. He spoke at my old home church last night and gave his testimony. He had attended a missions conference in our home town long ago. To this day, he doesn’t remember a word that was spoken that night. All he remembers is a girls trio (of which I was part) that sang a relatively obscure song called, “My House is Full, but My Fields are Empty” and, with it, came the call to missions. He’s been a missionary in Italy ever since (close to 35 years). It was a powerful reminder that God can – and does – use what we say, sing, or do, even and especially when we have no idea that He is. All we’re called to do is be faithful. Oh, and I wasn’t even a Christian at the time, yet God still used me.
where can I see or hear this song?
Send me the link.
Please please please
1 Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”
I appreciate your missionary zeal amidst such horrors. God bless you million times for your sacrifices, Mike.
Amazing story! I like that : work for eternity!
😀
This was the best rendition of the song that I could find. A little pitchy in places but you can hear the words fairly well. The song was written by Lanny Wolfe and the sheet music is still in circulation. It’s a clear and unmistakeable message.
How do you put a video in a reply?
I just copy and paste the URL.
that’s what I did, so maybe it worked!
I hope so! 🙂
thank for getting me the video. where can I get the music for htis? my church needs this
These are the only two options I could find… depending on if you want the sheet music or an accompaniment track. Hopefully one or the other will fit the bill. I’m excited that you’re getting it for your church! I love that song!!
http://paradigmmusic.net/store/index.php?cPath=38_187
http://www.christianbook.com/lanny-wolfe/my-house-is-full/pd/DL140629-CP
THANKS! You are the RESOURCE!
🙂
How awful. We lived in Malaysia. Always, always on alert. But there they used parangs. (Jungle knives)
Wow! Malaysia! Kudos to you! That is no small mission field. You have some serious Islamic resistance there. My respects.
Amen!! Blessings MSB!
Listening in on missionary comments is so interesting and impressive. Great post, Mike. I always wondered why you came back; so sorry it happened the way it did. I’m sure they really miss you. Blessings, Diane
No need to be sorry. Everything is part of HIs plan.
Hi,
We have ‘liked’ each other for a while thank you for supporting me on my journey! When I look out at the Beauty around me I thank and see, hear, touch, taste and smell God. As above so below, believe and know through your own experience that Divine Presence is in All and gives us All from first Breath to last breath and Beyond.
Aloha,
Sabrina
p.s. I just finished reading “Proof of Heaven” I think you might like it.
😀
I always enjoy your pictures, but these are outstanding. And yes, I appreciated the topic, as well 🙂
apparently i am doing a no-no by just tkaing pics without permission, i love the pics, but a blogger warned me to amend my ways, so i’m not sure what I will be doing in coming days. it depends on what i find out by researching a bit about it. Thanks for the encouragement!
You know, I’ve been wondering about that myself. Yesterday I used a picture. After it had been up for a while, it disappeared and was replaced with a message saying “sharing is not allowed on a free site.” So I replaced the picture. I find mine by googling the topic and then clicking “images,” and I have assumed all the pictures that show up were public domain unless otherwise noted. Maybe I’m wrong. I’d be interested to know what you discover.