Im helping move a baby down the hall when a coworker asks me, "Do you consider yourself a brave person?".  I stop and give her a confused look because I have no idea what prompted this question. "Well," she says, "I think you are a very brave and courageous person." More blank stares. She continues, "I heard you talking about going to Africa. You have to be a brave person to go there. I mean- to expose yourself to all those diseases and well, I admire you. I just couldn't do it."

I had no idea what to say and I don't think I said much of anything. That was a week ago and I'm still thinking about how to respond. We have this idea that you have to be a certain personality type, the "brave" and "courageous", to do missions, especially overseas missions. This makes me sad.  You don't have to be brave, you just have to be obedient to Christ in whatever capacity He is calling you to serve. He will give you the strength you need. I am living proof of that.

I am not a brave person. Anyone who knows me knows that I have plenty of quirks and fears. I am scared of enclosed spaces. I am terrified of driving in the rain or snow. I can not watch scary movies. I am an anxious person. And, the list could go on.

Here is what I am: a follower of Jesus.  I am not even close to perfect, in fact I am a broken person who NEEDS Jesus. So, I ask Jesus to show me more of Himself and of His heart in an effort to call me out of a self centered life and open my eyes to His goodness. He led me to Uganda. It's not because Im some brave and courageous person, its because it was in Uganda that I could experience Him in a way that I never had before.

I leave tomorrow to go back to the country I fell completely in love with. So Im asking Jesus again to show me and my team members more of Himself. When we know the love we are given in Christ, we are freed up to GO BE LOVE to others. Please join me in praying for us for the next 15 days! I cant wait to blog about it when I get back.