Umuryango Children's Network

10/02/202210/02/2022

MPC-Summer Mission Trip (2022)

This is a personal reflection from the team members.

FROM JANELL:

I had the amazing opportunity to go to Rwanda for 2 weeks this summer to visit the Umuryango Children’s Network and Bright Future Academy. I cannot stop thinking about all of the children we met – especially the Umuryango children. I think about and pray for them daily. These vulnerable children were initially so shy & reserved. Getting to know them, learning to communicate, doing activities & playing together, sharing smiles & laughs – just spending time together and caring about each other – were all such life-changing blessings for me. They were kind and caring and helpful and trusting – even when life has not always been those things to them.

It is amazing what God is doing through Yohani & Jean Paul with this charity and school. The impact on the children’s lives is so evident. They are meeting their physical and educational needs – which are both a huge deal and an undertaking. But they are doing so much more by providing a safe, loving, caring environment. They are meeting their emotional needs and teaching them about family and our amazing God who loves every one of them.

I almost didn’t go on this trip due to work commitments. And I cannot believe how much I and my heart would have missed out on had I not gone. Those children and this mission will forever be in my heart.

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FROM MARIAN:

Our trip in July was my first trip to Rwanda. Our group spent the first 8 days with the children of Bright Future Academy and other times specifically with the students of Umuryango who attend Bright Future. Our team of 8 played with them on the field, basketball court, and playground during free time. We also brought organized activities such as science experiments, coloring, hand painting to share the gospel and ballet lessons. We truly enjoyed working with these kids, whether they were school students, village kids or Umuryango kids. Yohani organized a very beautiful, but very challenging hike for the teachers, Umuryango kids and our team. What struck me about the boys on the hike was how kind and helpful they were to us; they held our hands to help us through the difficult parts and one boy patiently led me up the mountain as I huffed and puffed and had to rest every now and again. When the team initially learned that we were going to work with children who had been living on the street, I imagined tough, streetwise kids, but they were all very respectful and a pleasure to be with. We had so many cultural experiences during our two weeks: attending a Pentecostal Church with the Umuryango students, going to the market while they bought shoes, going on a safari with our team, visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, visiting Lake Kivu, and others. I would love to go back next year to see those kids again!

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FROM JACK

Our trip to Rwanda in July 2022 introduced us to a beautiful country which we had not experienced previously. Striking were the beauty of the lush mountains and terraced hillsides of western Rwanda, the grassy plains and majestic animals of Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda and the bustle of Kigali, a modern capital city in the center of the country. But the most memorable aspect of our visit were the smiles of the children we met at Bright Future Academy in Byimana. The children of Bright Future Academy showed us a joy of living, learning and playing in circumstances where they are not possessed of the material trappings of our society but are imbued with the hope and excitement that comes with making a future for themselves based on the education they are able to receive at their school. Their school provides them a loving environment, the spiritual training and the physical support they need to advance themselves to live productive, Christian lives. We came away from our 15-day Rwanda travel experience feeling blessed that we are able to help make their futures possible.

01/03/201901/03/2019

Love them but do not emotionally and/or materially corrupt them.

I am sure you have heard that too much of anything is bad. It’s true. Too much of good things that you are not used to can be very bad. Let me use an illustration to make my point. Suppose that you are not wealthy but you can provide a modest living for your child. Though you would like your child to have the best, he or she has learned to be comfortable with your simple lifestyle. For few days, your neighbor gets a visitor who happens to be a very wealthy person. Feeling sorry for child, the wealthy guy in town starts showering your child with expensive gifts and love (which he needs) that makes him/her feel like he/she is living in a dream. To this child, having the rich guy around is like you having your favorite Hollywood celebrity in town with all of his attention focussed on you.

Because kids adapt very fast, he/she start asking you (the parent) the same things he/she gets from the new wealthy friend. Unfortunately, you have to say no and maybe give him/her a tough lecture on why he/she should not be asking such things that you cannot afford. Every time you say no, he/she runs to the new wealthy friend and he/she gets exactly what he/she wants. While he/she is with the new friend, he/she is given an overwhelming affection and love and every thing his heart longs for. Unfortunately not from you as the parent and you know it will soon be gone. How do you think the actions of this good Samaritan will affect the relationship with your child? How will it affect the child and how will it make him feel when the Good Samaritan eventually has to leave? Imagine if your own child start wishing he/she was born in a different family that can provide what she just tasted!

