Snapshot of Obedience

Earlier this summer, my long time friend Meghan Baird called me to ask me a favor. She wanted to get baptized, and she was wondering if I would be willing to do it.

I first met Meghan when I was working with the college and young professionals ministry of Chestnut Ridge Church which was at that time called H2O--you can listen to some of the H2O Podcasts here. She was working on her second college degree after completing an undergraduate degree in Art at Shepherd University. Her focus this time was International Studies. She had been exposed to some of the great needs in this world, and she had set a goal of gaining educational experience that would help her serve others. Currently she is working on a Master's Degree in Counseling, and she wants to use this to serve mission agencies and educational programs in the developing world.

What struck me about Meghan from the first time I met her is a contagious passion for Jesus and justice. During my life, I have been fortunate to meet many who have these deeply linked passions, and I have had the privilege of helping them pursue both together. For eight years of my life, I worked for a ministry called Great Commission Ministries, and Meghan was one of the amazing leaders I had the privilege of working with.

When Meghan called to ask me to baptize her, I marked my calendar, and zealously guarded the weekend she was planning her baptism. Yesterday morning, I had the privilege of listening to her share her story, and why she wanted to take this step of obedience to Jesus and demonstrate this outward symbol of her deeply held faith. She told a community of about 100 friends of her faith in Jesus, her zeal for living as a sign and witness to Him, and of her desire to share this special day with all of them.

I had the pleasure of working with her not only as a member of our college ministry, but also as an employee of Nuru International. Meghan served as the Education Program Manager on Nuru's second foundation team, and also worked for a semester with the Nuru grassroots team and helped lay the foundation for our campus chapters as well as our nationwide awareness event, Be Hope To Her.

Yesterday, I had the distinct honor of baptizing her as her brother and as her friend. As I walked into the water with her, my mind flooded with many of the memories we had shared over the last five years. I thought about her baptism, and knew that her roommate would be taking photos as we walked into a small pond. And then I thought about the idea of obedience, and the snapshot, symbol, and gesture of obedience that baptism offers.

Each day, I believe we are challenged to live a better way. As C. S. Lewis has said, "It's not your business to succeed, but to do right; when you have done so, the rest lies with God." As you read this, may you find yourself in multiple situations that lead to snapshots of obedience where you choose to do right, and leave the rest to God.

Birthday Wishes

That photo is of my good friend Meghan Baird. Not sure if you know her or not, so I'm going to give a brief introduction. Meghan received her undergraduate degree in Art from Shepherd University. She then proceeded to come to WVU and added a degree in International Studies with a specialization in Africa and International Development. While here, we became friends through the college ministry of Chestnut Ridge Church. It's called 17three and if you are ever in Morgantown, you should check it out.

Anyway, Meghan went on to spend a year teaching in Sudan after graduating. While she was in Sudan, some other friends were starting Nuru, and so I told her about the organization. She applied for a posiition working with Nuru when she came back from Sudan, and was hired as the first education program manager for Nuru's project in Kuria, Kenya. Now part of Nuru's model is that anyone serving on the ground in the developing world will do so for a period of six months, and then will return to the USA for a period of about 10 months and work in one of three areas. Meghan is working with me in Morgantown on our grassroots team.

So why all of that introduction? Meghan's Birthday is in a couple of days. And she, along with a couple of other friends, Tara Rickard and Stuart Godwin, have decided to use their birthdays (all are happening this month) as an excuse to fight extreme poverty (which, if you didn't know, is exactly what Nuru does!). So they joined Nuru's cause page on facebook. This cause page has a cool feature. It allows you to "make a birthday wish" and invite people to give to your favorite cause instead of giving you a bunch of presents.

So if you want to join in celebrating Meghan's, Tara's or Stu's birthday, here's an opportunity to give. Here are the links to follow. For Meghan's wish click that link. If you want to help Tara's birthday wish come true, then click this link. And if you want to pass on birthday wishes to Stu, well, you know what to do.

Or, maybe you have a birthday coming up pretty soon. Ever thought about using the day you were born to bring hope to the lives of others? Now is your opportunity. If you are on facebook, join Nuru's cause and invite others to contribute. If you aren't on facebook, you could still do something creative like this with your birthday or another holiday. Think about it.

Three Missionaries

Three Missionaries, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Last week, during a flurry of events, I had the privilege of meeting up with three ladies who served h2o as student leaders during the recent past. Of course, meeting with leaders is always a great thing, but these three aren't your typical leaders.

You see, each one of these ladies has served the Lord for a year on foreign soil. Two of them served in Amsterdam while the third served in Sudan and Kenya. The one on the right is getting ready to serve an additional year in Nicaragua.

It was great catching up with these ladies, and hearing about all that God was doing in their lives in recent times. I'm amazed at how these individuals are choosing to serve Christ in all that they do, and how their experiences abroad have given them keener insight as to how they might better serve Him wherever they are.

There's a tinge of pride I feel as well, when I am with folks like these three. These folks came out of our tiny community in Morgantown--and they are impacting lives half way around the world. I love hearing what God is doing through people with whom I have been privileged to cross paths for a season.

I know there are many more stories of former h2o folks who are changing the world in their respective areas both locally and globally, but I just couldn't keep quiet about these three.

While you are reading, stop for a minute and thank God for the service that Melissa, Meghan, and Greta and countless other missionaries render in devotion to our king. Also say a prayer for each of them as they work to adjust to living in America. And while you are praying . . . pray that more young people would be willing to lay down their lives for the glory of knowing God and making Him known!!!