I hopped into my ride this morning, realizing that I’m starting to get into something that resembles a morning routine. I hate when I realize stuff like that. Luckily for me, about three minutes later Joshua stepped up into the cab. It’s always enjoyable to have a change of pace, and I was excited to see Joshua and hopefully get the chance to get to know him a little better. He started volunteering with the home and the church a little over a month after I left last time, so this place has quickly become his home too.
Joshua is a student and has basically been assigned to Mt Moriah to help out with the children’s home, the church, and the Saturday Awana program. He longs to be a pastor one of these days and his mentor thought it would be a good idea for him to spend time on our site, learning from Pastor Larry and some of the other men around. He’s coming to train to be a pastor, but he’s doing much more than that. It’s really almost like an apprenticeship, just without the coffee runs.
I asked Joshua what the tasks were for today and he told me about his project to build steps from the dining hall to the church. As of now, there is a steep, probably 25 foot incline between the two, and while it’s a ton of fun (and a little dangerous) to go down, it’s nearly impossible to get up. We cut some makeshift steps for a temporary fix, but Joshua’s task is to make it a permanent solution. So for the last week, and probably the next two to come, he’s cutting permanent steps into a hill, along with assisting the skilled laborers when they need to mix cement (with just shovels, no mixer), haul cinder blocks, or displace gravel.
As I heard Joshua talk about all that he has been doing with the church, I couldn’t help but think of the Karate Kid. These tasks seem so menial and unimportant, that I’m sure Joshua gets a little frustrated at times. In fact, I asked him if he did. He just laughed it off and said, “Anything for God.” It’s cool to hear Joshua say this because he’s still very young. I tried to compare him to guys his age in the States that want to be pastors. Many of them are in seminary, studying under some of the premier theological professors in the world. I don’t know many of them that are spending the hottest months of the year, cutting steps into the side of a hill day in and day out.
At times, I feel like we’re in such a rush to accomplish something. Now, I’m not even talking about the worldly side or the American Dream, I’m talking about church people. Those of us that are called to full time ministry, we love to just step into ministry and do things now. There’s rarely anytime to just learn, serve, or be a “peon” (probably not the best term, but it serves the purpose). We think that because we are a charismatic leader with great ideas or big dreams that we can just step into them. Meanwhile, we let the arrogance and the pride grow to be an even more dominating force in our lives. How is that serving the people?
Now, I do want to live with an urgency because I’m not promised tomorrow, but some things still take time. I’m a work in progress, and like Joshua, I’m excited for the chance to just serve. Anything for God…
