An 8-Part Body

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27

Before I move on to talk about my specific journey within the mission, I want to give glory to God for an answered prayer and shed some light on the orientation of the team before we split into groups of two.

When the idea of the trip was first presented to me, I was under the impression that the eight Roadmakers would be hiking through the countryside together as one unified troop of God's army. As the planning stages continued, Bill informed us that, at the "M's" insistence, the group of 8 would have to be fragmented into groups of 4.

None of us had a problem with this mandate. With groups of four, we had ample support in each group, and the work could go on as planned. There would be little confusion, and we would be able to share our adventurous experiences with our comrades.

Soon, however, our bubble was burst once again. Bill, after corresponding with our trip's point man who had direct access to our "M" contact on the ground, broke the news that our groups of four would be further divided into groups of two. This way, our contact said, we would be less conspicuous in the villages, and we would be able to bring the gospel to more areas in the short amount of time we had.

Unaware of this issue, we in Athens had been praying for complete unity among the team members. Some of us hardly knew each other and would only meet the Sunday before we left for the airport. We prayed that the enemy would not be able to drive a wedge between us and hinder our work.

We had no idea how salient our prayers would be. When we heard that we would be split into pairs, we knew why God led us to cry out for unity. Each pairing needed a special bond that would include patience, peace, and love in the Holy Spirit. This would be a trying mission physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Without unity from the Lord, the enemy could capitalize on the inevitable anxiety of the trip by imparting impatience and disharmony in our relationships.

As he always does, God was grooming us for the trying time ahead. In our preparation and prayer times, we solidified our status as an 8-part body of Christ in a part of the world where Christ's hands and feet have yet to reach and walk among the people. We had no clue how we would be paired, but the Lord, as always, had it figured out.