Partnership

One of the books that EMI sent me talks about the importance of partnership.  It was a good reminder of something that - I'm ashamed to admit - I often forget: that this trip is as much mine as it is yours.  Even though I get to actually travel to Uganda and work in ministry there, your prayers and your financial support are essential components of this mission.

A favorite missionary passage is Romans 10:13 - 15:
    
..., for "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"  (NIV 1984)

I've usually heard that verse to encourage people to go (actually, I've usually heard it to encourage people to preach...there's maybe another post to come about that).  But notice the last rhetorical question there: "how can they preach unless they are sent?"  This passage is as much about sending as it is about any of the other actions.  To Paul, sending is essential - it is the first in a chain of necessary (well, maybe not necessary, but at least normative) actions that result in saving faith. [1]

And that's what you, good supporters of mine, are doing.  Without you, I don't go.  Even if I could have financed this trip myself, going on my own would be pretty ineffective. Because with your support, this isn't just David Wit going to Africa to Help People - this is David Wit being sent by the Church to do God's work. Now, both of those scenarios might result in some good engineering work getting done, but let me be honest here: on this trip, as always, the work of engineering is secondary to the work of spiritual transformation.  Structures fall down, roads grow over, wells dry up.  But when God moves, the results are eternal.  And believe me, in this aspect of the work your prayers will accomplish much more than I could do on my own.  (Perhaps in all aspects of the work, too.) [2]

So It would be foolish and ungrateful of me to not give you all equal standing in this endeavor.  And I hope that, whether you follow this blog regularly or just check in every so often or even find it years from now, you will think of it as your project, too.

So, let's go do this together!

-David Wit



Notes:

(1) normative is one of those words I struggle with, so I'm trying to use it correctly whenever I can.  Here's what it means:

"of or relating to a norm, especially an assumed norm regarded as the standard of correctness in behavior, speech, writing, etc." (Dictionary.com)

By this I mean Paul regards this chain of events as normal.  Which I suppose I could have said, but like I said, I'm trying to learn this word... 

(2) This is not to say that the engineering work is irrelevant on its own, or that evangelism is the only project with eternal impact.  But I mean to imply that any and every work receives its eternal significance from God.  Maybe the worker doesn't need to acknowledge this, but I certainly think it helps.