How big is your El Guapo (Obstacle)?

To start today’s blog, I’d like to quote the great American philosopher, Lucky Day, from The Three Amigos circa 1987: “In a way, all of us has an El Guapo to face.  For some, shyness might be their El Guapo.  For others, lack of education might be their El Guapo.  For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us.  But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own El Guapo, who also happens to be the actual El Guapo!”

El Guapo

We’ve been told that the one sure way to know that you are on God’s path is because of the obstacles that will find themselves in your way.  As soon as we had acknowledged God’s call to GO to Uganda for six months next year, we started making a list of potential Obstacles that we knew that we would have to overcome.  Then one by one, God took care of those “issues” in what seemed to be an easy fashion. 

Our “El Guapo” of these obstacles was how we would take care of our clinics in Duncan.  I really did not see any way that we could continue to manage the clinics and be involved clinically if we lived half the world away.  In fact, it would have been difficult for me to start thinking about going to Uganda if I thought that the clinic would still be one of our responsibilities.  We had started talking to an Urgent Care group, from Oklahoma City, back in April.  We’ve had a hand shake deal with them since September.  The sale of the clinic has been scheduled for January 1^st since that handshake deal was struck.  Jill and I have been able to make other, smaller arrangements, knowing that this big obstacle was taken care of.  Some of the proceeds from this change in ownership, would help to fund our mission and help to supplement future endeavors overseas.

We found out on Friday morning, December 16^th, that the sale of the clinic had fallen through.  This came as quite a shock to us and my initial reaction was to go back to the thought that we could not possibly go to Uganda for this long period of time if we still owned the clinics.  But through the wise words of Jill and several friends, I began to see that God is in control.  He seems to maintain this control, even though I desperately want to relieve Him of these duties many times.  I have begun to see that, with God, this trip is still possible.  I think that my trust and faith was too small to even consider this trip and the clinic going together.  So God took us down the path, with me thinking that the clinic was taken care of, until I could see what He wanted us to do with Him in Uganda.  Then He put the clinic back into the mix and is now helping me see how to work back from there to make things work while we are gone.  We have a strong team at the clinic and they have been encouragers of us in this project.  They continue to work to help us make this trip a possibility.  I have a physician friend that will be covering the clinic in my absence.  He is mission minded and I have only known him since we decided to sell the clinic and Go.  I am not sure that our paths would have crossed if we had not had “African Missions” as a conversation starter.

What obstacles are you facing?  Your El Guapo is nothing compared to my God!

Jay