Day 1 : Travel Day
(Jareds journal entry and perspective)
We have had God's peace the entire day. It's been Uneventful, yet I have felt The Lord's closeness all day. The day began with some very minor frustrations. I had some trouble changing the battery in my 4runner at 6:45am this morning. Once the battery was changed, I realized changing it was a waste of time anyway, because it didn't fix the problem. Hopefully Andrew won't have any troubles out of it. When we left his house we immediately hit bumper to bumper traffic on 28. According to him it was very unusual. In the first 45 min after leaving his house we probably only covered 10 miles or less. None of these things really phased Betsy or I. There was an unspoken reliance and realization that God was leading. Already God is leading us by faith not by sight...... And teaching us each step. I keep hearing Isaiah 43:5....do not be afraid for I am with you. The promise God gave us over 3 years ago. And more recently from Joshua 1:9, ...Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."... These promises loud and clear bring Betsy and I both an unspoken peace. I am reminded of what I shared with the men around the campfire this past Saturday morning... Without a mission or purpose it is impossible to have courage. God has brought us to this hour, it is appointed. He has given us purpose, vision.... To meet our son? Yes, but it is bigger than that, bigger than Isaiah or us. I go back to Isaiah 43:7....everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." ...it's about HIS glory, HIS name, and renown.(Isaiah 26:8) This story is his, and God is a multitasker. If you are reading this it is not by accident. You are part of the story He is writing as well. He is using the canvas of our lives to grow your faith. It's not us, it's him. It's what he does. The canvas of Daniel's life painted a picture to King Nebuchadnezzar of a real faith in a real God, and ultimately this dictator king surrendered his life and believed in the proven power of Daniel's God. "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.". Believer or not God uses the lives of followers of Christ to make your faith stronger in Him. Part of this story is you and your faith. I pray ours encourages you and says something to you about the one true God. Again, not that we can boast in ourselves, the little faith we have and walk by comes by his grace.
We have connected with other Christ followers on the plane. They are on mission as well. God has connected us as an encouragement and reminder of the mission...carry his saving name. They are headed to Awassa to evangelize, raise money for orphans in the area, and to train pastors. One of them Mark LaRue, went to seminary with John Balmer. I am reminded of how small the world is, how small I am. I am humbled he has called us on this lifelong mission to carry his name. I am humbled he wants to use me in the big story he is painting of his majesty, of his love. My God loves a little abandoned orphan in Ethiopia, he loves you. He loves us so much he sent his Son, Jesus to adopt us. Jesus came to earth on the greatest rescue mission of all time. My God invented adoption. (See Ephesians 1:5-9/Romans 8:12-25/Galatians 4:1-7)
We will land in several more hours. Then the adventure begins. We have not slept much, and we hit the ground running as a new day when we land. I will do fine. I resent that our bodies need rest and refuse to when I can. It will just be like a long couple days on the river or back to back bear hunting for me. Too much excitement, my childlike spirit doesn't want to miss anything, too much sleep will cause me to miss something. Very few can relate with me on this....you are the ones who should pray for Betsy's endurance. Like most sensible people she values sleep. You should know while I am writing this she is at least resting her eyes.
Flying into Ethiopia, off to the west are some of the most rugged and steep mountains I have seen. I guess that's not saying much since I am comparing to the Devil's Marbleyard and Hellgate wilderness areas. I should get out more. As we get closer to the ground I am grounded by the poverty I can see. Just outside the airport is shack after shack of scrap tin and tarps where obviously thousands call home. Perhaps our son was born here? By God's grace, I have not once judged our sons biological mother for abandoning him. Even more so now, just seeing Ethiopia, just seeing Addis Abbaba, "new flower" from the air, I have great compassion for what she has obviously been through. I could have been born here.....touch down. Off of "cloud nine" (name of our plane) and fitting for the surreal high we are on. We have imagined this day for over 3 years. Perhaps this is a dream....
It takes us some time to locate our ride from the airport. Our agency has arranged a driver. Because we stick out like rich white people in Africa ( worse than a sore thumb) we are greeted by several taxi cab drivers and hotel drivers wanting to earn our business. Maybe I am over the top sometimes, but we play it cool and act like we don't need and aren't looking for a ride. Apparently it worked. When our driver finally arrived he thought for sure we were hiker sight seer travelers. Our hiking backpacks instead of luggage and the appearance that we knew what we were doing. Success.
Our ride from the airport to the "guest house" we are staying at was unbelievable. I guess I assumed their would be tons of poverty and pockets of rich areas. There are NO rich areas. Rich in Ethiopia means you have a job, make enough for your next meal, and have family. There are lots here without family. Family is a blessing. I praise God for the family he has given me! Along our drive we swerve in and out of cars, dump trucks, rickshaws, goat herders, and people. Millions of people, all walking. People on roof tops, people in ditches, people in trees, and more people. Despite the obvious poverty, everyone seems content and joyful. Perspective. I don't think anyone has told them they are poor. I think most of them ascribe value to life itself, to family, relationship, and community . Our driver commented that Betsy looks like the actress from Avatar...... I don't mind not being able to relate with Americans on the latest movie references, but I feel like I let him down.
No comments:
Post a Comment