Over 50 million orphans live in the continent of Africa, and studies show that 28 of the poorest countries in the world are in Africa. Undoubtedly these statistics will put us at a loss for words. I can’t captivate the reality of such poverty in our world today, but it brings me to put my questioning aside, and just believe in the character of God and what He has done in the gospel. It means for me just doing the only thing I know to do, respond.
It was the year 2012 when I heard about the World Race. I was a sophomore in college. Living the college life, I thought “Who would be crazy enough to do something like that, fundraising and going to all those countries?” Now 5 years later, I classify myself in the crazy category…(Although most would say I always was)
A few months back, when I told my parents about the World Race, their response was nothing out of the ordinary. What if this, and what if that? were their questions. I didn’t have the answers for them, but just knew this burden on my heart was to go. It made me reflect on the same burden on my soul in 2014 to go on mission to Africa. Grateful that God provided, that mission trip drastically changed my life.
I never completely understood what poverty was until I went to the most unreached parts in Africa. While there, my team and were able to speak of the gospel and the love of Christ to those that had never heard it before. Every night, we had meetings where many people from the village would gather. I distinctly remember one night, a girl named Mary whom I had befriended for a few days approached me with a letter.
In the letter, Mary described her life. She stated that she was in high school, her family was very poor, and recently she lost her brother and her father. At the end of her letter, she left me with a request. She didn’t ask me for money or anything else but the one and only thing she asked for was a Bible.
“It was then that I realized the children were not the ones in poverty….I was.”
The poverty of the soul. Even though I had everything I needed and wanted in life, none of that mattered when I realized Mary, a girl who didn’t have much, had so much. She had a deep desire to know God. This moved me to have that same level of desire for God. Something that is tangible will never satisfy my soul, but Jesus always will.
This memory will never escape my mind. This is why I stand speechless. Speechless for the people, the countries, and most importantly God. I stand in awe of how He took me to Africa before, and how He is bringing me back. I am humbled, and honored to serve them and to reach the unreached with the great news of Jesus Christ.
“In Christ, we have found something worth losing everything for.”
(David Platt sermon: Don’t waste your life)