You are probably thinking: What are we supposed to do? Leave a child hungry if we can easily feed him? I am not suggesting that. What I am suggesting, though is that handing money and things simply because people need them and we can easily afford it may not always be a wise decision. At the same time, giving or showing a child more love and affection than he/she has ever gotten from his/her own parents may not be a good thing. I have realized that different cultures have different ways to express love and emotions. It is important that we learn and try to stay within local cultural boundaries.

I think that we, short-term missionaries do a great job in learning about what is accepted and what is expected in order to be respectful and mindful of other cultures. However, many of us have a hard time controlling our “well-intentioned” emotions. All short-term missionaries that I have met have something in common. They are equipped with so much love and passion for the people they serve yet they only have two weeks or less to pour it out on the people. So, if they simply let it out, it can be a little too much. In this situation, corporate love (I don’t even know if this exist but I mean loving a big group as a whole) works much better than focusing all of the attention and affection on one person/child

Let me reiterate that I believe God wants us to love and bless them but we have to do it in moderation so to not overstep on their cultural values. As I mentioned in my previous post, we must first meet the person before meeting his/her needs. Thus, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will discern how to best love and serve them in ways that do not conflict or compromise their cultural values and belief. If not controlled, our passionate expression of love and affection can lead to an emotional corruption that will do more harm than good. It can unintentionally turn a much-needed cultural exchange into a cultural change.

With everything that can go wrong, how do you even prepare for a mission trip? Well, there are things that you simply cannot plan or prepare for. The best you can do is to continuously seek God’s help and wisdom while you are serving. At the same time, you will need to work closely with a local mission partner. This local partner cannot be someone you just hire. He or she must be someone you have gotten to know and trust; someone who knows and trusts your ministry. Through a stronger relationship, your partner will be empowered to guide you and to tell you everything even when it is not what you want to hear (as long as it glorifies God). Just as much as missions can be challenging and complex for the mission-goers, the same is true for the local partner hosting us. Next time, I will share something I have learned as a host.

God’s mission is a two way street and it’s not just about them; It’s also about you.

Do not just focus on building houses. Build relationships

01/02/201901/03/2019

Do not just focus on building houses. Build relationships

The first thing that often comes into our minds when invited on a mission trip is: What will we be doing there? Oh no! I am the wrong person to ask. I have never done this before and I don’t think I know how to do anything that can be useful. We quickly associate our usefulness and qualification with what we know how to do. This is partly due to the fact that, the companies we work for value us based on what we do; not who we are. Understandably, how we feel about ourselves or how valuable we feel is based on what we can or cannot do. Living in the world of “doers” can quickly make us forget that God is more interested in “who we are” (our being) than in what we can do (our doing). Call me lazy but I kinda love going on a mission trip and do nothing. It gives me a warm feeling to finally realize that there is a place where I can focus on “being”; not on “doing” and still accepted?

Think about it. If it were about what we can do for our mission partners, going on a mission trip could hardly be financially and logistically justifiable. First of all, the monetary value of what we can accomplish in two weeks is far less than how much we can earn from our highly paying jobs. Secondary, there is not much you can do that will outweigh the time away from your friends and family. Thirdly, it can be more helpful to pay the local people who often need to job and can do it more effectively. Besides, they can do a follow up if anything goes wrong later.

I am not against doing things and building houses for the homeless but I am against making it a central focus of the mission. Doing things should only be a part of the fellowship with our local mission partners. I think it is totally OK to come back home from a mission trip without having built a house for a poor orphan or a widow. However, I think it defeats the purpose to come back without realizing that the poor woman or child who used to come by to say hi is a widow or an orphan. I think the mission trip should be an opportunity to grow our horizontal (interpersonal) relationships while deepening our vertical (with God) relationship.

