...yet, how far back do I go?
Dave and I have been happily married for almost 19 years. My husband really enjoys telling people about Jesus. They call it "evangelism". When he was a kid he read those Christian comic books about smuggling bibles into China, flying airplanes into the Amazon, dying at spear-point for your faith, etc. I call that "crazy" - or at any rate, I use to.
I was happy for him, but I didn't really see myself as a missionary and I especially did not see myself as an evangelist, I mean, aren't those the people who stand on the streets hollering at people or those wearing too much eye makeup on TV? Nope, that wasn't me.
Over the years, God has blessed us with four amazing children. As soon as that first precious baby was placed in my arms, I started becoming less flexible to the idea of my husband going off into the world to smuggle bibles (or whatever it was that he wanted to do). I think they call that one "fear". For many years, and with each subsequent child that came along, my disregard for this "thing" God had placed inside my husband grew stronger. David talked to me less and less about his dreams of mission work, probably because my response always included something like, "Wait until the children are grown."
Then one day God convicted me to give up my irrational fears and trust him to know best for my man - the man He had created - and to give him permission to do whatever it was he felt God was calling him to do. I committed that attitude in writing and gave it to Dave in the event that I should falter and need a reminder. I suppose publishing this blog is another commitment, huh?
Shortly thereafter, I became challenged by the idea that "God so loved the whole world". What did it mean, exactly, to love the whole world? I asked God to teach me more about that and to change my own heart on the matter. Exactly one year later, I was on a plane to Kenya without my husband, going out into the world that God loves so much, to tell people about his son, Jesus. Yes, that is called evangelism and I'm pretty sure for that trip you could call me a missionary. Isn't God's sense of humor fabulous?
We have now done short term missions to Africa 3 years in a row. As we look forward to another trip this summer, I'm beginning to see that the seed God planted in my husband so long ago is growing into our family tree. We desire to go where God wants us to go and do what he asks of us. Is that still scary to me? Yes. But as I have learned from my African brothers and sisters, "God is good all the time! All the time, God is good!" so I choose to trust him.
Which brings us to fundraising. We want to approach it a little differently this year. In an effort to be more resourceful I have asked my family if they would be willing to eat beans and rice for a month. I reasoned that if we were frugal enough, we could save half our grocery budget and put that money towards the trip. As we worked out details, the beans and rice idea evolved.
Starting tomorrow, March 1, 2010, the Jacobsen family will begin eating like Africans as well as eating for Africa. I'll explain more about that as we go along, but for now, I hope you'll stay tuned.
May God Bless Your Day!
