"So What Are You Going to Do There??"

The number one question I have been asked regarding my upcoming trip to Tanzania has certainly been, "So, what are you going to do there?". This has been interesting for me to consider because I haven't really had the words for an answer. No, it's not a mission trip. No, I'm not going with a group from church. No, I'm not practicing medicine. I'm simply going to "come and see."

In Shane Claiborne's book Irresistible Revolution, he talks about his time spent in Calcutta with Mother Teresa. When he called her to ask about coming to spend the summer at the Missionaries of Charity, she simply said, "Come." He writes, "Whenever folks asked Mother Teresa about her work in Calcutta, how it was going, what her life was like, she would say, 'Come and see.'" This principle has stuck with me for years since I first read it. There are numerous times throughout scripture where people are invited to "come and see" Jesus for themselves, not just what they had been hearing around town. In being drawn to the African continent for years now, I always wondered why, what for, and where, among many other thoughts. However, my beckoning from the Holy Spirit rose up saying, "come and see." So, I'm going to see.

I want to see a place the Creator formed so intentionally with beauty and originality beyond my wildest dreams. I want to experience the renewal and redemption of a Serengeti sunrise. I want to meet people groups I've never been exposed to. I want to witness the joy that lives in Tanzanian villages among the Sukuma people. I want to learn bits of a new language and culture. I want to see life beyond my sphere. But more than anything, I want to see what God is doing in this massive world, outside of my own little corner. I want to learn strategies and ideas being used to advance God's Kingdom. I want to sit at the feet of great leaders and teachers that I'm privileged to call friends.

You don't have to travel halfway around the world to be "on a mission trip." Every day that there is breath in our lungs, we step outside the door of our homes and enter "the mission field." I forget this a lot. But, when people ask about my "mission trips," I'm reminded of that disconnect. I want my "mission trips" to be indecipherable from what I am doing with my everyday, ordinary, simple life. This is my challenge to myself and to other Christ-followers, that we always be on mission to further the cause of Love and Redemption, bringing Heaven to earth, regardless of our geography at any given time.

So, I suppose my most burning and pressing question at the moment is for God in regards to my upcoming trip to Tanzania: So, what are YOU going to do there? I'm eagerly expectant to find that answer!

Until next time...