This is part 1 of a 2 part series: Part 2
The book of Acts makes (my) life uncomfortable.
The church I attend has partnered with a church in Swaziland – a New Jersey-sized kingdom bounded by South Africa and Mozambique. Last summer my wife Sheri and I both went to Swaziland on a missions trip with thirty other members of the church. This year, given limited funds and limited time for writing, Sheri planned to go and I was going to spend the two weeks working and writing at home. It all seemed very prudent, until our church went through a short series on the book of Acts.
The message to me was clear: move out. The gospel moves outward. The Kingdom of Heaven moves outward. You, Ed Welch, move outward! Not everyone must go to Swaziland after reading Acts, but I was getting tired of the various preachers picking on me by name and telling me that I had to go, or so it seemed.
Since it was my second visit, I was able to pray more specifically and develop a tentative vision for the trip. By the time I left my desire was to know, love and pray for the twenty-something-ish men . . . excuse me, the phone just rang. Really, it just rang as I was writing this. It was Mlungisi, one of the young men I had met on the trip. He called to express his appreciation for our time together. Of course, I tried to say that he blessed me more than I him, but that was hard to communicate. When I asked him how I could pray he asked me to pray that he would be able to get a job in his land where there are very few jobs.
Anyone want to take a moment and pray for Mlungisi, and while you are at it could you include another just plain lovely guy, Nkhosingiphile? They are both godly young men who are in need of funds for their education, opportunities to work, or both.
Thank you book of Acts for making me uncomfortable. It would have been such a loss to have not known these men.
This is part one of a two part series: Part 2
