Thirty-four days

A friend asked me recently what I would miss the most being gone for a year. At first consideration all the little things come to mind...I'll miss watching my Patriots tear through the postseason and win their 4th championship in 7 years. I'll miss having easy access to the internet where I can chat with friends or check my email whenever I want. And like I said before, I'll miss my friends here and all the things that will happen in their lives over the course of the year. But I think more than anything I'll miss people that understand me. In past trips to Namibia I've always been with teams of other Americans. This time around I won't have people who share my American perspective to sit and debrief with around a campfire. I won't have friends who understand my frustrations or know what I'm thinking simply by my facial expression. There's something to be said for investing 5 years in relationships and having people surrounding you who can challenge you and laugh with you because they understand you. So in reflecting on what it really means to be gone for an entire year, that's probably what I'll miss the most. But I trust that God will bring new people into my life while I'm there...in fact, I'm counting on it.

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We purchased my plane ticket last week. So now I have an official departure date, which makes it seem that much more real. December 2nd will be my last Sunday at Christ's Church, then I'll fly out the next day. I'll fly from Boston to Washington D.C. then straight to Joburg before catching the short flight up to Windhoek. I'm not sure of the exact times yet or how long my layovers are but that's the gist. So if you don't have plans come help me caravan down to Boston on Monday, Dec 3rd. :)

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Packing has officially begun, another thing that makes it seem that much more real. No, not packing for the trip, but packing up my stuff here. I don't have all that much stuff in the first place (as those who helped me move can attest), but most of what I do have I've been progressively tossing or giving away. The few remaining crates of personal memorabilia, irreplaceables, and junk that's special to me will end up packed away at my parent's house.

I love the discipline of simplicity. I love that for an entire year everything I'll have can be packed in a suitcase. Truth is I think we all know we can live on much less than we have. Even much of what we think we need is simply periphery, we're just not willing to part with it. The demands of discipleship often come into conflict with our greedy, materialistic, consumerist culture, and this area of 'stuff' is no exception. So like I said, I'm excited about the opportunity to take this rant of mine to another level of practicality.

So it begins

In Africa they say the dust mixes with your blood so you have to keep coming back. I've been to Namibia six times already on short-term missions teams from our church. And now I'm preparing for my seventh trip, this time for a whole year, so I guess it must be true for me.

Ever since 2004, I've been talking about going back long term. You can't really get a good idea of what African life is like in just a two week trip. Six months is closer, but a year(!), then I'll probably have a pretty good idea of what it's like.

Christ's Church has built some pretty cool partnering relationships with our friends in Namibia over the years. In February 2004, I walked with Dieter Morsbach over a plot of land listening to his visions and dreams. We've watched that plot mature into the Elim Centre where people are trained in life skills. We've all heard Brenda Johnston's story of going from Disney exec to director of Hope's Promise Orphan Ministries in Namibia. We've seen HPOM expand from Rehoboth to Arandis changing lives and communities along the way. We've seen God do amazing things in Namibia, and we're anxious to see more.

So in December 2007, I'm going to live for a year with our friends in Namibia and explore how Christ's Church can continue to advance our partnering relationships and be more involved in what God's doing there. Along the way I'll be learning much about life in another culture, what youth ministry is like in Africa, and what short-term missions looks like from the other side. Americans often go to do, to accomplish, to fix, but mostly I'll be listening, to God, to the people, to our friends. It's only from that context that we can begin to help.

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It took me a long time before I was willing to leave everything I've invested in over the past five years. I work at the greatest church any youth pastor could hope for. I've got great friends who support me and understand me. And I've absolutely fallen in love with the group of teenagers I work with. More than anything else, that's what's held me back. It took me a while to trust that God could continue to work in their lives without me here. As much as I want to watch them grow up and not miss a thing along the way, I have to let God be God and entrust them to His hand.

They say that somewhere around 95% of the world's youth workers work with 5% of the world's youth population in the United States. That leaves only 5% of the world's youth workers to work with 95% of the youth in the rest of the world! Every time I go to Namibia I see hundreds of kids who have no spiritual role models, no one to share God's love with them. This is my opportunity to fight the tide.

People ask me if I'm nervous, if I'm excited, and I have to say ya, a little of both. I'm excited to experience life in a place I've grown to love. I'm excited to be involved in what God's doing in Namibia and grow immeasurably closer to Him. I'm excited to live in a relationship oriented culture where 'stuff' doesn't accumulate and time doesn't matter. But at the same time, I'm nervous to be alone, amongst no one that can relate to the bit of American culture that I inevitably bring with me. I'm nervous that my cultural ignorance might get me in trouble, that I might mess up our relationships rather than help further them, that I'll forget to pack something important. :) But it's in all that excitement, and especially the nervousness, that I find faith, faith in a God who understands me and who's plans I can never mess up. So I'll be able to say with Job, "My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you." (Job 42:5)

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So in a few short months I'll board a plane to reunite the dust in my blood with it's home. This will hopefully be the first of many posts like it, sharing my thoughts along the way. So thank you for being gracious in your literary critique and I invite you to join me on the journey by leaving comments from familiar voices back home.