I have to tell you that you're likely to read the word "Uganda" in this blog extensively over the next few months. I'm not going to apologize for that, however.
The concept of being "spoken to by God" is a difficult one for many to deal with. Quite frankly, that includes many Christians. If it puts anyone's heart at ease, let me tell you unequivocally that I have never heard a voice in my head saying "God to Dale. God to Dale. Come in Dale." I have never witnessed a ball of fire with words emanating from it, nor have I been struck to the ground and blinded a la Paul.
I must also tell you, however, that I know - beyond a shadow of a doubt - that I am being called by Him to go on this trip. If you could see or experience my thoughts, you would know that I have always been very resistant to the idea of "mission trips", particularly ones outside of the US. Call it rebellion, call it whatever you like, but I've always fought the notion fiercely. Justifications like "Why should we be going to Africa to bring people to the Lord when there are so many people in this country who need Him?" ran roughshod through my head. The mere fact that I entertained the notion at all confirms to me that He is sending me.
The previous post in here gives you a "stream of consciousness" of when the decision was actually made for me, but there was one other little epiphany that happened as well. Prior to me telling Branden that I was "in", we were watching a video of a previous trip made by Eternal Impact. The high school kids and adults were interacting with the Ugandan kids. One shot was of an American adult male, from behind, crouched down talking to a small Ugandan child. The man's hair had been buzzed off very short. Another excerpt of the "stream" went something like this:
Dale's Heart: Hey, it's going to be hot over there. I'm going to get my hair buzzed like that before I go as well.
Dale's Head: What in the world are you talking about? What's this "before I go" crap? You're not going, so why are you thinking about what you're going to do with your hair, for crying out loud? You don't DO mission trips, remember?
See, if I've learned anything over the 25+ years of my Christian life, it's that He helps to show me my own hypocrisies and prejudices, and that often forces decisions on me. Has He showed me all of them? Yeah, right. I expect to keep learning right up until the day I leave this earth to join Him. Nevertheless, I am compelled to take action on them when He does bring them out.
