Hey guys,
I just made it to the Atlanta Airport where my flight is scheduled to leave at 6:45 tomorrow morning. From here I’ll have layovers in New York and Miami before flying to Ecuador. If all goes well, my team should arrive in Ecuador around 8:00 p.m. After that, we’ll have a 7 hour bus ride to Portoviejo, so yes, it’s going to be a long day.
I’m not going to lie, right now I feel uneasy. I don’t feel afraid of the dangers of the trip but instead of the uncertainty that comes with it. At this point, I kind of feel like a contestant on an old fashion gameshow that has won several items and the host gives him an opportunity to trade them in for what’s behind door number 1. As of now, I could walk away, I could catch a plane back to Indiana, my parents could pick me up from the airport, we could get a Skyline on the way home, I could watch the Colt’s game on Sunday, and I could leave for Ann Arbor that night. On Monday, I could go to class and work towards a degree that will land me a top job right out of college. If I left now, I could return to a life where money would never be a problem, where I have absolutely everything I need and nearly everything I want, and of course, where I could do my part for the Kingdom of God my going to church weekly and giving back my 10%.
Or I could step through the door to Ecuador. This is where the above analogy starts to fall apart because I do have some idea what lies behind. Our first ministry is a garbage dump ministry. So, for the next month, I could return to my old life back home, or I could go work at a garbage dump for a month. The fact that I would even consider stepping through that door is crazy. Now some do-gooders may argue, “But you’ll be helping people!” But when you think about it, who cares! I don’t know these people. I have never met them before, and I will probably never see them again after this month. There is absolutely no Earthly reason for me to go through that door.
It gets worse! Not only am I willingly choosing to live out of a backpack in developing nations for a year, but I’m doing it so I can tell complete strangers that 2000 years ago a carpenter from the Middle East who often hung out with prostitutes and fishermen was crucified so that everyone could be reunited with the Creator of the Universe. That’s insane! Especially, when I add in that this carpenter is the absolute only way to eternal salvation and that without him, there is no hope. That’s not just crazy, that’s certifiable!
But, it could be worse. It would be even crazier to believe that and do nothing about it. If I believe that Jesus gave his life for me and is the path to salvation, I have to be willing to do whatever I can to extend His Kingdom and to do everything in my power to help others to know him. So, where do I stand? I guess I am crazy enough to follow Christ, but not nearly crazy enough to walk away. It’s time to walk through the door.
God Bless and Go Blue,
Chance
