Ready or Not, Here I come

As a child, we loved to play hide and seek.  And most of us remember that refrain that was uttered at the end of the countdown--"ready or not, here I come."  And if you had not yet found a good place to hide, what scurrying around was accomplished in that little bit of time! I really hate to apply that analogy to leaving for Ebola country, but that is somewhat the way it feels to leave tomorrow.  To leave the cold and snow of the Netherlands, and to be 8 hours later in a warm climate feels good to me, but not knowing all that will be faced and the dangers seems a bit scary.  But to go with God gives much more confidence and strength for the task ahead.  There have been so many people praying and those prayers provide the strength for the next step.

Last year, when I was climbing mountain paths in Peru, there were times where the only thing you could do was to put your foot down in its next place.  To look to the right, where there might be a 1000 foot drop off, or look to the left, where a solid rock face kept you from going any further away from the edge--both options were too scary.  So the only thing to do was to take the next step, and then the next one, and then the next one, until you arrived at your destination.  But at the same time, sad is the man who doesn't at least sneak a peak to the right, because you might just see a magnificent Andean condor soaring in the breeze, or a snow capped mountain in all its glory.  So, in going to Sierra Leone, I think that I will do both things.  There are times that the only option will be to put one foot in front of the other, and hope that it doesn't slip, but I want to see the condors too..I want to experience the joy of being in a church service where we say, "Tell God tankee, a no die-o (Thank God I'm still alive!) The joy of that kind of enthusiasm can sustain through much difficulty and trial.

So, risks are real for everyone in Sierra Leone right now.  And many times, we are reminded of that risk. It might be a bit like someone in church here in the Netherlands said Sunday, talking about our airline flight.  He said that the airline flight will be the safest part of the whole trip.  But then he followed that by the news bulletin, "Did you hear there is another airline missing in Malaysia?"  No, I hadn't, and nice of you to mention it now!  So, people are always willing to say with a worried look on their face, "Sierra Leone..." but they leave the rest unsaid.  And I will take it that way, as a sign of their concern, and not a discouragement to go.

So, we leave in the morning.  How nice to say, 'We leave', because I am not going alone.  My fiance Heleen is traveling on the plane with me.  That makes this trip different than other trips, because there will be someone there for me.  I know that our contact will be extremely limited for 4 months, but just to go with someone gives courage.  It has been good to prepare together for the journey, and find in strength in common prayer for upcoming journey.  ..And to be honest, I have to say that the same courage is felt with God..he goes with us where-ever, when-ever, who-ever, all-ever....and you can count on that.  Thanks to God, who will walk with us, even through the valley of the shadow of death.....