Orientation

 “Who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

2 Timothy 1:9

I spent the last 3 days at AIM's headquarters in Pearl River, NY for orientation. It's hard to believe that it has already come and gone! That means that in six weeks I will be leaving for the field. Oh my.

I had the pleasure of meeting 15 other young women who are also going out to be the hands and feet of Jesus and serve in Africa. All of them except Kelsea, me, and two other lovely young ladies were going as teams to Africa for the summer straight from orientation. It was wonderful to get to know these girls a little bit and hear their stories and hearts before we all went our separate ways again.

Light and Life into the world

We look to Jesus as our example of how to minister to others and love them in the same way that God loved us. Isaiah 40:12-15 tells us that God is a god without limits. He measures all the water in the hollow of his hand  and the distance between his thumb and pinky covers the expanse of the heavens. His name is El Shaddai... the Lord God Almighty, the most powerful God. He is the source of all power and the ultimate authority over all.

How, then, can we reconcile all of the pain and suffering we see and experience in the world? God sees the world. He feels the pain of those we are hungry, hurting, hopeless, and tired. His heart breaks to see how a few people in the world are hoarding wealth and resources while others try to get by on next to nothing. Or on nothing. Or stop trying to get by and simply give up. God, who spoke the universe into existence, could solve the world's problems instantly if he so desired, but He doesn't. Instead, he invites us to join him in his work.

When we spend time drawing near to God, we gain kingdom eyes and can see through a new type of lens. We begin to see the world as God sees it, and our hearts are also broken. Through this pain we draw even closer to the heart of Jesus, and we begin to see our mission in the world more clearly...to go out and share God's love and light. To bind up the brokenhearted. To loose the chains of injustice . To set the oppressed free. To proclaim good news to the poor. To comfort those who mourn. To proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners

Simply put... God loves the world and wants us to love the world, too.

And that is why I'm going to Uganda.