Imagine that you have a son who has gone to college and achieved great things for himself. Due to his busy school schedule, unfortunately, he never got a chance to be close to your parents (his grandparents). In fact, they barely know him. Knowing about how much he can learn about you and life from them, you suggest that you and him go to spend few days with your parents. Will you be happy if your parents mailed you a to-do-list that you have to complete before you return home? Do you think that his grandparents will want him to spend all of the time working on every thing that they haven’t been able to get done around the house or will they want to spend time doing spontaneous things that help both of them to get to know each other better? Imagine how memorable and beautiful it would be if everything they did was a spontaneous result of their fellowship instead of a planed list of activities and duties.

God’s family is much bigger than our biological families, our churches and our countries. I believe that he introduces us to each other one at a time. He is not sending you on the mission trip so you meet all of their needs. He is sending you so you can meet “THEM”. So, do not allow “doing” things get in your way for “being” who he wants you to be with them. By getting to know your hosts and letting them get to know you, you will both learn something about God that none of you could have learned otherwise.

God’s mission is a two way street and it’s not just about them; It’s also about you.

Love them but do not emotionally and/or materially corrupt them.

12/31/201801/03/2019

A Mission Trip is a two way street. It’s about them as much as it’s about you.

When we finally decide to go on a mission trip, we start thinking about how we can bless them (them meaning whoever we are serving). The first thing we learn about is the needs as we figure out how we can help out. That can be overwhelming at times. It’s true that we may have much more money and material stuff than they do but they actually need much more than we can give. Even if we gave everything we owned, it would only be a drop in the ocean. We have to accept and make peace with this difficult reality. So, let’s forget about being burdened by the needs for a moment.

Don’t get me wrong: It’s good and we should bless those who are less fortunate than we are. However, it would be a mistake to focus our efforts on what we can give rather than who we can be together in the eyes of our creator. Imagine yourself in a remote region that only less than half of your friends and family have even heard of. Yet, you feel loved and cared for. Maybe you cannot even communicate verbally but you still feel safe. I don’t know about you, but I see God in that picture. If not God, what or who else can bring two total strangers, having practically nothing in common to make them feel like brothers and sisters?

I think we risk to get it wrong when we attempt to place ourselves on the donor’s end while placing them on the recipient’s end. After a while, the connection between two ends is only sustained by a one-way flow of materials and money from the donor to the recipient. Soon or later, we finally realize that the issue of poverty on which we focus our efforts is much bigger than we can solve (at least in the time frame we allow ourselves). Consequently, many of us eventually give up in disappointments and discouragement, feeling ineffectively burned out.

As donors, packing our suitcases is even more stressful because we do not know what to leave behind. We want to pack everything we possibly can because we do not want to burden or inconvenience anyone (when we get there). What we are afraid of (being a burden for our mission partners) is even more reinforced by some long-term western missionaries serving abroad. They will give you an itemized list of things and tell you exactly how much money you need to bring in order to provide yourself everything without anyone having to sacrifice for you. I am not really suggesting that it’s wrong to be prepared. I am only suggesting that we should allow ourselves some room to be blessed by God and our mission partners.

I think we would have a much more fulfilling experience if we simply allowed ourselves to be blessed as much as we wanted to bless them. Being dependent is certainly not easy especially for many of us who live in the world where we can provide pretty much anything for ourselves. We have learned to be independent and self-reliant in every aspect of life. In fact, God must sometimes take us to places where we have no access to everything in order to make us feel dependent on him once again. For some of us, that place can be a mission field, where our comfort and security is only God. Who do you depend on when you are outside of your medical insurance and 911’s coverage?

Before I get to my next point, I want to propose a scenario to think about. Suppose you have a wealthy friend. Your friend offers to visit (or you ask him to) and you both agree on a date. How would you feel if your friend brought his own food and drinks, his own bed and everything else he needed so he doesn’t have to ask anything from you? You know very well that he only did this because he did not want to be a burden. Would you feel burdened if you had to sacrificially provide whatever you can afford for your friend or would you feel more accepted, dignified and joyful for being given the opportunity to share with a friend?

