Why we go...

A long time ago, I gave my heart to a man I knew almost nothing about. As the years have progressed -- with it's waves of faithfulness and rebellion -- I have, and continue to, grow in my relationship with Jesus. I do not claim to know much about Him, or about how mighty, powerful, and loving He is, but I do know that He is all these things (and so much more).

I've realized over the years -- through trial and error, mind you -- that life fully devoted to Christ is the only life worth living. With Him, I find purpose in something bigger than myself, bigger than the frustrating problems of everything from the house being a mess to the genocides around the world. In Him there is hope for something better, that the current state of the world is not how it's supposed to be...and that it will one day return to pure beauty and true peace. I may not always understand His ways and the reasons He does things, but I've come to trust that His ways are higher than mine (see Isaiah 55:8-9).

But with all this comes what some would consider a price. When I gave my heart to God, I gave Him my life. I signed over my rights to run it to something SO much bigger than myself. My life is not my own (Matt. 10:39, Mark 8:35). That is why I'm going - He led me there, He's taking us there, and for those who are scared for us, who don't understand, who think Uganda is an obsession, who wish we weren't going, who think we're nuts, who think that our judgment is impaired, and to those who understand and wish they were coming, too, to you I say our lives are not our own, our kingdom is not of this world. "I will use my life to shout, 'Another world is possible'...for my kingdom is from another place." (Shane Claiborne in Jesus for President).

And so we go, because the God who made us, who calls our names, and who knows every minute and beautiful detail about us has put a passion in us, a depth of empathy, emotion, and sense of true justice for the people of Uganda. They are our people. They are our family.

Why are we going to Uganda? We go because God is good and there is more for this place than what is. We go because He has called us specifically to go there. We go because our lives are not our own.

We go because we must.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DbyHtq-2sGU&feature=related