Relying on God’s Daily Bread 

What do you do when you are halfway across the world, on a mission trip, and your suitcase does not arrive with you at your destination? You rely on God and the goodness and generosity of angels God will provide for the journey. That is exactly what I did while in Angola for seven days.

June 4th till 11th, I was part of a small team heading from Valley Forge(PA) and Massachusetts to Angola. We had received an invitation from Rev. Tomas Cuvila, General Secretary of IBLA(Iglesia Baptista Livre em Angola) to come, visit, do listening sessions at various churches and meet with the staff of IBLA to help assess ministry needs. We were invited to walk the "Emmaus Walk" in Cabinda, Luanda and Uige. We had been invited to grasp greater understanding of pastoring and providing pastoral ministry in rural and urban settings in an African country where the remnants of the Civil War, which ended in 2002 was still being felt as we traveled the streets of Luanda. 

We were very warmly greeted in all the churches we visited; women and men dressed in colorful African materials, and clergy wearing their clergy shirts. The joy to greet us was palpable and in the atmosphere. I was in my humble attire I had been wearing since I left Philadelphia. I held on to Mark 6:7-11 where Jesus instructed the disciples to “take nothing for the journey.” I did not have to shake the dust off my feet, since the peace of Christ in their hearts met the peace of Christ in my heart.

During our week long stay, we were asked to meet with pastors, women church lay leaders, youth, seminarians and church community organizers. We heard their stories with our humble servants’ hands and started to build and strengthen partnerships.

Did it matter that I had been wearing the same clothes for a few days? I believe it humbled my Christian steps even more. God provided our daily bread. Our meals were prepared by the women at the churches we visited. We had a trusted man of God driving us to and from our appointments and translating our conversations. My suitcase which had been checked in at the Philadelphia airport but went on its own missional journey; traveling to Boston, JFK, Dulles and Dubai before reaching Luanda four days after I had arrived, was not a priority. I came in peace and was met with peace, love and a clergy colleague from Cabinda who let me use one of his clergy shirts for a TV interview. God provided our daily bread, and having options in clothing attire was secondary. The focus remained about relationship building and opening our hearts and ears to seeing the Light of Jesus in our brothers and sisters from Angola. In so many ways, God taught me and the team to put less emphasis on "stuff" and more on the importance that human connectedness brings to the moments to be shared.