He > I
Life has two sides (good & bad). It’s as if everyday there is a war going on between our flesh and spirit and if we don’t invite our Creator into each and every day than…well we’ll lose the war. We can’t fight the war on our own. We’re weak. He is strong.
He is greater than the air we breathe.
The past couple of weeks have vanished into an abyss. I have no idea where they’ve gone and I’m struggling to remember what I did. Ninety percent of it was consumed by work at Invisible Children Uganda. Creating budgets, program planning and personnel issues…being an administrator (like life) has its good and bad.
Next week I’ll be traveling to Lira (two hours south of Gulu) to meet with Living Water and Charity Water. The plan is that we’ll be working together to drill 20+ water wells in rural villages in northern Uganda to help in the resettlement process for hundreds of thousands who’ve been displaced by the war. It’s an exciting opportunity, not only to provide water and sanitation training, but also to partner with such reputable organizations. Thousands of peopled around the world die everyday because they don’t have access to clean water. Thousands. Everyday. This project is just a drop in the bucket (no pun intended), but like fish and bread it can quickly multiply.
The Way (Canon to Christ)
We are the advancement
The least likely to be chosen
Radicals
Revolutionaries
Rebels
We are the resistance destined to counter our culture
And nothing can stop us
Our existence depends on shifting the tides of complacency
Turning indifference into achievement
First and foremost
Loving our Creator
Our neighbors
Our enemies.
We are in pursuit of righteousness
Fighting against injustice
Spending ourselves on behalf of the hungry
Satisfying the needs of the afflicted
Serving the poor
And putting an end to wars
We cannot give up.
We won’t.
The lives of others depend on the ultimate sacrifice
We must give what is not our own
Our lives
Comfortably Uncomfortable
“Quit your job. Go to Africa and I’ll take care of you.”
Four years ago, I heard God speak these words and they continue to resound in my spirit. His purpose for me has become a journey of vibrant exposure that continues to increase my ability to love others better.
UGANDA
On April 31st, I boarded a jet plane for Uganda to work for Invisible Children as Acting Programs Director. Over the past four years, I’ve been blessed with the capacity to travel to Uganda for week’s even months at a time. This time around, I’ll be in Uganda for six months and I’m so thankful for all of the support I’ve received from my friends, family and church community.
My decision to move back to Uganda was somewhat sudden and it was my desire to write sooner.
SAN DIEGO
While I was living in San Diego, my standard day consisted of battling the desire to be praised by man, personal pleasure, boredom and consumerism. The words God spoke to me and my true passions were concealed by my self-seeking desires. And, in the end I remained uncomfortably comfortable.
“When push comes to shove, it becomes obvious that self-interest rises high above unselfish service.” – William Wilberforce
Now, back in Uganda, the battle still continues, but I’m now comfortably uncomfortable. My mind is clearer, the confusion of choices, comfort and consumerism has started to dissolve and a recognizable simplicity has reminded me of my greatest passions.
EXCERPT
His dark deceptive eyes amplified in shock as the doors that only moments before secure burst open. Time paused, creating a few brief frames of hope that quickly dissolved. A dim projection of past horrors pulled him from his present shock and submerged him into a foreign yet familiar place. He looked around as the black and white environment was swiftly overtaken by vivid colors.
Only moments before, John was a 26-year-old Ugandan man. He now found himself in the body of a nine-year-old boy walking home from school on a hot December day. The dust from the road climbed with each step John took. The familiarity of his present state heightened as the sound of near by gunfire erupted. His walk surged into a sprint as his small yet strong legs burst forward throbbing with adrenaline. The near by bush shook with the sound of angry voices drawing nearer and nearer, but John ‘s legs wouldn’t allow his curiosity to get the better of him. The angry voices broke the tree line and a young boy his age dressed in military garments lunged forward tackling John to the ground. As they rolled over and over on the dirt road, John was overtaken by fear. It didn’t take him long to realize that he wouldn’t be able to escape his abductors. The dust slowly settled revealing 30 young boys dressed in military garments and carrying small, almost child like AK-47’s.
Collision Course
On Friday May 1st, 400+ radical individuals and I were involved in a head on collision with one of the most powerful women in the world.
The “Rescue Riders” idea stemmed from the “Freedom Riders” of the Civil Rights movement. The “Freedom Riders”, a caravan of buses that would travel from town to town and stop in the heart of racially discolored cities. The riders would get off the buses and be met by mobs of hate filled individuals that wanted nothing more than to inflict pain on their fellow man of a different race. Many were hospitalized, some almost killed, but they pushed on because they believed…they believed in a better world where the color of your skin would not provoked injustice against a fellow man. Their fight was impossible. Their peaceful demonstration was mocked and hated against, but they endured hardships that some of us can’t even begin to imagine and now together we’re free.
BIRTH INTO LIFE
Life is an incredible thing.
Yesterday, I arrived at the age of 26, which is young to some and old to others. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Well, maybe I’m a little indifferent. Lord willing I've got a few years left to further His Kingdom (and sin a lot along the way).
On the same day as my birthday something incredible happened. What is it you say? Did you receive an unexpected gift? No, not exactly.
On January 26th 2009, an infamous Congolese rebel whose been indicted for crimes against humanity...and not just any crimes, was put on trail by the International Criminal Court (ICC - global law). He committed some of the most horrific and nightmarish things you could ever imagine - not fun stuff to imagine, I know. I know because I spent a good nine months living with a former child soldier in Uganda, a young man who was once an innocent boy of nine years old. Then, evil entered his life and a dark cloud covered his future leaving deep streams of hurt, hurt that we couldn’t begin to understand.
I take for granted the "normal" childhood I had. I use to cry because I didn't receive the toy I wanted or because I bumped my head. At the same time, innocent Patrick was being forced to kill people twice his age. While others were being forced to kill their parents (or be killed). Kill or be killed, this is an unfortunate reality.
CHRISTMAS MASSACRE
On Christmas morning, I awoke in a bed big enough for three large people...I mean the bed is huge & incredibly comfortable. I didn't want to get out of it. The meaning of Christmas has definitely changed over the years and this Christmas it changed drastically.
On the day we celebrate Jesus' birthday 35 people like us were brutally killed by the infamous Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in remote villages within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I know that thousands of people die a day and it all becomes so overwhelming. Plus, I didn't know any of those whose lives were lost here on earth. Does it bother anyone that stats are thrown around all the time without any emotional or personal attachment or reaction?
They're just numbers. No names.
Or faces.
When I learned about what's being called the "Christmas Massacre" I didn't know how to react. Should I be angry? Should I mourn? Or should I throw up a defense mechanism to keep my life safe from other issues going on in the world?
God asks His people to free his people. To do good for others. To use what He's given us for the sake of others.
The slaves.
The oppressed.
The widow. The orphan.
The vulnerable.
PRESENTS vs. PRESENCE
It's the night before Christmas and I feel like I should be writing something inspirational and meaningful about our Savior, but I find myself thinking of all the presents & gifts that will soon be opened.
A homeless woman once told me that material possessions aren't evil in and of them self. It's when they come in-between us and God. She told me that she was fortunate because she doesn't have possessions or "presents" to get in the way of her relationship with God. I remember Jesus saying in Matthew 5 that fortunate are the poor in spirit, fortunate are the meek...I believe that she and so many others in this world are fortunate because they're free from the burden of abundance. They're free, dependent upon God and fortunate in ways that I'm unable to relate to (I wish that I could - However, I'm thankful and unworthy of all that's been given to me and with the much that's been given also comes much responsibility).