.jeri.

It Is Why I Work Here, After All...

I went to chapel this morning. Now that we have a student worker in the office, it's good to know I can always go to chapel on Mondays.

So today, Bruce Wilkinson, author of the famed Jabez book--that created a craze so huge that I own an "I prayed the prayer of Jabez and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" shirt--spoke in an effort to move our university's students towards being leaders in a movement to help people in Africa. He has been working a lot in Swaziland (which is the country with the biggest AIDS problem) to learn about and adopt abstinence as the best way to battle AIDS. Hundreds of people have been committing their lives to God, embracing abstinence, and learning how they can help others learn about abstience. A major problem Wilkinson also discovered after he moved there is a serious lack food. There were people he met whom he asked, "When was the last time you ate?" and they couldn't remember. Girls with no food would have sex to get money for food. His ministry has sent people to build gardens by the thousands. He has met with several kings, members of parliament in various countries, and even Nelson Mandela about these issues, and people are pleading with him to bring help. He believes that Swaziland can turn itself around in 3 years. He is also recruiting for several other countries.

Anyway, he gave a call for people to go on a 1-month mission trip in the summer of 2005, and urged the students to be an example for other Christian colleges, and to lead a life-changing mission trip that can affect the future of a country. He said, "Don't come up if you'll just think about it, or if you think you might try to go. Don't think about the money. God can provide. Just do it."

So, I just watched three hundred students go up to the front of the room and sign up for the trip. This is the first year the school has offered split chapels, one at 9:30, and one at 10:30. If this was just one chapel, I can't wait to hear the report from chapel 2.

It just reminds me why I'm working here - I haven't the guts to go out and impact the world as a missionary, but others do, and I work here to help the school send out such people.

Anyhoo. It was a touching moment. I guess you had to be there.

Posted by wendytime at September 13, 2004 10:46 AM | TrackBack