I guess what I am getting at is that our mission partners would enjoy blessing us as much as we would like to bless them. God has created us to feel joyful when we bless others. I think we should give them the opportunity even when we know that they cannot afford everything we are used to. If you haven’t yet, you will probably hear missionaries say: “they are so poor yet so thankful…” I believe those who apparently don’t have much (by the world standards) can still be thankful and honor God through their offering and generosity. I think that it is absolutely humbling to realize that the God we serve where we live in abundance of stuff is the same God we (or they) serve in places where there is a lack of stuff.

If you feel called, God is not sending you on a mission trip because you are best suited to bless “THEM”. He is sending you because “YOU” are uniquely suited to be blessed by him (sometimes through them). Until you accept his blessings for you sometimes from unlikely places and people, you will not fully experience his awesomeness!

Do not JUST focus on building houses and doing things; focus on building relationships

Love them but do not emotionally and/or materially corrupt them.

12/31/201801/03/2019

Your only qualification for a mission Trip is your obedience and trust

I think we risk to get get it wrong when we attempt to place ourselves on the donor’s end while placing them on the recipient’s end. After a while, the connection between two ends is only sustained by a one-way flow of materials and money from the donor to the recipient. Soon or later, we finally realize that the issue of poverty on which we focus our efforts is much bigger than we can solve (at least in the time frame we allow ourselves). Consequently, many of us eventually give up in disappointments and discouragement, feeling ineffectively burned out.

Do not JUST focus on building houses and doing things; focus on building relationships

Love them but do not emotionally and/or materially corrupt them.

12/07/201801/02/2019

Olivier Uwonkunda. One of our graduates.

Olivier was just two years old when the 1994 genocide killed over 1000000 people in Rwanda. He was young, but vividly remembers the sight of dead bodies lying in the streets as his mother carried him on her back. Fortunately, his mother and father both survived the genocide, but he was raised in the aftermath of the genocide and in a country struggling to forgive and rebuild the lives of its citizens. Due to extreme poverty and tragic, sudden loss of his father, Olivier became a street child.

Olivier was taken from street to Umuryango and lived there for eight years. As one of our eldest children, Olivier became a leader and a big brother figure to many of the younger children at Umuryango. In his free time, he loved to play soccer and was once the captain of his school soccer team.

Olivier has been one of the most courageous and ambitious children at Umuryango. Ever since he joined Umuryango, he dreamed to become a mechanic driver. When he graduated from elementary school, he enrolled in a technical school and performed well. In two years, he became a certified mechanic.

Like many other graduates from Umuryango, Oliver was helped to secure a job at the local garage in capital city, Kigali. He was given all required material and membership fees. Today, Olivier is happily employed and enjoys what he does. He does such a good job that he stands out at work place. Everybody knows him!

Umuryango may not be able to help every deserving child but looking back at Olivier and others like him makes all of us praise God for one changed life.Olivier could not have made it without support and love especially from his sponsoring family, the Newlins. We keep in touch with all of our children to ensure them that we are always there for them to fall back on. It is our hope that all of our children get equipped to go as far as possible but stay closer as a family.

12/07/201812/31/2018

Planning a Short-term Mission Trip

Since 2002, I have been involved with mission trips either as a mission-goer or as a host of mission teams. If you have been or ever considered going on a mission trip, you probably know how intimidating it can be especially during the preparation period. The thoughts of mission trips put us in a continuous state of nervous uncertainties and sometimes make us feel stressed. The fear and stress is caused partly by the fact that we are often called to go to places that we do not know much about. The questioning state of mind can potentially lead to skepticism. How good are these mission trips and what difference do they make? Is it worth the money, time and energy put into it? I am the right person or I am ready and equipped to make any difference? It is totally legitimate to ask questions if you are seriously considering a mission trip. Unfortunately (or fortunately) some answers may not come until you actually go (or even long after you come back)!

Mission trips give us such a unique personal experience that cannot be grasped from great stories we may hear from those who have gone to missions before us. Additionally, any good answers to the questions you may have will always leave a void that can only be filled by your own experience. Each experience is unique and personal. As someone who has been on few mission trips, I consider each and everyone of my trips to be a unique, vital part of my Christian walk and fellowship with God. In other words, God has used the mission trips to not only change my life but also to reveal himself to me in ways that I could never have anticipated.

