Most of us are familiar with roller coasters.
There is sense of anticipation as you stand in line waiting for your tickets to be taken so you can board your train. Once you are locked in and start your ascent, the ground below starts to fade. As you approach the top, you are filled with raw emotion: fear, excitement, anxiety. Then without warning, the train comes to a sudden stop. You realize you have reached the peak. Your heart is pounding. A sudden silence hangs above the train as the riders prepare for the moment in which everyone has been waiting. Your decent begins. You feel each twist, turn, and bump as you fall back to the earth. The excitement is overwhelming and exciting. Then... before you are ready, the adventure is over. It has left your head spinning in a way you had never imagined.
I believe our trip to Ethiopia may be similar.
There has been a sense of anticipation as we make our final preparations and prepare for our tickets to be taken and we board our flight. We are filled with some of the same emotions one might feel before getting on that roller coaster for the first time: fear, excitement, anxiety. Fear of the unknown. Excitement as we get to share Christ's love with others. And anxious, knowing our faith will be stretched far beyond anything we are able to imagine. Yet I am certain of one thing. This trip, unlike the thrill of a roller coaster, has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with the One sending me.
His message is A Simple Message of Hope
It is all about Jesus!
His greatest command is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength...
and the second is to love our neighbor.
As we get ready to board our roller coaster, I pray we will be able to love like Jesus loves.
And may people know us by our love.
