Life Changing

One year, one month and eighteen days ago I went to Africa.

We always hear stories about the lives of people in third world countries and about how hard their lives are just making it from day to day.

We hear about extreme poverty and about the hardships of living with little food or access to medical care and medicine.

It’s very hard to imagine all of it from the comfort of our homes.

I mean, it’s impossible really. There was no real point of reference for me because of the life that I’ve lived since my birth in the United States of America. I have always had a loving family, a home, clothing, the best medical care and an opportunity to have 3 meals a day.

From that context it’s extremely hard to relate to the fact that children live in dirt huts with few clothes, little running water and with AIDS running rampant in their homes, communities and sometimes in their own little bodies.

 

And then you go.

And… well, it’s just real.

The stories are true.

The faces are precious and the hearts are tender and in need of love and hope that someone genuinely cares about their needs… especially their need for Jesus.

There are people that are there

who are telling them about Christ. They are working and sacrificing a life with many luxuries to live among the people of Africa. Their hearts are for the people who might not know the truth were it not for their obedience to go and tell them.

It will be an honor for me to return to Africa in October of this year. My prayer is that we will be able to minister to these who are living a life that is very different from the lives they’ve always known. I am praying that our team of ten will be able to encourage their hearts and come along side them in a time of refreshment for both the missionary parents and kids!

If you are around a person in need or who is not well for very long you know the kind of toll it can take on you mentally, physically and spiritually. It’s extremely hard to see suffering and to know that there’s very little that you can do to solve all of the issues at hand. You need help!  You need resources and finances and support.

As the church, we HAVE to be those things to those who are taking such strong steps of faith to choose to live in those conditions daily. We may not be able to do everything, but we CAN do something.

I love that our church has taken on the mentality and mission to live according to God’s Word and to LIVE SENT every day. Our ministers are challenging us to look beyond ourselves and to see the needs around us in our community and around the world.

Something happens to you when you begin to live in a way that gets your eyes off of yourself. So much of it involves the realization that your life REALLY isn’t so bad. Other things that come to light… you have so much to offer, when you know Christ you have hope that transcends even the hardest of circumstances and the things of this world become very small in the light of His glorious grace.