As of writing this blog, I will have finished my first week of ministry. Months of preparation and waiting have shifted from the surreal to the real. I’m here in Lira, Uganda adjusting to what life will be like for me in the first year. I’m using squatty-potties daily (if you don’t know what those are, you’re probably better off), taking bucket showers (irregularly), and avoiding getting sick (my teammate JoCelyn has already gotten malaria). Though it feels like we don’t necessarily do a lot during the days, we tend to leave home early and get back after dark. I fall asleep in whatever position my bed catches me. All said, my time here has really been great.
In my free time, I’ve been reading a book called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. It’s all about living a better story. He goes on to explain how many storytelling elements can be applied to making a better story in our real lives. A good story contains characters who do interesting things, take risks, and has a problem that must be overcome. Just about everyone whose life tells a good story has all of those things. Reading this book made me think about my own story I’m telling.
Being on the World Race, my story already has some of those key elements. Certainly, travelling the world and doing ministry in third world countries is interesting. I’ve taken risks in leaving home, income, and friends to enter a world that is a little more dangerous. And there is no greater problem, to me, than offering a hand to those in need. However, I think there is an element of storytelling, that if I miss, might make the World Race a forgettable story. That element, I believe, is sacrifice.
Sacrifice plays a key role in the best of stories. Take for example some of today’s stories. In Interstellar, Matthew McConaughey sacrifices watching his family grow up in the hopes to find answers for Earth’s future. Frodo and Bilbo leave the comfort and peace of the Shire to stop the evil forces of Sauron. I think, to get the most out of the World Race, to grow the most, to tell the best story, this year must be a year of sacrfice. Without it, it would probably look a lot like an extended vacation instead of a missions trip. I’m not entirely sure what sacrifice looks like this year, but I’m keeping my eyes open to see what the Lord has for me (that’s kind of a scary prayer isn’t it? Lord show me what I should sacrifice!).
It’s exciting to be part of a good story. The story I’m telling is really not my own. I’m sharing it with my teammates, with my ministry hosts and partners, and everyone back home who has played a part of my journey here too. It is all our story, seeing what God is doing around the world. Let’s hope and pray it’s told well in 11 months!
