I can honestly say that I have lived my life as a stumbler bumbler. By bumbler, I mean that I make many mistakes, and somehow God works through them. In other words, I have stumbled by accident onto things that God would later bless greatly. 

Stumbling and bumbling have been the story of my life. I work, try, make mistakes, and wake up to see something working. I need to give credit where credit is due. I believe that God is at work in our lives with all my heart. He orchestrates far more than we realize. I believe that all that happens in my life is God-filtered and God-approved. 

That hurts to admit. We or I want to blame people sometimes. God has used the story of Joseph in my life significantly. Joseph never complained. I have. Joseph kept a good attitude. I haven't. He never accused. I have. Joseph could see that even the bad things happened to him for a reason, and he simply trusted God.

Now I believe that as we stumble and bumble through life, we don't realize how much God is moving the pieces and indirectly directing our lives. I believe with all my heart that is what He did with me in Peru.

When we arrived in Arequipa, Peru, I believed in discipleship. I believed in life on life or one person sharing their life with another person and helping them to grow in grace. I had tried to preach at least ten times a week in the first church I pastored in the USA. I had tried to have a small Bible college. I had tried to work at discipling people. Things weren't working out too well. My dream kind of died. In Peru, all that was to change.

I didn't know what I would learn. I had a minimal idea about church planting and none about being a multiple-church planter. I had even fewer ideas about leader training. I would have suspected that the best way to train leaders was to put them in a good Bible College. Call pastors and leaders from an academic setting would have been my answer. 

I had more time than work in the first year or so in Arequipa. I longed for the day I would be so busy I would have to fight for free time. There were weekly meetings about seven times a week. There was the missionary prayer meeting, but I had a tiny church, no one to disciple yet, and no need to prepare new material.

By the end of 1988, God began working. We had been in the country for about eleven months. God had touched the hearts of several young men that would come to my house on Saturday. I didn't have a church building, an office, or anywhere else to meet. So on Saturday after visitation, I would invite all the young men I could to come to the house, and we would serve them a meal, and I could try to teach them some Bible.

I was looking for someone that might become a pastor or spiritual leader. I had been struggling to get people into church. We were growing slowly, much slower than I wanted. The people that gave me more attention were the young men and women. I had no plan about who to reach or teach or anything else. I met with drunks on visitation. I talked to anyone that would talk to me. I was stumbling.

Then these young men started coming to our house. I was so excited. They were a captive audience. They came, and we ate together, and then we just sat around talking about the Bible. I was trying to disciple them. 

The Peruvian school year ended in December. The young men were out for summer break from December through March. Summer vacation was my time to get to work with them. I asked them if they wanted to know more. They said that they did. In January, they started coming to my office every Tuesday through Friday at 8 am. They crossed the city on two buses. There were 3 of them that would turn into five before long. 

Now to let you see how I stumbled and bumbled into something that God would use significantly, let me tell you that the country was in the middle of a terrorist uprising. Dozens died every day. Police and soldiers were stationed all over the city. They guarded banks, the homes of important people, government buildings, power lines, and anything else that the terrorist might have thought strategic to attack.

I had never seen a US policeman with his gun in his hand. I had never seen a submachine gun in the hands of a US cop. It was all shocking to me. Honestly, I was more than a little fearful though I would have never admitted that publicly. I had to keep up appearances, you know. Hearing bombs going off and watching the news at night in no way gave us comfort and security.

During this time, Betty was crying and begging me to think about what we were doing. She wanted to know if I was afraid. I would lie to her and tell her that I was not scared. I would then find a private place to pray, the bathroom, or wherever, and I would ask God to forgive me for lying to my wife and give me the faith and confidence to believe that He was going to take care of us.

So the guys started coming to my house to study. We would have Bible study from 8 or so till 2. Betty would fix lunch for our family and all the young guys. She often prepared lunch for 15 to 20 people Tuesday through Friday.

In the afternoons, the guys were still with me, but they would often get sleepy after eating a large meal. After lunch, we would often grab a box of tracts provided by a ministry in Lebanon, Ohio, and take them to different places where there would be many people on the streets. We might give out 4 or 5,000 tracts in an afternoon or two.

While there, I would ask them to pray with me about starting a church in that area one day. I told them that we gave them a tract, which was a portion of the Scripture, but they needed a church. When would God raise a young man to go with me to start a church in that area?

So I am curious if you see the stumble bumble yet, but I will clarify it. I wanted young men to train. I never told them that I was nervous, fearful, or afraid. I taught them Bible. They were with me for various reasons, I am sure. Some came for a good solid meal in horrible economic times. Others came out of curiosity and what the American's life was like. Some came because they loved Jesus and wanted to know more.

Whatever the reason, they were with me Tuesday through Friday in the house and around town, Saturday on visitation, and Sunday in church. I was rarely alone. So on one side, it appeared I was doing something special but on the other side, remember, I am the redneck hillbilly that is fearful of everything that moves because I am out of my element, my comfort zone. 

So I stumbled onto getting guys to train. It filled my time. They provided security wherever I went. They taught me culture and language. I taught them Bible, soul-winning, church planting, etc. It was a great relationship.

I would be wrong if I didn't tell you that I enjoyed those days so much that it was like living a dream. I had never experienced anything like it. They were my dearest friends. I lived, breathed, and moved thinking about them and what God might do with all of us.

I ask you to think about several things. 

God is using you, but you will stumble and bumble for much of your life. You are not as bright as you think, but you can trust that God will do in your life things that will bring about His glory and the furtherance of His kingdom through you. Go forward looking towards Him at all times.

Knowing that being on the mission field can be scary, God will always take care of you. He provided me with the most wonderful security blanket in the friends He gave me. I loved them beyond any level I can explain to you.

What I did for security, learning, and friendship God turned into multiple leader training and multiple church planting. My stumbling and bumbling had brought five guys firmly into my life. This would be the catalyst for starting those first churches. They would also bring many more young men and women into the ministry. 

I would later teach people to look for men 15 to 25 years of age. I would teach them to do one-on-one, life-on-life discipleship. I would teach leader training, and it would all be something I stumbled onto.

I want to tell you to be very careful if you do this. I spent literally 60 to 80 hours a week with those guys. One of my children would later tell me that the Peruvians had a dad, but I wasn't a dad to my kids. I let the ministry, the training of men, and the dreams of God doing something big interfere significantly with my greatest ministry. Your family is your number one priority. 

Lastly, I will say that you need to know that serving God is a lot of fun. I enjoyed it immensely. I loved those days in Hunter, Arequipa, Peru. I loved spending time with the Peruvians. I immensely enjoyed starting new churches and seeing God do great things. 

I can tell you that I have been living the dream for a long time. I have never sacrificed to serve God. I have been blessed and blessed beyond measure. I hope you find His service to be the same for you.