Gateway

I arrived to the International Operations Center (IOC) in Garden Valley, Texas… yes I came to the land-locked town of Garden Valley, which really does not exist on most maps, in eastern Texas for four weeks to train for ship living in West Africa. Gateway is the name of the training and all volunteers with 9 months or more of planned service are required to attend. The first three weeks consist of classroom training regarding spiritual and cultural aspects of living in West Africa. The fourth week includes basic safety training in which we all pretend to be fire-fighters and learn how to live at sea in case of having to evacuate a sinking/ ship on fire.

It was great arriving and seeing so many familiar faces as many of us met in January during our introduction week. We now call ourselves the “Gates Family” :). The three weeks of classroom training were intense- approximately 40 hours a week. We learned much about the poverty and corruption in Africa and discussed ideas on ways to aid a people living under such oppression. My heart was broken as we learned about how rich Africa is in resources, yet how poor the continent is… Questions arose of whether or not our aid would be enabling the current situation or empowering the people… And I ask, someone who has been a Christian for several years now, the question long asked over many centuries- how could a loving God allow this?

I wrestled with this question for quite some time… and a verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 came to mind. 1 Corinthians 13:12 reads, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” I have always said that when I get to heaven I will have so many questions to ask God… and maybe that will be the case… but my focus is shifting. I know that my mirror may be covered in dust, cobwebs, and scratches acquired from 25 years of living in a world where you have to lock your door at night… and I will not fully know as long as I have life on this earth. But, I can rest in that I am fully known and that God fully knows the situation and He is who I am alive to serve. I do know that the forgotten poor of this world are God’s beloved children and I do not believe this was His plan for them. I go in hope that I can be hands of love to them… that by offering my time and my service I may be able to make a few lives better.