A Defining Moment in Africa

I didn't know when I waved goodbye at security and watched my son disappear into the bowels of the airport, that I was sending him on a trip that would define his life.

I didn't know.

I didn't know that he would see a sign that read, "Warning. Do not enter." and he would hear the voice of God.

I didn't know that he would leave as one rescued and return as one who rescues.

I didn't know.

Even though I knew he would be in Africa for the better part of a month, I didn't know how that experience would shape him.

Because as a parent you don't know. You don't know what experience or circumstance will influence your child's life.

Most of the time, you are just hanging on by your fingernails, doing the best you can.

When they are small, you surround them with safety. You know their friends. You encourage their interests and hobbies. You love, nurture and care for them.

And you pray.

You pray for the realization of a God-given destiny.

But no matter how much you do and how involved you are, you don't know.

You don't know how God will speak to your child and how He will direct their steps.

And people tell you that if you are wise...

if you are wise, you will realize that your child, especially as he becomes a teen, will need others to shape him into the man of God he is growing into being.

Teachers.

Coaches.

Mentors.

Church youth leaders.

Friends.

Life experiences.

And this letting go, this not knowing, this trusting your child to the unknown is the hardest thing you will ever do.

Sometimes, you wonder if your heart can survive.

So when our son decided 2 years ago that he wanted to go to Africa, on a church trip to visit missionaries we knew who were ministering to the sick and dying in Mozambique, we said, yes, he could go.

With fear and trembling and much prayer we said yes.

The capital city of Maputo, Mozambique houses the only chemo department in the country. To get an understanding of how limited this is, picture a country that extends from Seattle to L.A. and picture one oncology ward in that expanse. Because of the inconvenience of being away from home and the expense of travel, most people wait until they are stage 4 and dying before they show up for treatment.

My son writes of his experience:

Most of my time was spent in a hospital for cancer patients, talking to many men of many ages. Most of the people I talked to were, essentially, on their deathbeds. The condition of this hospital was terrible. The rooms smelled of urine, as most of the patients soiled themselves and were not changed. Approximately one third of the hospital was closed due to a radiation leak which was sectioned off by a warning sign in the middle of the hallway. The actual machinery was old and hardly functioning. All of these people had come to this hospital sick, but had only gotten worse when they arrived. I was bewildered and knew that there was nothing I could do to help. I was powerless. I hated that feeling, knowing that there were hundreds of people suffering and there was nothing I could do to help them. So I decided to become an engineer: to dedicate my life to designing things to help people’s lives. To me, being an engineer is making an impact in the world to help change lives and situations. 

Next to a warning sign in an empty hallway that smelled of urine, my son heard the voice of God. It was a defining moment.

A moment that author, Gary A. Haugen, writes about in Just Courage: "This is the moment in which we can see that all the work that God has been doing in our lives...is not an end in itself; rather, the work he has been doing in us is a powerful means to a grander purpose beyond ourselves. This is the supernatural moment when the rescued enter into their divine destiny as rescuers.  This is the critical transition - when we who have been rescued by Christ come to understand that our rescue has not been simply for ourselves but for an even more exalted purpose. Indeed our own rescue is God’s plan for rescuing the world that he loves."

My husband had a similar defining moment. At age 21 on a medical mission in Mexico he watched, helpless, as a mother, his age, with three young children died from tuberculosis. In that moment, on a mountain in Mexico, my husband made a decision to join God's rescuing work in the world.

My husband, a pastor.

My son, a student studying to be a chemical engineer.

Both rescued. Now rescuers.

Because of one defining moment.

What have been your defining moments?

_______________________________

Update on Mom on January 6, 2014

My sister, Renae, comes in on Monday for at least 5 days. My sister, Lisa comes in this coming Saturday for 5 days. Mom is looking forward to their visits.

This afternoon we are meeting with the oncologist. A decision will be made about whether or not Mom has chemo today after that meeting.