Next Thanksgiving
Since we have sold our house and moved in with family in Salina, KS, we were able to share a typical Thanksgiving day with our daughters and the Hageman family. There have been many years when we have celebrated the day far from extended family, or have invited other friends to share the day with us who were also not able to be with loved ones in a traditional manner. But what about next year?
Thanksgiving is not a holiday celebrated in Tanzania. I am told turkeys are hard to come by and very costly when you can find them. Our family will still be in Kansas and Florida while we will be some 12,000 miles away. This is just one of the many moments lately where we have experienced something typical and wondered how our lives will change in the near future. It is a blessing to have time to contemplate what we will be leaving behind, and also to be excited about what the Lord will have in store for us in a new place.
In Genesis chapter 12, God calls Abram to go forth into a new land that God showed to him. I have thought of these verses often in recent months. Abram is sometimes referred to as, “the first missionary”, and he makes a break from his past to being a new journey of faith. In some ways this is a departure from worldly things that requires a deeper commitment to God’s promises. He leaves behind his culture, his source of identity, security, and support. And so it is for us as we prepare to deploy to Tanzania. And so it is for all of us as Christians. Abram’s journey is a foreshadowing of the Christian’s walk of faith, trusting in God’s promises without seeing the full picture of what is to come. We go, not because we are fully equipped, not because we are braver than others, but because God has called us. We go because God has promised to be with us. We go because He wishes to bless others through our work.
As we have been traveling to different Lutheran churches to share about the work we will be doing, the end of every presentation is the same. We invite you to “go” with us. While going will sometimes look like mission work 12,000 miles from home, more often, it looks like you going into your own communities sharing the Gospel of Christ. The good news that Jesus was born, that he died and has risen again to prepare a place for us in heaven eternally. As we celebrate a new church year it is a good time for us all to consider, “What about next year?” How can you step outside your comfort zone to help others be blessed by God’s gifts of word and sacrament? God bless you all as you take time to ponder on these things and as we pray for one another.