Yes, mission trips are great but….there is always a “but”! In my experience, I have learned that all good things and noble causes come with two opportunities: One is to do it right (hopefully) and another is to get it completely wrong(unfortunately). Mission trips are not immune to this reality. Despite our good intentions, we can still get it wrong and cause more harm than we do “good” if we do not surrender our agenda and ourselves to the one who calls us to go –God.

Our agenda is only short-term, just like we call it: it’s a “short-term” mission trip. I am convinced that even though we plan for a “short-term” mission, God is thinking about “long-term” relationships. I have seen this in my own experience or in others with whom I got the pleasure to serve in missions. When you look back few years after your first “short-term” mission trip, you realize that there was nothing short about it; of course if you allow God to take the lead. Many people that I know have gone back many more times or God has expended their mission calling to other places. Others got involved in ways they could never have planned on their first mission trip. Basically, a mission trip can be a game-changer in your life. It does not leave you the same person you were before it. And it keeps getting better and better!

I don’t claim any authority or expertise to give a lecture about missions but I thought I would share few things, which I have so far learned through observations and active participation. Everything considered, in my experience, missions should not make us feel intimidated or burdened as if we are being punished by God. We should only feel honored and privileged that He is asking us to take part in what he is doing outside of our comfortable social circles. As I share few learned lessons, I will put on two hats: First as a mission trip-goer (part 1) and second as a host of a mission team (part 2)

These are 4 points that I want to explore in this section (part 1):

1. Your only qualification for God’s mission is your obedience and trust

2. God’s mission is a two way street and it’s not just about them; It’s also about you.

3. Do not JUST focus on building houses and doing things; focus on building relationships

4. Love them but do not emotionally and/or materially corrupt them.

12/07/201812/30/2018

More than a Prodigal Son

Unlike many others, Jean Claude had little trouble with school. He could not really finish formal education, which we desperately wanted him to finish. We first thought we had failed him and everyone who invested in him. Little did we know that God’s plan for him was bigger than ours. His plan never fails!
After realizing that our educational path for Jean Claude was not going to work, we helped him enroll in a two-year technical school to study mechanics. After graduation, we paid membership fees for him to become an apprentice in a local mechanic garage. Being as smart and as hard working as he’s always been, Jean Claude quickly earned trust from fellow mechanics, his trainers and his customers. That eventually earned him the title of “Professor” which highly speaks of his skills, abilities and dependability. Everyone at the garage knows him.
During my recent visit, Jean Claude came home to visit us and we made plans to pay a visit to his family. Jean Paul and I went to visit his family, whom we had visited before when Jean Claude lived with us. Although I knew and heard great things about Jean Claude’s active role in the family, I was very curious to hear his testimony from his own parents. Remember that these are the same parents that Jean Claude could not live with. He felt he was better off as a homeless on the street. So, I wanted to really see and hear from them what kind of a child he had become to them! I do not usually cry (tears of joy) but his dad said something I could not resist. He said: “Jean Claude made me the proud father that I thought I had failed to become”.

Without going into much details about his past, Jean Claude is the 4th oldest sibling who started smoking and using drugs at very young age. Unable to get along with his own family, he became a street child. That is how we found him and took him to Umuryango along with 3 other boys (our first 4 kids). He lived with us for almost 10 years before going back to his family.
He is currently the oldest still living with his family as his older brothers and the only sister moved out and got their own families. The parents are old and cannot work anymore. Guess who just stepped in to support the family? Jean Claude! Jean Claude did not just come back asking for forgiveness and to be taken care of. He came back to forgive his parents and to take care of them. Is not God, who else can make this miraculous reconciliation possible?

