When I read back over my posts from this past week, there were a lot of ordinary things going on. Meals, travel, work, sleep or lack thereof. Sure, some of these were outside of my normal routines. I don't often travel on trains, eat fou fou, or install solar power systems. But these differences are really quite minor in the bigger picture. What is extraordinary is that these ordinary things touched eternity.

By this I am not saying that Bob, Peg, Ndokobai, or I somehow leveraged these things for eternity. Quite the contrary. The things we did were ordinary. The eternal impact is God's work—not ours. But touching that eternal impact is a profound experience. It's hard to describe.

It's humbling. It's sanctifying. It's redemptive. It's exhilarating. It's fulfilling. It's worship.

I'm reminded of one of my favorite verses, Romans 12:1: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." From God's perspective, our physical abilities and availabilities in service for His purposes have spiritual implications. What an amazing truth!

In my position as President of Wycliffe Associates, I am involved in a host of activities that are behind-the-scenes preparations, long-term, and far removed by both time and distance from the point of impact of God's Word. I believe that Romans 12:1 is as true for all of this work as it is for the work I did in Cameroon this past week. But the impact on me personally is very different!

Connecting with the Pana, Tchouvok, and Mofu-Gudur translation teams is a trip to spiritual ground zero. These communities are where the power of God's Word is being unleashed word by word, verse by verse, story by story, truth by truth, and heart by heart! The power of God's Word has changed the Mofu-Gudur people for eternity. It was inspiring to feel their energy, commitment, and momentum. God's Word is empowering them, and they are thirsty for more. The Tchouvok are surrounded by overwhelming odds, but God's Word is overcoming those odds and reaching them. The Pana are just getting started, filled with holy anticipation. They've seen a flash of Light, and they are racing toward Him!

And ordinary people like us get to offer a word of encouragement, a prayer, a tool or two, a handshake or embrace, a smile, a piece of our time —and touch eternity.

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