So, I have been to Africa many times now and I am struck, as I try to think of how much to pack, how every time I go, I pack less. I saw a film recently called “Up in the Air” and in it, the main character is a well worn traveller and he also does some motivational speaking on the side. One of things he speaks about is “What’s in your back pack?” I remember listening to that during the film and thinking about how my back pack is getting lighter and lighter and I thought about the words of Christ when He said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” What I am packing is becoming more and more a symbol of what is going on in my heart - a lightening of my soul.
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about coming with me to Rwanda in December when I take a team of coaches. I was talking about what it does for the soul, the first time you take the hand of a street kid and give yourself to them. Some people see the pictures and think of how heavy the burden must be. But, in my experience, there is a lightening of the soul that takes place. The more of the poor you touch, the less you carry in your backpack. You’ll find you begin to dump all the things you thought you needed. After many years of going to Africa, my wife and I came home in 2006 and got rid of our TV and Xbox. It just has a way of changing you. I am looking forward to once again staring into my life and asking myself the question, “Do I need this?”
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