Let Me Be

              While I have known about Switchboard almost since day one, it has only been in the last few weeks I have joined the Switchboard team on an official capacity.  I wrestled with the idea that God’s desire for me is to only exercise one or two of my passions at a time, mainly because I seem to be drawn to opposing forces.  Close community and travel for long periods of time.  Those deeply rooted in religion, and those deeply hurt by religion.  There cannot be a way I could be connected to a local community and at the same time satisfy my hearts desire for people, language, and culture and the global church.  There was something missing in my understanding of who God is.  When it comes to our spiritual life, our understanding of who God is might just be the most important thing we could believe.

                Do you ever wonder why God places huge visions for His world deep within our hearts, but only gives us one little piece at a time to build this God-sized dream?  Then there are the moments it seems as though we walk into seasons where God doesn’t tell us or show us anything at all.  It is like giving us a crystal clear picture of this indescribable treasure, yet he hands us the treasure map and all it says is, “Let me be,” with an arrow pointing to where there certainly is an “X” marking the spot.

                In Exodus 3 God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush, something so outside of his understanding of what should be that it drew Moses closer and closer. It was here God reveals his name and his character, “I am who I am.”  I Am, the most referenced name for God in scripture.  It is the name that includes all names, it is the source and validation for His existence, and for ours.  Beautiful right?

                When God spoke to Moses in the desert and said, “I am who I am.”  He was saying I Am.  I am The Lord, the Righteous Judge, Faithful Friend, Prince of Peace.  I am the God who heals, the God who provides, the God who sees, I am the Lord God Almighty.  I am the Creator, Savior, the Living One, the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, I am the Lamb of God who was slain for you.  I Am.

                Last Wednesday we hosted an evening of prayer and worship to pray for Uganda and the community God has placed us in.  We didn’t quite know what to expect as only half of our team has roots here in Nashville, but when your heart is to know and love God it is safe to expect great things.  A couple dozen friends, young working professionals, college students, kids and their mothers, and friends of friends showed up to encourage us in prayer and worship with us as we wait to see just how God will move in Africa.  Perhaps I shouldn’t speak for my fellow team members, but I don’t believe any of us anticipated the number of participants or the heartfelt contribution as we interceded for the people of Uganda and as we prayed protection and provision over our trip.

Again I was asking myself, “Why?”  But I wasn’t asking God, “Who?”  I know I am not alone in saying this, but it is so easy for me to lose sight of who He is.  I find myself looking for guidance and direction and I pull out the treasure map I referenced early only to read, “Let me be.”   Instead of doing anything better, sometimes I need to first let Him be.  I need to let God be God.  How boring would this life be if all of our plans were never foiled, or if they were only as good as we imagined and no grander.  God desires to seize that empty space in our lives so he can blow our minds.  And when we ask, “why?” he simply wants to remind us who he is.  He wants those words, “I am that I am” to ring so loudly in our ears we think of peace, protection, provision, and comfort and we remove all doubt and remember he is with us.  He never intended us to do it without him. 

Maybe that’s why my map is empty.  It only reads, “Let me be,” because if there was a long list of things needed to be done I would try doing them without him.  My efforts may turn out good, but would they ever blow my mind?  While I find myself muttering frustrations at times, I have come to be so grateful as God holds me in a position of suspense and dependence.  I feel I would miss out on opportunities to work with the people I do now and witness all that God is up to, I’d continue to believe my hearts desires are for separate seasons rather than in God’s timing.  I’d continue to have a very small understanding of God and his love, and I’d continue forgetting to simply let him be.

We can’t thank those of you enough who joined us in prayer last Wednesday, your love for Jesus and your time in prayer has encouraged us more than you know.  We simply ask you to continue covering us in prayer.  Pray for the people of Uganda and for our leaders there.  Pray for their families and for them to grow deeper in their knowledge of Him.  Pray the people of Parwech long for the love Jesus offers, and pray their hearts would be ready to receive Him as truth, hope, and love.  Pray also for us, pray that we would let God be God in all we do and hearts would be drawn to him.  Pray our understanding of Him would grow daily, and that we would not limit him in anything we do. 

Thank you again for your prayers and your support of Switchboard Missions and may the whole world know of His great love for us.

In grace and love…

The newest addition to the Switchboard Team,

Cyrus Eaton

The Tuli Initiative: An Intro

Walt Disney was once quoted saying, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”  We wholeheartedly agree.  A standard mission trip with two nonprofit organizations in June quickly turned into the opportunity of a lifetime.  No, not the “opportunity of a lifetime” sleazy car salesmen kind of way, but rather the “opportunity of a lifetime” orchestrated entirely by God to change an entire country.  Rather than bearing witness to some of the greatest problems of the modern world and becoming overwhelmed, we quickly discovered God had clearly lit the way to a solution through a destined partnership between The Nameless Project and Switchboard Missions.  After meeting with over 40 government officials and the Governor of the Northern Uganda province and being offered full governmental support, there was really no option but to proceed.  The project is called The Tuli Initiative, and through it we plan to provide complete mind-body-spirit rehabilitation to war-torn villages.  This is no small endeavor, as we have committed to being a long-term presence in this country for years to come.  We have hired a Ugandan native named Walter Ogwang to serve as a full-time representative and presence for The Tuli Initiative. 

I can tell you stories from the people we met that would probably make you cry.  I could go into detail about the 25-year war that has rampaged their lives and ripped loved ones out of their arms.  I could recall the bullets still embedded in their skin or the desperation in their eyes when they pleaded for our assistance.  It would indeed make you stop and think, but we as Americans are pros at busying our minds to avoid harsh realities, so you would soon forget what you read.  To be honest, I’m weary of writing stories with orchestra-themed background music meant to tug at your heart strings.  We’ve come to realize that no matter how hard we work and how badly we want change, it is impossible to do alone.  Thank goodness we are all but alone.  Every single molecule of this project, from a chance meeting in a coffee shop to this very moment, has been entirely God-breathed and orchestrated.  He has already begun to assemble an All-Star team of the perfect combination of people born to make a difference.  It’s not our job to tug on your heart strings or pressure you to help, as I assure you God has been laying bigger things on your heart long before you read this blog.  Our job is the same as yours- to do what we were called to do.  You are out there right now reading this-born in America with every single resource possible at your disposal.  What are you doing with that?  You were born with a specific and unique set of talents and gifts to be fitted perfectly within your calling.  Over the next several weeks, we are going to further explain the vision behind The Tuli Initiative through a series of blogs.  We want to fully describe that which God has laid on our hearts to anyone who wants to listen.  God will make it abundantly clear to those who are supposed to join in this effort.  Not everyone is made for this, we know that, so to those whose passions are elsewhere we pray you keep searching until you find what you were made for.  Because changing the world…it’s not optional.  And believe me- it really is fun to do the impossible, because all things are possible with God.