“Randy Green is lost in the jungle!” The missionary paused to catch his breath. “He left four days ago to hunt and never came back.” For two days, the missionary and the tribal people in the area searched in vain for the 15-year-old boy, before the missionary left on the two-day trip to get more help.
We quickly mobilized our resources. Jack Winslow, the supply buyer, told every available missionary man to be prepared to travel to the jungle that afternoon. Bookkeeper Karl Crowe went to the bank to get money for the rescue costs. When he asked how much, I answered, “Get all the money we have.” Katy, my wife, stayed with Alma, Randy’s mother, while we searched. She asked how long. I answered, “Until we find Randy. Get everyone praying.”
Our plan was simple: put everything and everyone into this rescue.
On the fifth day we flew into a jungle airstrip near where Randy was last seen. We reached the spot by mid-afternoon and made plans for the morning.
At dawn, groups of men tramped into the dense jungle looking for Randy. We searched all that day, and all the next, but found no trace of Randy. The darkening sky forced us back to the village for the night.
On the eighth day, Randy’s dad, Oren and I followed the village chief as he diligently searched for tracks that might tell him what became of the boy. Suddenly, hoots and shouts rang out through the jungle.
“Randy is found!”
Randy’s face was so gaunt it was hard to recognize him. Vines and thorns had cut his arms and legs; bug bites and ticks covered his body. But he was alive.
Yet that’s not all we found as we searched for Randy. We found signs of people groups who had never before had an opportunity to hear the gospel; people who were lost not for eight days, but for eternity. They needed someone to share God’s Word with them.
I reviewed our plan of action to find Randy, and wondered why we weren’t doing the same for the world’s lost people. What if we followed the same plan today?
- Gather all the people needed to reach the unreached.
- Give all the money needed to reach every unreached group.
- Urgently labour as long as it takes to rescue the perishing.
- Get everyone praying.
This is my call to all of you reading my letter. Want to be a part of the rescue?
Your Servant in Christ,
Macon Hare
NTM@work Executive Editor
PS You can begin the journey with missionary training, the subject of this issue of the magazine. Get a great foundation for your role in the rescue. You probably know people who could benefit from this great training. Or you could give to renovations at the Durham campus, so my co-workers in Canada can continue to recruit, equip and send people to seek the lost.
