Bonding

As I write to you tonight from my laptop I have to admit I feel a little different. The past three nights I have slept on a floor that is surrounded by a mud hut and lived with Da Jah and his family. Da Jah did not speak English and I did not speak Kabiye, his local language, but the strange thing is we still grew close and become friends. I was impressed with his work ethic and his level I commitment to God. He is a Christian and I am a Christian and we would read together, sort of. I mean neither of us can speak a common language but we would open our Bibles and point out similar phases such as Jesus, God, and love. It took a lot of work talking with him and I was exhausted after the weekend but man it was worth every minute of it. I saw how he studied Eso Tom (God's word) and how he met with his neighbors to share his life and his message of belief: Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He would pray with his family every night. He had a son whom I formed a friendship with by talking and hiking and teaching English to him. It was special to be with Christians in Togo for me because I knew that we shared the share God even though we were vastly different in how we live and what we eat but still we are humans and humans can all relate.

Now I see how important it is to have a common language and I'm so blessed to be able to go home and share the message of Christ to the people I will live with in the future. I'm motivated to talk after spending three days not being able to. It was so impressive to see this guy work and work for God. On Sunday I had the chance to go to church with him and see him preach and teach. It was amazing. We took the Lord's supper and I even said the closing prayer. Also I gave a small coin and it was all I had. It was about 50 cents and yet that was the most that anyone gave. I felt odd because I didn't expect this. I thought this is just one coin, it means nothing to me, yet this coin will go far in a village that Da Jah lived in.

I'm so richly blessed to be alive and God is continuing to teach me here in Africa.

Four Virtues

Africa has changed for me. I have established some familiar faces in this place now. I understand the Kabiye people slightly more. I do not feel as lost in the city of Kara anymore. I have experience the culture a little more. My comfort level is higher than a week ago. Yet so far my experiences have not led me to believe that I want to spend the rest of my life here or outside in the nation-state that I grew up in. I have been motivated to apply the concepts I'm learned about missions to the states. The "Theology of Missions" means more to me now than it ever has in the past. How does my sense of mission impact how I live my life. David Bosch says that the "Mother of Theology is Mission". I can not state it any clearer then that. My life needs to be lived with a sense of purpose. My drive in the world comes from missions, purpose, and what author Malcolm calls "the stickiness factor".
In order for my drive to make an impact, my life must be lived with purpose that effects other people, yet my words and works must "stick" with that person. How I live needs to be effective. If I have no "stickiness" I will never be a true Christian or follower of Christ. Theology is only for people. I want to spend my time thinking and studying God in order to lead more to Christ through him. I believe Jesus was someone that a friend would want to "stick" to. I want to be a person that people want to be around with. I want to be a person who can be trusted and respect. I want therefore to live by four virtues that I believe display my current view of the Theology of Mission. I want these four virtues to drive my life. These virtues I believe Jesus always used and therefore it's the best theology I have thought of in years. Here they are.

1. Be Kind
2. Be Honest
3. Be Humble
4. Be Courageous

If I look at Christ's life he had purpose and a "stickiness factor" because he obeyed all these virtues. He would say it in different ways, as the Jews did. For example, "Love the LORD with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Dr. Scott Peck would say a human must be "emotional/social, physical, spiritual, and mental/intellectual" do grow in all areas of life. Each person must choose for his own on what type of person they want to be. I want to be a person of Christ and I believe this four virtues add to my perspective on how I want to be in life.

Each day I will check myself by asking myself "Did I live out my theology today?".

Was I kind? Was I honest? Was I humble? Was I a man of courage?

Today I fell a bit backward, but tomorrow I pray will be different.

"Love can't change the past, but it can lead to a different future." - Gary Chapman

I want to be a man of the future and the future is now. I want God to change lives through me and this must start with God changing me.