Please Don’t Send Me to Africa

Okay, sometimes – no matter what we do or say, God is telling us something completely different.

I am not a big fan of Henry Blackabee. Many are. I just am not one of them. His work will far outlive mine and his knowledge is likewise above mine, it just does not resonate with me personally. He did have one statement regarding ministry and life in Experiencing God that I really liked. To paraphrase it, it was “Find which way God is going and go that way!”

God is going somewhere with my church and the HIV/AIDS in Africa thing. I do not have a clue what it is yet, but it is something. Here is the history and the present. I now need the leaders at my church to gather with me to talk and pray . . . hard!!

Last fall, I was giving a series of messages from The Beatitudes. It was the first time in my ministry I had preached from those pregnant phrases. And to be honest, I was a little less than excited about doing so. But, while working on “Blessed are those who mourn,” God broke my heart. I mean He gripped it like it has been seldom gripped. I knew going into that series that particular message would be about grief. I sort of guessed it would include mourning for human sin. But for some reason unbeknownst to me, I had no idea God would reveal from that passage the vast amount of stuff taking place in regard to God mourning over human suffering. Even less did I expect to come across the HIV/AIDS suffering in Africa and have it grip me so. But it did. Like you, I had heard them before. The statistics are mind numbing.

· 26.6 million are infected with the virus – that is more than the population of every state in the union with the exception of California
· 4 African countries have greater than a 30% adult infection rate
· 2.3 million died in 2003
· 3 million children under 3 are infected
· 11 million children have been orphaned

It is startling to even read it.

A few short weeks after that message, the opportunity from World Vision to build houses and provide food for HIV/AIDS orphans and widows came before me, and I am really not sure how that happened either. I think I was just perusing the World Vision catalog. It really does not matter how. What matters is “what.” Those comments and opportunities were flashing like red lights to me! God made it very clear to me in everything but an audible voice that Fountain Park Church was to build a home and provide food.

I challenged my congregation and they responded more than two times over. Rather than building one home and providing 14 tons of food (after government matching food funds); we built two homes and provided 28 tons of food, plus some additional funding for the HIV/AIDS project in general. We raised almost $11,000 for this from a congregation of only 200 – in addition to being in the black in the budget!!

This entire HIV/AIDS issue has been in discussions since then with Fountain Park missions, but it has been on the back burner for the most part. We talked about if, how or when we should be involved in this epidemic of human suffering. No answers came. None have come yet. But the light is getting brighter and hotter.

Last month, I received the dutiful thank you letter from World Vision for a contribution. It was a form letter which on one hand bugged me but on the other did not bother me at all, because recognition is not why anyone gave at Fountain Park. And is not why I followed God’s directive to lead my congregation in this endeavor.

Three Tuesdays ago everything changed. I am still processing what transpired.

I received a call from the World Vision Church Relations Representative. On behalf of World Vision she was doing what she does, thanking us for our gifts to Tsunami relief through World Vision. This gift was only $160 or so. She mentioned that since she is the church relations person, she was personally contacting churches to thank them. While I had her on the phone I mentioned in passing the previous and larger directed gifts and how Fountain Park had responded to this challenge. She had no clue what I was talking about. But as she listened to the story, she said, “Terry, I am getting chills just listening. I should have known about this from someone.”

She then went on to tell me about a trip to Africa this fall for Pastors only in a fact finding/informational manner to see what the conditions are, how devastating the epidemic is and to talk about what could be done. I told her that two years ago I was attempting to go on a similar trip but the idea was released in my mind and I changed churches so nothing came of it. She gave me the dates and told me the basic costs would be about $2,000 or so for the ten day trip plus the cost of air fare which is in the $700 or so range plus incidental expenses.

I knew it would not work out, but asked to see the information just the same. She was mailing the information to me. I honestly thought it would end there. I am in a New Church Development and my study allowance is lower than my previous location. I personally did not have the funding, so it seemed like a good idea . . . but . . .

Now, here is where the story turns . . .

That same Tuesday night, less than three hours after that phone conversation, I was at the governing body of elders of Memorial Park our mother church giving an update on our ministry. I told about our Missions endeavors in Brazil, about our partnering with the Lighthouse (a local community service ministry) and about the HIV/AIDS project in December. For some reason, known only to God, literally in passing I threw out the potential Africa trip. I said, “I am not sure what God wants. I cannot afford to go. Fountain Park cannot afford to send me. And my study allowance is smaller than when I was at Memorial Park so I am just praying what to do. I am fine to go. I am fine not to go. I just want to know what God wants me to do.” I asked them to pray with me about God’s direction honestly having no agenda whatsoever. I then went on to other aspects in my update.

After my presentation, I got up to leave. One of their elders followed me out. She had been very involved in the entire meeting asking good questions, caring, taking ownership, etc. I have known this particular elder for a decade. She is a single adult who loves Jesus and serves Him faithfully without seeking praise. To be quite frank, during the meeting I thought to myself, “She is really thinking and behaving as an elder should think and behave.”

As we stood in the hallway, she asked about the address for my blog, so she could read it and pray for me, for our church, etc. I was thrilled to give it to her and prepared to walk away. She then said, “You need $3,000 to do this Africa trip?” I said, “Yeah, that is about the total cost. I just heard about this today and am praying as to what God would have me do.” She looked me dead in the eye and said, “You’ve got it. I will write out a check. Where do I send it?”

She must have seen the shocked look on my face because she said, “As you were telling that story, God told me to give you the money for the trip.”

That check arrived in the mail today. I am writing this faithful servant one of the most heartfelt and sincere notes I have ever written to anyone in gratitude.

This event came on the heels of a miserable couple of weeks. In fact the preceding weeks had probably been the most difficult in all my years of ministry. For the first time in my ministry I had wondered if it was worth it. This was a light from heaven for me.

I do not have any idea what this means for Fountain Park. I know it means something. I need to work with men and women at my church and see where God is going in relation to our church and Africa . . . and go that way!!

Pray for me and with me.

In my years I have always enjoyed the Scott Wesley Brown song, “Please, Don’t Send me to Africa,” for its indictment of American Christianity and its often self-centeredness. But I had not applied it to myself . . . until now. God is indeed going to send me to Africa.

Here is the final piece of this story. That trip is scheduled for October 18-28, the exact time when the U2 concert is in Pittsburgh – Saturday, October 22. I was to go with the guy who is probably my closest ministry friend. If you know anything about Bono, it is that his heart is for Africa and AIDS. I think he would be heart broken to hear I stayed here for a concert rather than going to Africa to see how I might be involved in helping a cause dear to his heart, and becoming dear to my own. I am a bit bummed about missing the concert, but you know, somehow, some way it will be okay.

Oh yeah, if any of you have an in road with Bono, could you ask him to give me a "shout out" on October 22 while I miss the concert but seek out knowledge and involvement in an issue that is dear to his heart, and to the heart of God.