Infectious

A year ago, 80,000 Aggie fans, clad in maroon, were rooting for their team, and I stood there thinking, “What if just $5 of every $80 ticket was donated to Sixty Feet?” Yesterday, I was driving our golf cart with my daughters around our neighborhood, and after taking a huge whiff of our clean air, I was reminded of the smoggy, polluted, diesel-fueled air in Kampala. Today, as I made sixty copies of work in just a few seconds for my 4th graders, I thought of the dedicated teachers in Bwerenga, who stay up late at night to hand-write worksheets for their students. No copiers for them.

That’s what Africa does to you. It infects every part of your life. It shatters any barrier to your thoughts, and like a crazy virus, starts infiltrating every area of your mind. It’s hard to even turn on the water faucet without thinking of jerry cans on top of tiny, ebony heads.

I also think of her. The girl at M1. I can’t get her out of my mind. The harsh “clack” of her words as she spoke sharply to a little boy, who was waiting to get food. She was a leader in her group, and there are no words for the guarded, angry way she carried herself. Working herself into a frenzy yelling at this little boy, I casually reached out my hand to touch her shoulder…hoping to calm her down. With a quick swat of her hand, she pushed mine away. Her eyes glaring, bent to show me that what I was trying to do was not allowed. She would not have love. Probably never has.

It is this memory that rocks me to my core and infects my thoughts. The unloved. The unwanted. The least of these. God will build his church. And the foundations will be laid by the hands and feet of his people who are not afraid to show His love to these souls. Maybe for the first time.

A sweet friend of mine once said, ” The playground of His Kingdom is vast and there is Kingdom business to be had (everywhere).” This is one infection that I don’t mind spreading. The world needs it to spread from person to person. I thank the Lord for those who understand that mission.

In case you are wanting a little infection of your own, read up on a few of the other blogs listed on this site, or head on over to www.sixtyfeet.org to get better acquainted with the cause. Watch a video or two while you are there…. better yet, sign up for a trip to go see with your own eyes. You won’t regret it. In fact, you’ll be ready to infect someone else in no time. I promise.

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