Recently, I spoke with several members of the OBC African Missions Team who traveled to Ethiopia at the end of March. I was writing an article for the GO Journal and wanted to share their stories. Hearing stories from a mission trip is always inspiring and convicting. I've been hearing these stories on a fairly regular basis for a year and a half now. Each time I listen to these Spirit-breathed moments, I'm reminded that God calls us to go. Not just some of us. He calls us all to go. We should be attuned to these moments that God has laid before us, whether it's to travel overseas or cross the street in our neighborhood. As for the article, I believe that from conception to submission it was an answer to one of the quiet and constant prayers of my heart.
When Cindy Kittler, who edits the GO Journal, and I brainstormed the subject matter for the article, the initial idea was to compile short testimonies from several of the mission team members into one article. What came of that effort was a bit of a snowball effect. I sent out an email to all the team members, a few responded, I sat and spoke with Columbus Heard, spoke with Pastor Rex Bonar on the phone, then spoke in person with Paulos Assefa, sat in on their reflective meeting....quite honestly, it could have gone on and on. I had to call it quits and just write the article. In the process of trying to wrap my head around everything that happened in Ethiopia, my heart was so deeply moved. It was more than just being inspired, I felt drawn in. I wanted to know more and more. I became consumed with the work that had been and could still be done in Ethiopia. And I was inspired by our brothers and sisters in Christ who traveled to do the work.
I couldn't include all the stories that I heard into the GO Journal article. No doubt those that I heard were still only a fraction of what happened in Ethiopia. Columbus Heard shared some of his experiences with me. Only weeks earlier, he had been separated from these people by a vast ocean, yet God eliminated that barrier and built intimate moments through his grace and love - and the willingness of this man to go. By the power of the Holy Spirit, they spoke of agape love over food in one family's house. He talked with a man about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while he was at his workplace. He bought them Bibles with the understanding that they would read it, study it, and share it. He discovered the compassion of the Ethiopian people in the marketplace when they wouldn't take money from a man who appeared to be mute. Columbus walked the streets as he felt led by the Spirit, and God was glorified. What I learned from the stories Columbus shared is that the Spirit leads where there is need - in unexpected, unplanned moments. God displays that He is sovereign in any and every moment. To be a part of the work we need only put ourselves aside. Then miraculous things happen in the small moments. God's saving work does not occur on our schedule. He will reach His children wherever they are, whenever they are, right where they are.
I have been continually moved by the spirit of Paulos Assefa, for his great love for Christ and vision for helping the people of his homeland. He has said little about himself in the short time that I have known him, yet his life speaks volumes above his words. Time and time again he has made decisions for him and his family based on his faith in Christ. I love hearing about moments when a person decides to just go, regardless of resources or understanding and without a plan or a roadmap. They just get in the car and see where the Spirit leads them. In a moment like that, Paulos found himself at OBC. He was an answer to a prayer; a connection to Ethiopia. His humility and faith have made him clay in the Potter's hands. When I first spoke with him, he said, "I'm nothing aside from God, so why should I worry?...If it is God's will, then it will happen." I imagine that if Paulos reads this article, he may be embarrassed because I have written so much about him. However, his life, as it demonstrates his faith, spoke loudly to me about stepping out a limb based on your trust in God and not your own vision or understanding. God's faithfulness is evident in Paulos' life, and through that God is glorified.
As I sat in on the team's reflective meeting on May 17th, it struck me how writing the article for the GO Journal had been more of a journey than an assignment. I felt as though I had been led through the story, rather than having chased it. In the last couple of years as my faith has become so much more about Christ and less about me, it is apparent that the opportunity to go - whether overseas or across the street - is more of a privilege than a duty. By the beautiful ministry of reconciliation are we saved. To this ministry we are called. It is a divine task laid out to an undeserving people by the grace and Almighty hand of God. Amazingly, our loving and faithful God goes before us to prepare those whom He will redeem. I can think of no task greater, no task more deserving, and no privilege more humbling.
The OBC African Missions Team is comprised of some wonderful souls. I'm inspired by the way God moves through their lives and the way they yield themselves to God's will. I still cannot appropriately tell their stories in such a small amount of space. For me, the journey that began and concluded with the article was only an introduction. I recognized that this was an answer to a prayer. In short, I had been asking God to be a part of missions work for over a year but wasn't sure how I could be used or how it would be possible to be involved - so I gladly joined the team, and though I have no idea what my role will be, if it is God's will then it will happen.
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