Preparing For Ghana Round 2

I'm writing from Denver at a conference for Cru summer project Directors across the country. Full-time staff, interns, and even students are gathered to learn how to prepare for the various journeys we will have this upcoming summer.  With so much going on in our daily lives and ministry, it has been a sweet time to focus on this unique short-term opportunity, and gain a vision for our time overseas.  Two summers ago Ben and I led a team of 35 students to the city of Accra in Ghana, Africa.  This summer, we will be in a new city; Kumasi.  This is where last year's team went, so it's not uncharted territory-but it's new to us.  

The task ahead is huge.  We are taking students out of their comfort zone to learn a new culture and people, and boldly share with them the gospel truth that has become white noise in so many of their daily lives.   There will be opposition. People will get sick (though hopefully not seriously). There will be conflict.  Drivers will be late.  We will get tired of sharing our faith.  We will sweat and smell and lower our standards of living.  And it will be good-because in the midst of it all, God is in control. 

In many ways this year has been a time of preparation for me/us as we get ready to go.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 has been a steady reminder of gospel grace in 2012.  When the apostle Paul, a fruitful minister of the gospel, asked for God to remove a thorn in his flesh, The Lord replied, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  So Paul says, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  I can't say that I boast in my weaknesses.  That just wouldn't be true.  But I do thank God for them by faith, because as this particular season of life has caused me to feel very weak, broken, and helpless-I have experienced God's presence like never before.  It is a beautiful expression of God's grace in my life-that these trials he is walking me through don't define me or have the power to ruin me.  Instead, God's power is made known because only he has the capacity to carry me through, and give the peace, hope, and trust I need but cannot produce myself.

As I think about going to Ghana and bringing the gospel message to people who live quite differently from me, I consider how many of them will have their own type of weakness or hardship in life.  As Ben and I lead a team of excited and nervous college students into an adventure that will test their limits and change their lives forever, I know there will be times where I will feel inadequate.  And these are the times I hope to allow God's power to be evident, rather than complaining or bemoaning my circumstances.  On the other hand-there will be moments where I will rely on my strengths to carry me through.  (If I give good direction and everyone feels secure knowing the schedule, that will be good.)  Whether I feel weak or strong, I want God's glory to be obvious to those I interact with.  So I pray that in times of strength and confidence, I give him thanks.  Because this, I have been so clearly reminded of these days, is just life.  Things don't go as planned all the time, and I am not in full control. And this is a good reality, because the God of the universe is so much wiser and a much better planner than I am!