What if, by our
standards, a vision…an endeavor…or mission fails completely?
Does that deem it a
failure in the eyes of God?
Let’s be honest. This is Expeditions. That means long treks, squeezing into “two man” tents, never enough to
eat… At least, each of us had
thought, myself included. Yes, I
am a leader, but since we’re being honest, when we arrived in Mbeya, Tanzania
after the most lovely weekend drive around the countryside, I was secretly
fuming inside that we were, once again, sleeping in beds. Three months ago when I was added to
this trip, I thought, “How good of you God, to give me my hearts desire.”
You see, I thrive on the classic
adventure. Give me a backpack, a
destination, and some risk, and I will gladly take off walking across whatever
it may be. Expeditions…what better
trip could there be for me?
Naturally, after not being stretched in any physical capacity
whatsoever, up until this point, there is no reason for me to keep secrets from
you and tell you I was not hoping to be sleeping in the bush every night for
the remainder of our trip.
Well, obviously, I had to get
over that when we were fast asleep in beds everynight in the midst of a town
which, in areas, would not be out of place in (As one Tanzanian pastor put
it) The United Of States Of
Amedika. And I did get over
it. But what took a bit more will,
was to surrender our vision of ministry to the Lord.
The church we are working with
here has now had three members pass away since our arrival one week ago. Thus, funeral proceedings and burials
have replaced the crusades and street ministry we originally were planning
for. The result: A lot of time on our hands…A lot of
time and just as much challenge.
The challenge is thus. Think of it in a American setting. If ample time is at your disposal and
you feel led to spend it simply in your room in the presence of your Lord, and
interceding on behalf of those God places on your heart, is that time poorly
spent?
Now, lets change the
perspective. If you are on a trip to
Africa, having felt called to go be the Hands and Feet of Jesus, and you have a
week and a half left to bring kingdom and spread the gospel, and God takes away
all preconceived plans and gives you ample time at your disposal and asks you
to simply just spend time with Him and with others and to intercede on behalf
of some people you just met who have had some death in their life lately… Do
you consider that time well spent?
This has been a lot for me to
mull over, but it will go beyond Africa.
It will go beyond because it is a part of this life. Because of that, there is one question
I am asking myself, and I will ask you.
“If you lost all ability to move,
hear, speak…do you believe God would still use you?”
At the end of each day, even though I am not satisfying my reckless desire to stretch the limits of my human body, my mind and heart are satisfied and overflowing with the unity this team has developed. What God is doing within me is well worth it and I would not trade that for anything. He knows best. Besides, when we get restless, myself and the rest of the fellas just jump over as many plastic chairs as we can manage, until someone wrecks themselves royally.
Appetite for Adventure: sated. TIA
