Worlds Collide
The youngest member of our team turned 19 today. Her name is Jessica Jones and she is on this trip with her parents, Jeff and Debbie. She is an amazing young woman with a great sense of humor. She loves the Lord and works hard, and we have all grown to love her like she is our own.
Unfortunately for her she is currently taking an online summer school class and has had two exams and several projects due during our time in Colombia. At her professor's request, I am serving as her proctor for the tests. Technology has made this possible, although it has added significant stress to Jessica's life :)
Today was the day she had to complete her final exam (yes, on her birthday). It had to be turned in by 5pm EST, which is 4pm here. This presented several challenges since our work schedule is 8:30am - 6:00pm, in the mountains far from the city where there is no wifi. We brainstormed several ideas as to how to make this work, and ended up borrowing a "hotspot" from one of the church members in the city.
This actually worked and she was able to take the exam this morning sitting in the "treehouse" which barely has running water. I then emailed the document back to the professor in South Carolina before the deadline.
The juxtaposition of the hotspot in the treehouse has had me shaking my head all day. This world is so very small technologically, with information instantly disseminated around the world, yet we still live worlds apart from people like those we have grown to love here in Cali.
The homes most of us live in would be considered mansions here, and the thought of owning more than one vehicle would be laughable. We use our technology constantly to stay in touch and stay aware, yet there are millions of people around the globe who have not heard the gospel of Christ.
Jessica is fortunate to live in a time when technology made a simultaneous summer school class and an international mission trip possible. In fact, she doesn't remember a time when something like this wasn't possible, thanks to the internet and personal computing. I pray that her generation will use this technology, in ways we have not, to spread the good news of Jesus without apology, worldwide.
Why? Because Jesus is the one constant, predictable thing in this world. He is our savior and redeemer, healer and comforter. He was fully God and fully Man and chose to die so we could live. His resurrection power is in us and should drive us to share what we have in Him with all the world.
Can we leave our comfortable, safe world to spread His name? Not just worldwide, but around the corner? Are we truly doing all we can? The team has been asking this question since we arrived, and now I ask you. What else can you do in the name of Christ, answering the call to spread the good news?
