Strong and Courageous

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.”  - Joshua 1:6

The Uganda Mission Project is celebrating its eighth summer mission trip this year.  As we try to focus on ways to minister in Uganda, at Central UMC we are celebrating another new mission project ministering to the needs of our little city.  Although that hasn’t consumed all of our attention, other areas in our lives certainly have.  From work career load increases to American life speeding up, many distractions have been constantly battled.  We also have members of our team who have been sick in the last week, an element we’ve been blessed to avoid so many times in the past.

How many times though, have distractions been the enemy’s tool to keeping God’s people from the blessings that await?  The Israelites roaming, roaming, and roaming are a prime example.  Missing a generation of their blessing because they were too distracted by their current circumstances to answer a call and follow God.  In Joshua 1:6 God tells Joshua to “be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.”  Finally, they would receive their promised land.  Now, we as a team are faced with the same opportunity.  We may not be blessed with a geographical land of sorts, but with a territory to share God’s promises of His Holy kingdom. 

We ask that readers of this blog would cover our team in prayer.  We pray for the path to be clear in front of us, for wisdom in the decisions that we are making, for discernment in dealing with local customs, for boldness to proclaim God’s word, for strength to be the hands and feet of Christ, for a protective covering as we travel, for healthy bodies in which to serve, and for hearts to pour out God’s love abundantly.  The journey begins Tuesday June 3^rd.  We walk in courage and in strength from Christ, our Lord.