My communication with God is often about what I believe is needed right now. A recent trip to provide technical help for a radio broadcast partner in Peru reminded me that God is carrying out a long-term plan that he came up with a long, long time ago.
With 31 years of experience under my belt using technology to help advance the gospel worldwide, I was pleased to find a close-knit group of national believers who share my passion and are working at a ministry with which I was unfamiliar. Peru is where I grew up. However, I have not lived in Peru for 40 years and had not visited in over 20. Many memories have faded.
I listened intently as the national director of this exciting outreach shared how God is working through them to produce audio and visual formats of the Scriptures in many indigenous languages of Peru. As he spoke, the man started to look vaguely familiar, even though I had never met him before. I interrupted his story and said, “What did you tell me your last name is? Do you have a relative that looks a lot like you and has a name that sounds like ‘Segundo’?”
“Well, that would be my dad!” he replied. I nearly leapt out of my seat. His dad taught me the basics of radio electronics when I was just a teenager and set me on a path to formal training. My new friend Jaime beamed, “Well, my dad has served the Lord his entire life with his technical gifts. He was trained by a faithful missionary who invested in him.” The Lord has graciously used my technical skills to bring his powerful word to literally millions of people globally during my career. While in Peru, I received a glimpse of God’s intricate, long-term plans, which have made this possible. These plans involved at least three generations of technical ministry workers. In Isaiah 55:10 we are told that our God is the God who knows the end from the beginning!
Written by David Russell, February 2022