in the places He has called me this year is sometimes a sobering thing. In one
way, I am a typical short term missionary, traveling around the world,
preaching the gospel and taking part in all kinds of once-of-a-lifetime events.
On the other hand, it is so much more than that…
given me. I am walking down streets that were rivers of blood only 7 years ago.
My neighbor and friend is a strong woman that was pressured into marring a
rebel soldier. The places I work were once the sight of a refugee camp, where
thousands of people were forced to live and were subject to horrible treatment.
Disease ran rampant; women were raped; children were starving and dying. Boys
were forced into the army as child soldiers. Girls became mothers at the age of
14 as a result of lonely and abusive soldiers. Streets were dangerous and life
was horrifying.
Yet I am the one God called to
walk these streets and build these relationships. The streets once filled with
blood and pain are now filled with warm greetings from the locals who are free
to roam. The strong woman with an unwanted marriage now has a beautiful
daughter whose name means “Blessing,” and she truly lives up to that calling.
The old refugee camp is now home to several beautiful families who welcome me
in with open arms and several cups of tea. Boys who were once abused,
neglected, and forced into lives of warfare now play soccer every afternoon on
a playground behind the school. And the unwanted children of teenage girls now
lead songs in church during Sunday school.
Life isn’t perfect. But out of the despair, hope is found. Lives are being reborn, renewed, and restored. And little ol’ me gets to be a witness of the works taking place here by our Amazing God.
