Testimony from Urbana

Another significant event in my life was Urbana '06. This was the letter I wrote to my home church. Sorry it ends kind of funny, but... deal with it? :)

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As you may know, Urbana is a huge missions conference. Pre-Urbana, I was interested in missions; however, I was unclear as to how to develop that desire. In fact, it was about the middle of my first semester, sitting at an InterVarsity meeting, when they spoke about missions and prayer needs for a specific team. I remember thinking, “Gosh, God, I just really want to go.” God replied, “Wait. There’s nothing wrong with the desire to go, but I have many things I want to do in you. I have to trust you with My Word right where you are before I will send you somewhere else to share it.” So, for a while, I let that desire sit and marinate in the refrigerator.

Ever since the Atlanta trip after my senior year of high school, social injustice has bugged me. Here in Terre Haute, I work at a community center that runs an after school program for the kids of the neighborhood, most of whom are living beneath the poverty line. When I checked out Urbana, I saw that they had a track specifically designed for this: “Slum Communities of the Developing World.” I made sure to register as soon as possible.

Within the track, I attended many seminars dealing with street children in slum communities and the horrible realities they face daily. I learned about child trafficking and living among trash heaps. It was so burdening. We also talked about incarnational ministry, which is living among the poorest of the poor around the world and forming relationships with them. It is about sacrificing what you have for the sake of the forsaken, lost, left-behind, and forgotten. It is based on Jesus’ example in John 1:14 and Philippians 2:1-11.

Urbana was so amazing in the fact that so much diversity was present. Individuals from over 140 nations attended. It was eye opening to see 22,000+ students gathered to seek the same God and His purpose for our lives. One of the major themes we discussed as a conference was the global church. A minister from Nairobi spoke about how we can no longer define Christianity by simply looking at the Western church. Astronomical church growth is now occurring in Africa and Asia. This speaker and many others challenged me to think of the global body, instead of solely focusing on my local body or even the church of the USA. He spoke of reciprocity between nations: if you send missionaries to one nation, you must work equally as hard to bring missionaries back. God has opened my eyes to the world!

Around the second day, I found myself in the position of the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-31. “Jesus, I follow the commandments. What more must I do to inherit eternal life?” I ask. Jesus looks at me in love and says, “One thing you lack. Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” After seeing the brokenness of the world, I didn’t think I could live for myself that much longer. No, at that point, I sensed that God has a greater purpose for me than what I even know; it reaches far beyond my comfort zones. It calls me to leave what is familiar to me. I don’t care about success anymore. I just want to make a difference.

At the end of the week, the track leader called for those who felt God’s leading to serve incarnationally among the poor. He was talking at least two years. I hesitated. Like, really hesitated. One of the girls in my small group went up with me just in time. As I stood at that ‘altar’ while the missionaries and IV staff prayed over those who responded, I thought, “God, this is just crazy. I don’t understand why I’m doing this. This is so impractical. It doesn’t make sense! Etc. etc.” I was so afraid. When the leader came to pray with me, he spoke one word: “Courage.” How reaffirming! So, I have committed at least two years of my life serving among the poorest of the poor!!

Last semester, I took a World Music Traditions class. We studied music from places like South America, Africa, Asia, and Central Europe. I thoroughly enjoyed studying musics and peoples of different ethnicities (which totally prepared me for thinking of the global church and gave me a love for diversity). Because my church frequently sings gospel worship, I think I was most excited to study African music; it also ended up being my favorite unit. During Urbana, we learned a lot about Africa and the AIDS crisis. Basically, God is cultivating a desire to go to Africa. The speaker from Nairobi said that when one goes as a missionary to another culture, he or she must come with a posture of learning. For this reason, I will be taking a semester of study abroad to Africa to study African music sometime down the road, toward the end of my undergraduate degree. At this point, it looks like either South Africa or Ghana. I am also adding an International Studies minor, with a focus on Africa and the Middle East.