So here we are. End of month 1 already. Ministry is over in Zambia, we are packing bags, cleaning our areas, and getting ready to head to our first debrief. It has been an interesting month, one full of challenges and revelations.
During this month, I've finished reading A Million miles in a Thousand Years by Don Miller and am almost finished reading Love Does by Bob Goff. Both are inspiring books about living a better story, avoiding a meaningless life, embracing a life of whimsy and taking risks. During the last 3 weeks of ministry and living here in Zambia, I've faced my fear of ministry, lived in closer community than ever before, experienced a whirlwind of new experiences and other fun challenges. During some off days, we traveled to Livingstone, Zambia where we visited the Victoria Falls. Our time there was truly incredible, but in the process, left my tablet computer on the bus. That, in itself, was a huge challenge for me. Back in the States, I would have really taken that loss hard and I would have let it affect me more than it should. Here in Zambia, I really realized there wasn't anything I could do to change the situation, so I rolled with the punches. I now have a replacement, so it isn't even that big of a deal.
I chose to not let a simple mistake rob me of God's joy and distract me from adventure. And by adventure, I don't mean just visiting cool places like Victoria Falls, but also the adventure of doing ministry… the adventure of life and all the uncertainty it holds. The adventure of living on Africa Time, not knowing exactly when you'll wake up, when you'll head to your ministry site, when you'll be done, when you'll eat, when you'll go to bed, etc. Zambians are "event oriented" people, whereas Americans are "time oriented". Life in America is very fast paced and adheres to a strict schedule. In Africa, as long as any given event actually takes place and is executed through to completion, the people here really don't care what the clock says. For me, schedule is nice, but it has really been something to not set an alarm, get up when I get up, and be ready for whatever the Lord has for the day, no matter what that may be.
Saying yes to adventure isn't always easy, and more often than not, adventure with God involves some level of risk. You have to be willing to sacrifice something. In A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Don Miller talks a lot about story and how characters must go through conflict, inciting incidents, and positive and negative turns in order to reach their goals. But so many people go through life with a "next time" mentality, or they want a life of adventure and risk, but when they are in the thick of it, back away because it ended up being harder than they thought.
A life of adventure with Jesus is a huge risk, and requires great sacrifice. It also requires a lot of obedience too. Obedience is hard, because it inherently means that we give up some or all control to a given situation, and I know humans, in general, have a hard time with that. We like to be in control and we like to be independent. I think a lot of people associate obedience with maybe slavery, where you don't have choices. But obedience in God doesn't mean a life without freedom, it rather guarantees freedom. You aren't limited to some predetermined schedule for your life that you must adhere to. God wants you to ask yourself, "What is it that you love to do?" and God wants to do that with you, whatever that may be. Dream big, but don't be afraid to live those dreams. Don't be afraid to fail, because you will fail at some point. Instead of being afraid of failing at a life with God, be afraid of not trying a life with God.
