Well, I did it! I walked the last segment of Day 61 of the Go10 Walk for the World. Immediately after my 10 mile walk Go10 Project Manager, Joe Wilson stood in front of me with a video camera and asked for my thoughts concerning this walk and how I felt. For one of the first times in my life I was speechless. There were many reasons why: walking 10 miles, heat exhaustion, fatigue, not to mention my mind was flooded with thoughts concerning this huge endeavor for Free Will Baptist called the Go10 Walk.
Therefore, in this post I would like to answer Joe's question, "Jon, as the Regional Coordinator for Go10, after working with the first two 10 mile segments in a support vehicle, and now after actually having walked a 10 mile segment, what does this mean to you and what are your thoughts?"
Well Joe, and others who may be curious to the answer to the question, I will attempt to share my thoughts.
The first thought which kept running through my mind is, "Why are we doing this? Why am I doing this? Why did I just challenge myself physically to walk 10 miles?"
It all begins with the purpose of Go10. The purpose is to challenge young people
to
consider their role in reaching the nations with the gospel in their
generation. The year 2010 is the
commemoration of the 75th anniversary of our modern missions program.
Laura
Belle Barnard was sent out as our first missionary to India in 1935. To
commemorate this event, we are walking a 10-mile segment of
a
2,500-mile course.
Why 2,500 miles? Laura Belle Barnard traveled nearly 10,000 miles on her entire
journey to
India! Since the walk calls for at least four participants to walk
each 10-mile
segment, the total miles walked will be a symbolic equivalent of her
sacrificial
journey to the people of India (2,500 x 4 = 10,000).
As I was walking, my mind kept racing back to what I have read of Laura Belle Barnard. I kept thinking of the sacrifice she made, and was willing to make, just to carry the Gospel to the people of South India. How she, in the dark, walking out on Pier 58 in New York City, climbed a rope ladder to board a cargo ship only to discover she was on the wrong ship. She then climbed back down, picked up her luggage and proceeded to the next cargo ship. While still in the dark, she climbed another rope ladder to board another ship to discover this was the one sailing to India. She then gathered her luggage on board and set sail to share the wonderful story of Christ with a people in which she did not know, in a land which was not her own.
As I was walking this portion of Laura Belle's life kept flooding my mind. I told myself, if Laura Belle had that much determination and was willing to sacrifice everything to share the love of Christ with the people of India, then surely I could and must walk this 10 mile segment!
The second thought which came to my mind was the Tamil Bible I carried.
Tamil is the language of the people of South India. This Bible you see pictured has been carried every mile thus far, and will be carried for the entire 2500 mile walk. I thought that was amazing!
As I was carrying the Bible during my segment of the walk there were a couple thoughts racing through my mind:
1. The Tamil language. As I was walking, I opened and browsed through the pages of this Bible. Then I thought about Laura Belle. She had to learn to speak and read this new language in order to share Christ. I thought of the countless hours she must have spent just learning this new language; the many prayers she must have prayed asking the Lord to help her with this new language.
Then, I imagined Laura Belle opening a Tamil Bible, just like this one, and sharing the wonderful stories of our great God. Oh, the sacrifices, commitment, and dedication Laura Belle made just to be a faithful servant of Christ.
As I was carrying the Tamil Bible, I prayed and asked the Lord to help me be that sacrificial, committed, and dedicated servant of His. I must tell you, it was a very spiritually moving time for me.
2. Then I thought about all the Go10 participants which have actually carried the same Tamil Bible I was carrying. As I was walking, carrying this Bible, I began to wonder, "What did they experience while carrying this same Bible in the Go10 Walk? Why were they even walking? What personal struggles are they facing? What spiritual experience did they have? How did it impact their life? What will change for them as a result of carrying this Bible?" Therefore, while carrying the Tamil Bible during my walk I entered into a season of intercessory prayer for those individuals.
Another thought that came to my mind was the vision of our International Missions Director, James Forlines.
Wow! What a great visionary! As I walked I spent time praying for Brother James and thinking about the passage of Scripture in Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish." James has tremendous vision and passion. As a Free Will Baptist minister I have never been more proud of our denomination as I am today. As I thought of the International Missions Department and what they (we) have going on this summer: Go10 Walk, E-Teams literally around the world serving, and many more ministry projects, it lifted my spirits. Thank you Brother James for having great vision and being a great leader!
As participants of the Go10 Walk we are given prayer cards for our missionaries and are encouraged to pray for them while we walk. I spent some time interceding for a missionary couple, whose name I'm not free to share because they are serving in a very dangerous part of the world. Once again this was a blessing to partner with them in prayer ministry.
Another thought I had was of the dedicated workers like Joe Wilson, Jim Daniels, Bill Ezell, the Regional and Day Coordinators, and hundreds of others working together.
As I was walking - especially as they would pass by in their support vehicles, pull off on the side of the road a little ahead of us, then cheer us on as we walked by - I thought of Joe, Jim, and Bill doing this everyday, except Sunday since April! Guys, I commend you! You have done and are doing a great job. So, as I was walking I prayed for them individually. I know they miss their families and their families miss them. Guys once again, thank you!
Then I thought of all the Go10 Regional Coordinators. I could picture them in my mind as we sat around U-shaped tables in Nashville, TN for Go10 training last fall. I thought of the challenges each of them have had in their particular areas. I thought of the RC's yet to be involved. Then I spent some time praying for them. Thanks to the RC's of Go10!
Then my mind went to my Day Coordinator, Darrell Renfro and his wife Linda. Now Darrell not only was a DC for the day, but he also walked the last segment with me. I watched throughout the day as they worked with the walkers of Go10. They shuttled people, water, Gatorade, ice-soaked towels, snacks and gave smiles and encouragement as each walker passed by. Therefore, as I was walking I prayed for Darrell and Linda, and I also prayed for my other Day Coordinators: Daniel Renfro, Matt Lappin, Josh Ham, and Troy Beringer. Thanks guys for all you have done and are doing!
I believe the Go10 Walk for the World project is a great example of what we as FWB can accomplish IF we would all work together. It troubles me so very much to see all the "little, non-essentials" divide us into this group, that group and the other. May the Lord speak to our hearts and lead us toward standing shoulder-to-shoulder, side-by-side, heart-to-heart, servant-to-servant, brother-to-brother, and sister-to-sister as we serve our Lord together as a Free Will Baptist Denomination.
Well, Joe, these are just a few of my thoughts after walking my 10 mile segment. I wish I could have just said all this immediately after my walk, while the camera was in my face, but all I could say at that time was, "It's long!"
Let's continue raising money for our missionaries! Please visit my Go10 Walk for the World page and help me raise $500.00 for missions!
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