Interrupted

The Lord is showing me that we have a choice... we have a choice to live by the Spirit and testify to the Gospel in word and deed, or we have a choice to settle in, be comfortable and look like the culture around us. Too often, I fall into the latter category - how am I any different? But the Lord is reminding me of a new way - an uncomfortable yet so much more rewarding way - the way of Matthew 25:31-45. It's time for a new generation of believers to really "get it" and begin living out our faith in tangible ways.... not because we are saved by such deeds, but because by our faith we have been called to action (James 2:14-26).

I want my life to be Interrupted, interrupted by a calling to step out of the American Dream and start caring for others more than myself. To be different for the cause of Christ because Christ gave it all for me! I have a feeling the Lord is preparing me for just that as Mr. McGoo and I raise support, prepare, and look forward to our mission trip to Ethiopia with great expectation. We are being blown away by the provision of our Father! We knew he would provide through ministry partners, yet He continues to blow our expectations out of the water! Check out our fundraising thermometer to the right!!! What a testimony to our God and how BIG HE IS! God is good and we're so encouraged by the prayers and financial support we've already received. The Lord is truly building a ministry partnership for us and we are so thankful for those who are joining "Team Ethiopia". God is definitely showing up and showing off!

To testify of some folks that are definitely GETTING IT and being spurred on by the Spirit, I have provided an amazing blog post below. Sarah is a friend of a friend who has just returned from a 10 day medical mission trip to Haiti. Her boldness and vulnerability below encourages me and yet challenges me. If you click the title of her blog post, it will link you to her blog. Check out this incredible reflection. Praise God for those walking the walk and talking the talk!

Dear All, Reflections from Haiti 2010

I’ve had a very difficult time talking about Haiti since I returned. I don’t know how to answer questions...especially the vague ones like “How was your trip?”. I just don’t even know where to start. It was so big and powerful. It was so heart wrenching and life changing. It was too significant to respond to that question with a one-word answer like “good” or “great”. I just can’t sell it short like that. From the moment I sat down in my seat on the flight back to the states from Port au Prince I wept. I didn’t cry...I wept. I wanted to stay. There was just so much left to do, so much left undone. I love Haiti. I love Haiti’s people. I love Haiti’s desire to rebuild. I want to help Haiti rebuild. Ten days was just not enough. But for now, ten days is what I have. I walked away with the best ten days that I have lived in a long time. I walked away with the best ten days that I have loved in a long time. I learned to love in Haiti, a real love like Christ offers, an unconditional, radical, crazy love. So what am I bringing back from Haiti? A sense of freedom. Freedom from the American dream. Wreckage of the disgusting idea I used to have of what success looks like. Abandonment of the desire for wealth and the idea that material things will fix us or fulfill us. I could go on and on, but I will keep this relatively short. I want to paint you a picture of Haiti even though I can't possibly accurately explain it to you. The images I have witnessed were painful, reassuring, and uplifting all at the same time. The heartbreak I saw was widespread across an entire country. If I could make you feel the touch of an orphans hands on my face, an innocent child whose parents are somewhere below the rubble of a building, I would do it. I want to show you picture after picture of a country destroyed, 300,000 homes flattened, the small amount of industry they did have in piles of concrete along every street but yet an incredible nation of people who still long for rebirth and renewal. Since I’ve been home I’ve thought so many times of my Haitian friend who lost his family in the earthquake. After escaping a collapsed building he ran home to find his house in crumbles. There among the rubble was the tips of his brother’s fingers. He dug up his brother’s and sister’s cold bodies from the mess that was once his home and right now he is ministering to his people. Feeding them, clothing them, and blessing them. The rug has been pulled from under the nation of Haiti. Every meaningful monument and symbol of hope has collapsed alongside 200,000 Haitian lives. I can't help you smell the bodies of those buried beneath The Cathedral in Port au Prince as they were praying to God, but I can provide the imagery to help you understand the urgency. I can't help you understand disasters, nor can I say that I understand them. All I know is that when disasters like Haiti occur it's an opportunity to wake up and serve, a chance to be the hands and feet of Christ today. We are asked to make disciples of nations. We are asked to serve in the land that we are given. We are asked to give up control. Control of our hands, our money, our time, and our future plans. Why are we so hesitant to do this? Maybe because there is something to be said for “having it together” in America. Well, Haiti has taught me to break free from these expectations. I don't want my plans. I want God’s plans. How can we be okay with self indulgence when there are infants being left in dumpsters to die? How can we be okay with living for self when there is over a million people sleeping in tent cities without food and water? Isn’t time to take care of each other and love each other like Christ has loved? After leaving Haiti, I have returned with ten days of memories, amazing friendships, and millions of reasons why it makes so much sense to live a crazy radical life of love like my Savior, Jesus Christ.

God Bless.
SarahJane