Another Trip to Africa

As I prepare for yet another trip to Africa, I have mixed emotions. So much has happened in that part of the world this year and yet I am called; no drawn, to pack and go once again. I love Africa. I love the scenery, the varied cultures, the difficulties in travel, but most of all I love the people that I come in contact with each and every time that I travel there. I have been to Africa to many times to even count now, having lived there for eight years and traveled back and forth for the last 15 years. And yet every trip is unique! It is never the same! It is always something new with new people to meet and new places to go and new adventures to be lived.

But most of all it is the knowing that you are touching and changing lives in a good way. We ask nothing of the people that we come in contact with. We simply present the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and tell them about the love of a Father who gave His Son for them. What they do with this message is up to them. We cannot force them to accept it, nor would we even consider that. It has to be a heart matter. Oh, how I wish that all that we share it with would come to understand the simple truth of God's word. But they don't! Many reject it. They walk away from their opportunity to meet the Master. And while I am perplexed over this at times; it is not up to us. "Few are those who find it", our Lord would say. So it is not about US! It is all about HIM! And if they accept His saving message, we rejoice with them. If they reject it, we pray for them and hope to have another opportunity some day to share with them once again.

So as I make final preparations to travel once again to the land that I love and the people that I serve, I look forward to the adventure, to the challenges, to the opposition, to the possibilities. Keep us in your prayers.

RON