MISSIO DEI

There is a trip scheduled in less than two months and I don't mind telling you, I'm excited, scared and a little overwhelmed. This is a heart changing adventure that will push my discomfort line way back but I am beginning to believe staying uncomfortable may hold the secret to joy and all things worth experiencing.
 

I can count my plane trips on one hand but when a friend asked if I would be willing to go to Uganda with a team to meet and serve some beautiful people, my heart didn't hesitate. I came home and talked to the hubs and kids who were immediate cheerleaders. I've spent little time away from my kids, two days max but there was a peace that we would be OK. We prayed and listened and a few weeks later, we were planning!

Through planning this trip together, my family has discovered more about the character of God.  We have learned about making disciples, how to give and how to love. We have learned how alike the human race is and how we can truly make  a difference in the life of another, even in those across the globe.

 

On this journey, I will have the opportunity to fight mosquitoes as big as humming birds (so I've been told), make new friends, spend time with  the Lord and see what it looks like to live in a country where the average yearly income is $490 U.S. dollars. Perhaps the most exciting thing is to go into homes and make connections with real people in a foreign land, debilitated by war, poverty and disease yet experience Jesus, reconciliation and restoration in the middle of it.  I will get to meet Whitney, a child our family sponsors from Agape Home in Kampala,  and all the vulnerable and abandoned children who have found life through the Gospel and the ministry at Agape. I will get to meet their caregivers, like Joseph, who is pouring out his life for these kids because of  his love for Jesus. We hope to travel to Ammani Baby Cottage  in Jinja where hundreds of  babies have been rescued and are awaiting adoption. We will be serving in a medical clinic, sponsored by many of you that will touch hundreds of  people that would not receive care if  it wasn't for those willing to give. Many of you have supported the travel financially and donated other items. I am grateful for your heart that is already tender to showing grace and  mercy. 

When we experience and understand the grace, mercy and forgiveness we have received through Christ, we long to extend it to everyone else. Proud of you Church!

 Everyone is not able to travel to Africa, so I invite you to come with me  through this spot on the web. I'm not sure how the Internet connection will be in Uganda, but hopefully  I will be able to communicate and process my experience on this blog while I'm there so that you can see a glimpse

into a world far away. I pray that I will share the stories of the people well, celebrate their spirit and advocate as their friend and sister.

A disclaimer may need to be posted because, once I go and my eyes see and I touch what I've only read about...I can't pretend it doesn't exist anymore. Once you come and hear, you can't pretend you don't know.

For a precious handful of you, this is so junior varsity. After all, it's only 10 days and I'm not quiting my job, selling my home and moving to another country. Some of you have obediently pulled up your lives to serve God in countries that are in great despair, in need or even under persecution. You joyfully serve  to make Jesus known and carry the message of Salvation. Some of you are obediently staying and extending compassion to the lost and needy right outside your door. I am thankful that God works in big and small ways and in the seen and unseen.  I have been blessed to meet so many  faithful servants. God uses pastors and church staff but there is also the rest of us;  construction workers, nurses, teachers, students, stay-at-home moms, retirees, children, business men and waitresses who have been  changed by God's grace to full-time missionaries without changing professions or addresses.



I believe this trip will be life changing and  an important part of discipleship but Missio Dei, the latin term for "mission of God", does not begin or end with this mission trip. Short term, home and international missions can be part of God's mission but if I believe this is to be "it", I would be missing the mark.

I am going to Uganda on mission but Uganda is not THE mission.

 Living on mission is loving Jesus Christ so much  to trust Him and  willing to hand over our lives,  convinced God has created us to make His glory known to all nations.  It's praying and expecting the Holy Spirit to stir up in everyday opportunities the extraordinary act of making disciples.  It's living in expectation of divine interruptions in our day to participate in  His mission to restore and heal creation. Not because we are special  but because we are willing.
 

"I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to Your Word." Luke 1:38

Through intentionally seeking relationships with  the physically and spiritually hungry,  and by demonstrating compassion we tangibly reflect what God has already done for us in Christ. There are many people seeking answers. Many times, if you hang around long enough, eventually the conversation turns to God  and you will find yourself with seekers engaging in deep spiritual conversations. Many conversations turn to spiritual matters by being sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is doing in someones life and just being available to share  LIFE and share JESUS.
 

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Mat. 28:16-20

 Living out making disciples is not just a mission trip for 10 days, it is a lifelong walk of obedience.

 It's amazing when you think about the people that Jesus entrusted with His mission of making disciples; fishermen, tax collectors,  murderers,  a prostitute, a tent maker, a sales lady.  How about that for a church planter's core group?  The least likely people, Jesus came in and changed their life and they lived  in complete abandon to God. You don't need to have some amazing skill or unusual hook. You don't need to be a pastor with a book deal or a social justice wannabe with a blog. You don't need to be a dynamic communicator or charismatic  to make disciples. Disciple making is not another  program or committee for a special breed of Christian.  Disciple making is for every Christian and  takes place many times every week in the context of the everyday. Men, women and children, full of the Spirit, following Jesus' example to share, show and demonstrate the Kingdom of God. It is not easy, but it is simple.
 

Then Jesus said to his disciples,"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Matt. 16:24

 Friends, I am thankful for each of you and the privilege to share the journey to Uganda with you. But far greater than that would be to share the journey of faith in Jesus Christ and to give our lives away in  love, for the mission of God to the glory of God. He is worthy!

"If Christ is raised from the dead, we risk it all, losing what we cannot keep to gain what we cannot lose. That is not foolish. That is common sense."


*I'm taking a blog break to hug on my kids more before the trip. See you in a few weeks!