What is most encouraging and inspiring about his story is not the fact that Jean Claude is now providing for a family of 8 and is able to put the roof over their heads. What is MOST fascinating is that Jean Claude introduced the family to Jesus. He started reading the bible he got from Umuryango to his mother. Today, his mother is a born again Christian and the whole family is attending church regularly. The parents quit drinking and there is peace in the house. As I was saying goodbye to Jean Claude, he told me: “God has opened doors for my family and I am grateful”. Does he still work hard and get tired? Yes, but he is grateful!
Unfortunately, his toolbox, which we had given him when he graduated, was recently stolen. While he felt bad about it, he kept positive attitude and said that God would provide again, somehow. We promised him that we would get him another one as soon as we got money so he could keep being a good boy and a supporter of his family.
When we started Umuryango and when we met Jean Claude, we were only thinking that we were helping a needy child but God had the entire family. We are grateful to God and to the generous sponsors who have invested in “professor”!

12/07/201812/29/2018

Life on this planet is …

As I sit in the airport waiting for my connecting flight, my ever-wandering mind couldn’t help to think about life as a plane ride. After boarding the plane and reaching my seat, the captain made his announcement and concluded with: ”sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”. As a looked around, I was amazed by the calmness in the main cabin. For the first time, it occurred to me that a totally able person could actually accept the fact that he or she had no control whatsoever over what was going to take place for the next few hours, yet remained calm. Just acknowledging that simple fact and making peace with it made everyone’s ride comfortable and enjoyable!

I don’t know about you, but to me, a plane is always an unlikely place to experience such peace and tranquility. Think about over 150 total strangers who just happen to find themselves on the same plane, smaller that one person’s house. Although everyone knows that a journey has an origin and destination, no one really knows where the other is coming from or where he or she is going. In reality, origin, destination, past or future of someone else seems the least concern of any passenger. Everyone is living the “NOW” moment during which social status, fame and expertise are irrelevant at least for the duration of the flight!

35000 feet in the skies, every passenger realizes that someone else is running the show in the cockpit. Every passenger knows he or she is a temporary traveller on a plane which is eventually left as found; the maps, route, take off and landing times were pre-programed and there is absolutely nothing one can do to get there faster. Walking back and forth won’t add anything to the duration of the flight. So, everyone knows it works best for everyone to just “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”.

Although we may not technically be “in control”, what we choose to do during our “limited time” on the plane can make someone else’s ride enjoyable or a nightmare. You have probably seen situations where one person may decide to be very mean to fellow passengers. These situations however, are often exceptions rather than rules. In fact, such person is often ridiculed and made feel ashamed of his or her behavior. Gentle, kind gestures to make someone’s ride easier and comfortable are more observed than mean, selfish behaviors. Small sacrifices of one’s comfort for someone else’s are not unheard of either. I think the kindness happens mainly because everyone realizes the “temporary nature” of the flight. I witnessed a gentle man who ceded his first class seat to a sick man who needed to rest.

Yes, the gentle man had paid for his “temporary” comfort but he willingly gave it out to ease someone’s pain. For the gentle man, the focus was not the comfort of the ride but the safe arrival to the destination. He was wise enough to understand that he only had his first class seat as long as he was on the plane and he could not take it with him. While being kind to a stranger may have cost him “temporary” comfort, it surely brought joy to both of them, which could not have bought by the price of a first class seat. After all, whether you rid in the first or coach class, we all board and exit through the same door only when whoever is in charge says it’s time! It’s amazing how what we do during the ride may affect the time we spend at our final destinations. Some create happy memories for themselves and for others; others choose the opposite and may end up in unintended destination upon landing–jail!

I guess what I am trying to say here is that while we have this life that we treasure, we should treat it like a ride. Let’s us acknowledge the fact that there is someone (GOD) who controls when we get in and when get out of this world. As much as some of us spend all our time trying to make ourselves comfortable and to extend our ride (life), we have no control over when it’s time to go. Regardless of which side of the cabin you ride in (rich or poor), we all come in and go out the same way leaving everything behind!

Can you imagine how crazy it would be and how unsafe the ride could be if everyone tried to fight for and conquer additional seats on the plane knowing everything is left in the plane upon exit? Like the plane has enough seats for all of its passengers, I believe that this world has enough resources for everyone born into it. While we are on it, we should spend time creating happy memories and making everyone’s life a little more comfortable instead of fighting over things that we won’t take when we die? God must be weeping when he watches countries fighting over borders and his people killing each other for wealth and other things that they are destined to leave behind when they die.

