Preparation for this trip has been hard to describe to others but here’s my best analogy. Rollercoasters!! Steel or wooden, it’s the ultimate thrill ride!! So, imagine the feelings as you approach the long line, moving up and down the rows, waiting and waiting. You have a chance to talk to people along the way but nothing too involved because you really don't know what to expect and can’t really see anything yet BUT you can hear the excitement (terror or joy??) and noise of the coaster. In your head, you imagine what all the twists and turns will feel like but you don’t dwell on it too long. That pretty much sums up the months leading up to this trip. Lots of waiting, talking to others for comfort, encouragement and to share the purpose of the trip. At the same time, trying to not let my emotions run ahead of me.
As I finally reach the front of the line and can see the ride, as well as those that have gone before me, I experience the anxiety, fear and joy all rolled into one giant emotiom AND I realize, it’s MY turn. It's amazing how quickly a group of strangers have now become your best friends and family as you're getting strapped in and listening to the final safety requirements. That’s describes where I am now. Receiving final instructions, prayers and encouragement from our church leadership and congregation; reviewing the safety requirements from our receiving missionaries, family and friends and the TSA; and resting in God’s word to calm myself as I prepare for the opportunity of a lifetime.
When I come to the end of the ride, I’m always a mix of tears and exhilaration with the intense desire to run back to the start of the line and do it all over again. Sounds crazy? So does this trip to some people. This makes my second trip to Africa and I’ve been given another opportunity to “do it all over again”. However, this time I will enter Africa differently…as an ambassador of Christ, better equipped to share and defend the cause of Christ and seeking to work, serve and learn alongside the people I encounter.
2 Corinthians 5: 14-15, 20: “For Christ love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”; We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us…”
Just to reinforce my analogy :>): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpcOdefYGcU&feature=player_embedded
Next posting…somewhere between Chicago and Brussels. Happy 4th of July!!
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