Back to the Basics

Over six months ago my leadership team was praying about where to have the WR Fusion squad training camp. Unlike a traditional squad that would train in Georgia well before they leave the country…we do our training and launch from the first country of the trip.

East Africa kept coming to our hearts.

My mind screamed ‘NO’. I could easily list so many logistical and practical mountains that we would need to scale to make it happen. Yet forward we went, landing on Uganda as the start of this journey.

Fast forward a few months and I was feeling overwhelmed and again questioning why we were heading to Uganda for this adventure. Without the ground support of all the staff in Georgia a training camp in a foreign land can be daunting and intimidating.

As I drove to work one morning I asked The Lord to remind me why Uganda, why East Africa, why this path?

After some silence I felt a still voice in my heart say ‘They will meet me there like they’ve never met me before’. That was more than enough for me. 

---

 Before I knew it, January 3^rd was here and I was on a plane bound for Entebbe, feeling a little unsure of what the next few weeks would look like….but trusting that God was in control.   

 

As my leadership team (myself, two squad leaders and coaches) prepared for the squad’s arrival I felt God putting one word on my heart over and over again, “Simple.”

It was a beautiful reminder of how I needed to operate over the next 5 weeks, in simplicity. Why do we often complicate what it means to follow Christ?

---

 The squad of 20 soon arrived with our mobilizer and the training camp was a whirlwind over the next 16 days. There were plenty of logistical challenges (booking lodging, transportation, meals for 30 people in a country you’ve never been to can be tough) and I felt incredibly mentally and spiritually stretched…but ultimately God was in complete control and moving in amazing ways.

 I could give plenty of testimonies but at the core of it all we were two simple principles:

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. – Proverbs 16:9

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. – Hebrews 4:7

One of our goals this year is to strip back the notion that there is ‘ministry’ time. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, every moment of our days are ‘ministry’ as we live out and glorify Him through our lives.

The Fusion squad will not be working with predetermined ‘hosts’ for each month, instead we’ll be arriving in country with no set plans. Asking God to lead us in His direction and focused on loving the person right in front of us.

Sometimes teams will be lead to orphanages, churches, schools and other incredible opportunities.Sometimes for a few days, perhaps for a few weeks.

Sometimes a team may be lead to stay at a hostel and get to know the owner, the local street vendor, the kids that live on the nearby street corner and share the love of Christ with each of them.

I don’t know what the year will look like….but I know it will be full of HIM.

Going back to the simplicity of ‘Go. Listen to Him and be his hands and feet.’

---

 As I have returned back to the office in Georgia my squad is still living out this lifestyle in Rwanda. Unsure of exactly where they will be laying their heads each week, it would be easy for me to cherish my comfortable bed and the ability to eat chick-fil-a at any time.

Although these aren’t bad things, I still have the same exact choice they do every morning.

We all have the chance to go back to the basics and invite Christ into every element of our day, letting him interrupt our trips to Kroger, meetings and well planned details of our week.

When I hear his voice, will I harden my heart? Will you?