You and I may not live to see the end of problems in this world. However, I believe that we can help someone see the end of problems in his life at least as long as we ride together. I want to challenge you to take advantage of the “moment” when you seat with a customer in your office, ride with someone in an elevator or simply walk by someone in the park. As long as you are together, you have the power to affect the trajectory to their destination, which you may not even know. More importantly, let God sit in the cockpit and take control while you relax and enjoy the ride! Life is more fun and enjoyable that way!

12/07/201801/02/2019

How Hot Are You as a Christian

If you have met my wife, you probably know that she is not into luxurious lifestyle. Nevertheless, I like to surprise her every once in a while. I recently planned a get-away vacation for her to the Islands. This vacation was a total surprise and I managed to keep it to myself as long as I could. Living with the secret without divulging it was not easy. Each day that went by made me a little too excited to just keep my mouth shut.

As the dates of the trip approached, I started learning everything about this adventurous resort we were visiting. I could not believe how “obsessed” I became about it. I learned about the history, every landmark, trails, you name it! In other words, I had visual map of this place, which I had surprisingly not visited before. It’s amazing how much our mind can conceive and visualize when we put it on the task!

My “to-do-list” included things that I was absolutely sure that my wife would have loved and few things I wanted her to try/see for the first time like snorkeling, skydiving etc. Months leading to our vacation, I had prepared myself to be a good tour guide! Long story short, we had to cancel our vacation and I had to virtually share this place and my excitement about it with my wife. Surprisingly, she enjoyed my narrative and stories probably more than she could have enjoyed it by being there physically. Yes, I was that good in recounting my emotional trip. And No, I did not lie to her or exaggerate.

You see, I was not too crazy about this place just because it was beautiful (and yes it is a beautiful place) but because I was going there with my wife. This sounds a little cheesy but seeing her, as someone I love, enjoying this place was what I was mostly looking forward to. To me, the presence/happiness of my wife in this place had so much to add to the beauty of this place (as beautiful as it already is).

Because of my excitement, I was able to learn so much about this place that I feel like I have been there before. I literary have a tourist’s map drilled into my head. If I ever had to convince a friend to go with us, it would not have been hard at all. It amazed me how much I learned about this place in a little time simply because I was motivated enough to become passionate about it. In fact, I feel more confortable taking a friend to this place (where I have never been) than many other places that I have physically been to (by accident or coincidence).

This experience made me think a lot about my Christian life. As a Christian, I know that my eternal home is in heaven. Most importantly, I will spend this eternity with the one who loved and died for me, Jesus. Despite of this wonderful news that I actually believe in, I often wonder if I am excited enough about Heaven and who I will see there. I think this is a sad truth I share with many fellow Christians. We are just not that excited!

Don’t get me wrong. I am not here to judge but I think that we, Christian need to be more excited about heaven and the Christ that we serve. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commands us to “go and make disciples”. I doubt we will deliver if we keep showing little or no excitement about him. Not that we should act as salespersons but I can hardly think of any salesperson (at least a successful one) who fails to impart his excitement about his merchandise into his “potential” customers. My point is that, God has given us supernatural power to do great things but history shows that we can only achieve things we pursue with passion and excitement.

We live in times when we can no longer afford to live like “undercover” Christians. You may say that things have been this way for a long time but Satan has become more aggressive in his tactics more than he has ever done before. Sorry to jump into various issues but I read many posts about Christians who are very concerned about the decision of the Supreme Court and how it is going to affect or influence their children. For Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, the government will NOT protect our children from Satan. It’s our responsibilities to make disciples starting with our own children. But what should we expect if the world seems way more passionate about taking our children to hell than we are about taking them to heaven? Who will they follow?

This is high time that we, Christians need to rekindle the fire of the Holy Spirit that burns from within. Through our passion and works, let us make it clear to our friends and neighbors that we are HOT Christians heading to heaven and we are not leaving them behind. Let’s distance ourselves from the world that keeps falling victims of today’s fashion while losing their passion for Christ. It’s ok to look pathetic to this world as long as we maintain the prophetic word that is desperately needed!

May God bless and empower you to share his good news!