Carrying out mission work involves sacrifice. It is something you cannot get away from. From the price of flights to accommodation to all sorts of vaccinations needed, something has to be given for the trip to take place. A lot of time, what makes people do mission work is the curiosity in “doing something new.” That’s not my reasoning actually. I see it differently. I, for one did not want to be a missionary! I never had any dreams about being abroad (unless it was on holiday); I never had any desires to minister in other countries, or just be part of a different culture in an area which wasn’t for tourists.

So what drove me to be out here in Gulu for my fourth trip? What drove me here for my first trip? The reason behind this is found in Romans 12:1- giving our lives as a living sacrifice which is a reasonable service to God. It sounds simple but it really isn’t. It costs to be here. It costs to choose this way. How is it then that I am here? The reason is that it is part of my identity. To give a service to God and others was what the discussion focussed on with the women here in Gulu. The challenge was looking at the practical tasks we are called to do and focussing on the purpose behind it. We have that reason for why we are motivated to do anything, but my part of my identity is to be a living sacrifice, and that is how I am here. Alive in him, and sacrificing my comforts, my plans, my ideals. To continue to come back here will involve that reason remaining. This is because to anything that costs so much and allows change to occur in situations outside myself, God is definitely involved, as he showed us first the true meaning of sacrifice through the blood of Jesus.