Thursday, January 29, 2015

Here is my answer to why you should go...

I have been getting a lot of questions lately as we have been more purposeful in our discussion about returning to Ethiopia in August. Why go? What do you hope to accomplish? What are your goals? Well, here are my answers. 

I go because that’s what God tells me to do. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27. We are supposed to “visit” them! 

Seeing these children again is not a “project” of mine or something on my “to do” list.
There will not be a sense of accomplishment when I am done with the trip. There will not be a sense of feeling like I finished something. None. The job is too big and the need too great for me to think I can go for 10 days and fix something so broken. But that’s not why I go. 

God has a plan and design for our every encounter. Maybe the 10 days in the van with our driver Solomon, giving him encouragement and hope from other christians, was my only purpose on our last trip. Maybe his determination and peace in his relationship with Jesus was why God sent me. So I could learn from him. What if it was just for Adahnu? When we were leaving her orphanage, I couldn’t find her. She had clutched my hand for the first hour we were there. I saw her rounding a building, I ran to her, picked her up, and swung her around, hugging her just like I do my 9 year old. She was my daughter in that instant. What if it was just for that moment. Isn’t that enough? I think it is. God designs and uses these moments for His glory, and I don’t want to miss any of His divine appointments. The best thing I can offer to God, and to these children, is an open and willing heart. God’s got the rest. He’ll manage the accomplishments. I just need to go!

A friend of mine recently posted this comment, “We live out the mission of our gospel identity not by doing huge, radical things for Jesus, but by doing every small thing for Jesus.” We have no idea on this side of heaven, how some of the simplest interactions are being used by God for His glory. Maybe after whispering to the babies that God loves them, the nanny next to me begins to ask questions about my God. Or who is this Jesus that sent you? Maybe that’s the entire purpose for me being there? I love how you can be so focused and intentional on a mission trip with your efforts and actions, but shouldn’t this be the way we encounter all of our daily interactions? 

Our team doesn't have a huge project to complete, nor do we have some designated time to preach. Our goal is to be in the moment, and open to whatever or wherever God leads our team. To be obedient. Our objective is to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the most basic way. I have no doubt that His will, and His plans will be carried out. They always are. 

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