Countdown to Cali
Dear Reader: I decided to start this blog to chronicle the preparation for and completion of a mission trip to Cali, Colombia in July 2012. I am going on this trip with my big brother, Tony Rowell, who is the team leader and a Methodist pastor. I suspect I will continue the blogging when we return, but for now, it is focused on my thoughts and the teams actions as we carry out the call to GO.
Blessings, Jane
COUNTDOWN TO COLOMBIA - July 25-August 8, 2012
Part 1: July 1, 2012
I am blessed beyond measure and live in the luxury of things,
relationships and personal freedom that I too often take for granted. I have
served the Lord in the comfort of my large, suburban church in my cozy, upscale
community, rarely seeing the poverty and pain that pervades this planet. I sing
of His glory and lift my hands in worship knowing full well that, in reality, as an unworthy
sinner I have given very little. Where have I truly sacrificed?
Have I actually given and served in ways that cost me anything, really?
Don't get me wrong, I do realize that serving at the local church is
something we are clearly called to do and the scripture in anything but ambiguous
on this topic. Hebrews 10:25 is clear:
"Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -
and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
But, I do believe that
the local church and the body of Christ itself should feel a clear leading to
extend beyond the local to the global, as the Spirit works in and around the
members of the fellowship of Christ.
I have gone beyond our borders, both state and national, to serve on mission
trips, but never alone as a simple participant. I have always been in charge of
a group of children or youth, and my focus has been on them, honestly, not on
the folks we were serving through the mission work itself. And, if I am
completely honest, my actual attention was not on Christ as much as it was on
the "growth" and "learning" the particular experience
provided the youngsters attending. I believe God used me on these various trips
despite my tilted focus, and lukewarm heart. He is God, after all, and can use
even the most inconsistent and fuzzy Christians, even me. But, I suspect I did
not gain from the experience in the ways I could have if I had chosen to allow
Christ to work IN me and not just AROUND me.
But this time, I feel He is calling me to something else. Although I know we will be deliberately serving a small community in the hills outside of
Cali, Colombia, I believe what God really wants from me this time is my full
attention. As I write this I wonder if I have ever actually given that to Him.
I clearly suffer from spiritual ADHD, and do honestly struggle with ever
achieving a laser focus on God, His Word or His Son. I pray that His strength
will enable me to truly focus this time.
This is an adults only trip, with no heads to count and no parents to consider. This
time I will be working as a member of a team, not leading one, doing what those
called to lead this trip tell me to do. This time I feel a call to
"go" that is similar to being beckoned away on an intimate trip with
a lover. I am excited and anxious, as I know deep in my heart that something
profound is likely to happen in me, if I will only allow it.
Years ago, after a particularly difficult time in my life, God grabbed my
attention with Psalm 18, although it took a whack in the head for me to slow
down enough to listen. The following words, specifically, impacted me then, and pulled me
out of a very self-centered funk.
Psalm 18: 27-30: "You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. You,
Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help
I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, His
way is perfect: The Lord's word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in
Him."
These are the verses I claim as I embark on this journey. I pray that
His light will outshine any darkness we encounter from within, as well as from
our surroundings. I pray that all obstacles will be demolished by His mighty
hand as He goes before us. And for me, I desperately pray that He will allow me
to scale the walls that so often surround my heart. His Word and His love are flawless
and perfect. In Him I do take refuge.
Stay tuned..... More to come.....
Seeking Him Fervently,
Jane
