Toronto..

I've only been gone for 5 months, yet it seems almost like a lifetime of adventures. From dancing with the Acholi tribe to Good Friday in Rwanda, rafting/swimming down the vicious Nile River to playing soccer under the setting African sun; slaughtering a goat against my will to motor-biking under the immaculate starry Ugandan night sky; rafting past wild hippos and crocodiles at Murchison Falls to leading outdoor worship for church congregations in Pader. I sense that in many ways it is just beginning.  

I've been home for a couple weeks now and it is strange. I have experienced culture shock in the past but never like this. (From isolated, impoverished, rural Africa to fast food, air conditioning, busy schedules, decisions, choices, abundance etc.) My time in Europe however, was a welcome buffer to lessen the ferocity of the inevitable impact of returning to my own country and family. Although I felt very much "at home" with all of the family and friends I visited in Germany, I knew it wasn't my final destination. Ich bin jetzt zu hause! 

While stationed in Northern Uganda for those 4.5 months God has taught me a lot about Himself and who I am in Him. I did not hear an audible voice telling me what to do or where to go next like Moses in the desert and although I had some wildly peculiar dreams due to my malaria meds, i don't think there were any Ezekiel or Daniel moments necessarily. The message however, that I heard repeatedly from Him to the depths of my heart throughout my time in Africa was a word that was clear and precise pressing me towards a lifelong, life style commitment that I know I can never run away from. This my friends is a call to love. I am to love because He first loved me. I strongly believe that we as Christians exist for the benefit of others. I believe that this call to be Christ like is not a quest to adopt some pious pose or to sustain some inner serenity that we protect and don't allow others to disturb. It is a call to love without hesitation and to get our hands dirty in the interests of others. The action on every page of the Gospels is that of Jesus doing things for the benefit of others and feeding them with His love, His joy, His patience, and His goodness. 

I fully understand the biblical concept of those who "send" and those who "are sent" in terms of missions but personally, I don't like where this conversation has taken the western church and how it's polarized the two parties. We so often give money to justify our own apathy or appease our own consciences for not being personally involved. I am most certainly guilty of this! It's much easier to give money and walk away then meet the real heart needs of a homeless man or woman on the streets of Toronto. Wouldn't we much rather not get invested in the lives of an ex-con or an alcoholic because it would bring discomfort and suffering to our own? I wonder what this world would look like if Christians regardless of calling, social status or income truly gave of themselves in the name of love or in the name of God who is love. I wonder what the church would look like if we truly embraced the downtrodden and invited them and all of their complications into our own lives? Perhaps we would come to realize that we are no different and just as stained and in need of grace as they. What would this world look like if Christians spent less time and effort trying to obtain personal comfort and ensure security and began to love dangerously. As those who truly call themselves "Christ followers" not one of us is exempted from this call to love. The question for me/us is, what exactly does this look like? 

Throughout the last 4 years or so God has been taking me on a unique journey. He has illuminated my path and has called me to be His reflection in some dark places. Through working in a food bank in the Regent Park area of Toronto and meeting hundreds of low income families and individuals, to working at Yonge St. Mission with the vulnerable youth and seniors; and getting to know and love those I now call family living on the streets of Toronto through Sanctuary Ministries, to living and working among the Acholi people in Pader, northern Uganda and seeing first hand the effects of war, killing and poverty on the already vulnerable youth and families. I feel as though I have seen and experienced a lot even at my young age of 23. I have no doubt that this has been divinely directed and designated preparation for my future. 

Constantly being surrounded with people for whom survival is the number one priority, whether on the streets of Toronto or in Africa, has forced me to ask myself the questions: What is life really all about and what is my purpose in it? What are the things in my life that have eternal value and what are the things that are only temporary? I think of my friends in northern Uganda who have so little in terms of wealth and knowledge and yet possess such a rich sense of urgency in the way they live and love as statistics tell them they will probably not live to see their 41st birthday. 

We here in Canada have an abundance of opportunities, wealth and knowledge yet so many of us are squandering our lives away in our pursuit of security and comfort. Could these things be the ball and chain that hinder us from fully being God's hands and feet in our own circles and globally? Could it be that our failure to love our neighbour is ultimately our failure to love God?

I am now understanding that as an unashamed follower of Jesus Christ who died that I might live forever free, I am called to walk humbly with Christ, set captives free, and to serve those whom "they" have classified as unworthy, unwanted, or uncivilized (the least, the last and the lost). In other words to love others in His name. The journey has just begun and I know that many of you have caught the same vision. Your giving and praying have enabled me to pursue this life defining adventure and I am eternally grateful. Team work is the essence of Christian living/mission and I assure you His name is being lifted high in Northern Uganda. In fact hundred's of people have responded to the message of the gospel through your love and caring and many more are eagerly awaiting the medical team that is preparing to depart in September to care for the sick and vulnerable (as medicine is very expensive and difficult to obtain in that region.) 

Malaria is the scourge of the rainy season and many of the young and susceptible have died since I left in May. Mosquito nets and Malaria meds would make a huge difference. Perhaps you might consider continuing to partner with me and the team to pray that the shipment of medical supplies would get there safely and that we would pack enough of what is needed to meet the many needs that we will find on the ground. Also, that we would have the funds to cover the expense as well. Please consider my personal musings as simply a gentle challenge to make yourself available in some way to be an extension of Christ's love to a hurting world (if you aren't already doing so). Thank you all for your encouragement and faithfulness. Together we have made a difference and we've only just begun... 

I love you all, 

Curtis