I was all set to go out the door when Eric texted me to say he was caught in traffic and would be at Shiloh as soon as he could get there.  And then the door bell rang.  Doris opened the gate to Effie, of all people.  What was he doing here?  He never drops in for a visit.  He's way too busy for that.  But here he was, holding out a bottle of sparkling grape juice and a thank you card.  

I invited him into the living room, still wondering what this was all about.  And then the story spilled out.  He had come to say "thank you" to us in person for all we had done for the village chiefs who stayed at Shiloh earlier in the week. He went on and on about how we had made such a large contribution to the success of their meetings.  Us?  What had we done?  

The chiefs were so overwhelmed to be welcomed into the home of Christians.  They said they never imagined they would see the day when they would be invited to stay with Christians.  But we greeted them warmly each evening when they came back to Shiloh.  And we told them "good morning" each day as they came out of their rooms. They were treated so well, they said.  Effie said our treatment of them was such an important illustration to these village chiefs of all that he was trying to present to them in his meetings.  

You see, Effie was doing something that had never been done before.  He was bringing village pastors and village chiefs together for three days of meetings. Seventy men from half as many different tribes sat together around a conference table and discussed how they could help each other.  It was a time of reconciliation.  A time of discovering each others value and strength.  A time of stepping into the future together to find ways to help their respective tribes prepare to receive God's Word translated into their language.

Who knew when we were cleaning toilets, sweeping floors, dusting furniture, and warmly greeting our guests, that we were having such a profound impact on their lives?  We were just us, busy doing what we always do.  And God was busy being God, doing what only He can do.  Somehow the chiefs saw glimpses of Him shining through our lives.  And all the praise and all the honor and all the glory goes to His lovely name.