Ethiopia. Amazing as always. I always struggle with putting these experiences to words. I often find myself in the hours following my return, with the silly answer of, “Yeah, it was a great trip.” On this trip however God struck me with the importance of sharing my stories, of using my voice. A little time for digestion is always necessary, but I intend on speaking and sharing as often as I can about what the LORD has accomplished over these last two weeks. Mostly because what He did was something only He could accomplish, and nothing I had any power to do. He deserves all the glory, and lots of it. So here is an attempt at a first taste. It’s a bit raw, unedited, and written in a bus, on a dirt road in Africa, but I pray it serves as a window to my heart. God told me to share, so I trust He has a reason. Enjoy…
The call is clear. It holds no stipulations and has no contingency plans. It just is: GO! The eyes of children, affected by hunger and poverty and suffering of every kind and yet still so full of joy, beckon. The women, who work harder than anyone could imagine and yet are often left uneducated and unvoiced, call out. The men, who work relentlessly to provide and are often left in poverty praying their families survive, cry out from the depths of their souls. Come. Help. In their eyes the call is clearer than ever. Go! The call, which is echoed out, to the expanse of eternity from the aching depths of desperate souls now needs an answer. A plea for someone, anyone to answer back. I’m coming… In that answer joy is found. Hope is promised. Hearts are bound. Love is poured out without limitations or regrets. Sufferings, trials, and tears may not be banished forever by this answer, but momentarily they are overwhelmed by something greater. Hope. It is this hope mixed with love and truth, which changes the world. It is this blend that is set to shake the foundations and change lives forever. So as the journey moves forward under this banner of truth and love that call continues ringing out to the farthest corners of creation. Until finally it comes, the thing longed for since the beginning. Here I am… Comfort has no place here. Only obedience. In this answer lives, necessities, and love are redefined. In this moment everything has more meaning. Now nothing matters but the call, the people, the answer, and the actions it produces. With those three words, so easy yet so complex, nothing will ever be the same. Adventure, love, suffering, and joy wait. And I would never choose anything else. Here I am…
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