Malawi Mission Trip - Prolouge

Tomorrow morning our team of seven leaves for the southern African country of Malawi. The primary purposes and foci of this mission trip are three-fold: 1) lead a pastor training seminar for local Malawian pastors, many of whom have no more than a 6th grade education, 2) lead a Vacation Bible School at a local feeding center for AIDS orphans, 3) support and encourage our missionaries in Blantyre - Danny, Natalie, Sydney, Gabriel and Hope Gregory. In addition to these projects we also hope to visit some local orphanages, distribute mosquito nets to help prevent malaria and conduct some AIDS/HIV edutation to some local medical personnel. It is an ambitious trip and we are trusting that God's Holy Spirit will work out all of the details that are subject to the ebb and flow of Third World daily living.

As we make our final preparations to go, I ask that you would pray for the following:

• safe travel for our team and that all of our luggage and supplies would arrive with us and that we would breeze through customs without any problems
• the shortage of deisel fuel in Malawi; our VBS project will require and one hour one-way drive each day; please pray that the feul will be available
• pray that our team would continue to have open and flexible spirits that will allow us to minister as the Holy Spirit leads
• pray that when the people of Malawi encounter us that they will not see our faces, but that they will see the face of Jesus and that they will hear his voice as we speak

Invariably, when we prepare to take mission trips, I am asked the question: "Why are we going? Isn't there enough need right here in Oklahoma City?" While the second question does contain some truth, the reality is, we go because we are being obediant to the commands of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus gave his disciples their final marching orders (in Matthew 28 and Acts 1), he clearly told them to make disciples of ALL nations. While we must begin locally, in Jerusalem and Judea, to be fully obediant followers of Christ we cannot stop there. We must continue on to Samaria and the ends of the earth. Yes, there is need everywhere, both at home and abroad, but to focus exclusively on one while neglecting the other demonstrates an incomplete understanding of the commands of Christ.

Recently, someone told me that missions was like eating, candy or dessert. It tastes good and makes us feel good, but you can't live on it. While this statement is accurate in terms of dessert, it completely misses the point of missions and our purpose as followers of Christ. I prefer to look at missions more in terms of Maslow's hierachry of needs. Missions is not optional, it is something that should be an intrinsic part of who we are as followers of Christ.

As Christ's disciples we should be externally focused and missions is one of the primary ways that we can live that out. Now, I am not saying that missions ONLY applies to going across the globe to share our faith in Christ with others, but that certainly is a part of it. It could involve reaching out to a neighbor around the corner or helping drill a water well around the world. It could be filling a backpack for a student at our Oklahoma City Briding the Gap schools or volunteering at the Crossings Community Center. There are lots of ways to "do missions" but it is more than a one-time event that we check off of our spiritual to do list. It should be who we are, our lifestyle.

Sermon over.

We covet your prayers as we travel and minister.

To God alone be the glory...

Michael