In preparation for this trip, we have been praying for our hearts, our team, and the people we will meet. This year, we have been reminded again that following Christ is challenging—there is opposition and hardship. However, there is also beauty in laboring for Christ because we know it has eternal ramifications.

Paul, a missionary in the Old Testament, was often met with resistance from Jewish Leaders who saw the message of Jesus Christ as a threat to their beliefs and practices (Acts 13: 42-48).

This was not the last time he was met with opposition. In Acts 18: 1-6, we see this resistance occurring again:

"After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath, he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.6 But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles." (NIV)

Though our opposition looks silly and different, we are encouraged to see that the momentary inconvenience of fighting off rats and pests, a rear-end hit on our car, the AC unit leaking, and all these minor struggles that began when we said yes to Ethiopia fade in comparison to the joy that we get from serving Christ.

We are going because HE radically transformed our lives; we do not think, act, speak, or live like we used to. We want others to know the joy and fullness of knowing Christ.

As we have attended our training, we have learned from the testimony of our teammates, and I can tell you that I see the same radical transformation in their lives and the desire to go and tell others about the redemptive work of Christ.