Here we go again. I’m going back to Uganda. Back to family, back on mission, back to the warmth I crave all year long. Each trip is very different and very much the same. Something about this part, the planning and sharing the journey that always gets me. I have mixed emotions every time. It’s not easy to leave, and yet it’s harder not to. It’s living in the tension of going and waiting, planning and packing, taking in and giving out, all at the same time.
Our pastor preached on Matthew 28:18-20 this last weekend and he said, “GO and KEEP GOING.” I felt God was speaking directly to us. Sometimes I see some raised eyebrows about our trips to Uganda. When I heard the words, “Go and keep going,” I felt God was giving a pep talk, a locker room team hoorah, not a lecture. I love going, I love getting to keep getting out on that field and playing my part. It’s not a one-time thing, to get it out of your system. Going is something that gets in your heart, and it beats differently. There is no going back; just go and keep going.
Go and Keep Going
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Mixed Feelings
Part of the mixture of feelings is that it’s hard to leave. It’s hard work and it’s expensive. We have counted the cost every time and it’s worth every hour and dime spent. My prayer is for it to be the norm for the next generations to go to the nations and see and enjoy this beautiful planet God has given us and to love people from all over that world, not just in pictures and stories, but in relationships that will last for eternity.
Our mission journey started with God giving Lashae the desire and courage to go, and now we hope to pass that same desire on, to all the generations coming up behind us. It’s all in the family here and forever.
Making Disciples Of Our DNA
This time, I get to take Maezie and Cellie. Maezie has been once before and Cellie has never been, other than when she was 7 months in utero.
Both girls are very excited. Maezie has coached Cellie on the people she will meet and explained with all the joy in the world, that we get to go to church and sing and dance for hours at a time.
A big part of what the Lord has laid on my heart for this trip is to let the kids taste and see a glimpse of heaven, where there will be singing and praise to God from every tribe and tongue. When you hear people praising and worshiping God and you don’t understand one thing they say, but you know exactly who they are singing to, and what they are singing about it lights a fire in your soul. You develop a taste of heaven that you crave and long for, the rest of your life.
Mark 16:15-18
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Part of our DNA as Christ followers is to make disciples, and now it’s time to take more of our DNA with us and make disciples of them. Jesus tells us to make disciples and it is what He showed us with His life on earth. These little loves that God has given us to raise up; get to GO with me and meet family and friends all over the world; worship, pray, and eat in a different culture. They get to love and be loved by more friends and family.
It is a great responsibility and honor to Go; take my kids and make disciples and teach them and show them the great and glorious adventure that God has for us on earth as it is in heaven.
