Uganda 2013 - Some Final Thoughts...

After two-and-a-half weeks of traveling, we are back to Wichita.

Saturday evening, we bid our farewells to the Stevensons and all those who work alongside them and make each visit an enjoyable one. Michael, Phillip, Thomas, Godfrey, Sande (pronounced Sunday), Moses, Christine, Beatrice, Lancy, Mary, and so many more.  Why is East Africa, Uganda in particular, so compelling to us?  Why must we go back?

Seriously, it's a good question.

Why go to Africa, 10,000 miles away, when there is so much to do for those so much closer?  Why endure a trip there of over 30 hours and a trip back - with delays - that lasted 60 hours for two of our team?  Why suffer from the "African Massage" that comes from bouncing along dirt roads that grow potholes like Bermuda grass in Kansas?  Why risk so much and do all of this for a people so far away?

Here are some thoughts to consider before your next opportunity to go.

Christ has called us to be His "witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). These concentric circles for the disciples/apostles so long ago apply differently to us today.

For me, the question of where and how we serve in this context is not an either/or decision - do we travel far or stay close? - but a both/and decision.

Your "Jerusalem", the city you call home, might be Wichita, Kansas. Or, Windsor, Colorado.  Or, East Canton, Ohio. Or, Kampala, Uganda.  It is wherever God has placed you.  Continuing in the same way, your "Judea" might be a nearby metropolitan area, or the state or province you live in. Then, "Samaria" might be across your country or to a neighboring country.  And,  your "ends of the earth" might be Russia, India, Belgium, Indonesia, Peru, or East Africa and Uganda.

Leadership within the church has the responsibility to lay these concentric circles atop a vision for missions - being a witness for Christ and "of His resurrection" (Acts 1:22).  And, as leadership in our church (and wherever God calls me) has chosen Africa, specifically Uganda, to represent "the ends of the earth", then I have the privilege and responsibility to support that mission whether personally (as I am able, for not all are able to physically go) or financially or through other acts of service as needed by those who do go.

As an aside, this Greek word for witness (martus) is the same word from which we get our word martyr.  Then, could another way to think of what it means to be a witness for Christ is to witness as a martyr for Christ (see Acts 22:20)?

We demonstrate our repentance (Acts 26:20) and response to Christ's love for us when we obey His command to care for the least of His brothers (see Matthew 24:31-46). And, when I state "least", I'm defining those in need - not that we are any better, but that we are able to help.

We live by faith (Gal. 2:20) as we obey His call to put our comfort aside (Luke 9:23) and see the world through the eyes of our brothers and sisters in a way we could not otherwise see.  Many, myself included, struggled to go that first time.  We asked the same questions of God, "Why there? Why now? Why me?".  But once we experience through our own senses the cultural vertigo that happens in such a different world, we are jolted into the reality that it's never about us.  It's about the One who calls us to be His - together with a people very different yet so alike to ourselves.  Then, once we've experienced it, we want to go back - again and again.

Lastly, we demonstrate an intentional love for others (John 13:34-35) as we lay our lives down (John 15:13) even in small ways and reach out to embrace others in Christ's Name.

As I was getting onto the bus to leave, I spoke with Michael who works with the Stevensons.  A quiet man in his 20s (I think) with a ready smile, he reminded me of a sermon I gave years before on a previous trip about love and how he still remembers it.  He, like the rest of us, yearn for love. The love Christ offers and commands of those who follow Him is like no other.

And, I suppose, the nub of why we do anything of eternal value is love - from Christ, for Christ, and for others, in His Name.

The next opportunity is coming in 2014 for those at Central.  Two teams. Two churches. Two unforgettable experiences.  And, changed lives all around.

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