Road to Success

The kids on the way to the Learning Center

On the road to the Learning Center (where classes take place)

     We all know what roads are used for.  Roads are typically what we travel on to get us from one destination to another.  Roads are the means by which we travel and one of the many ways that we can get places quickly.  But, we see for Jesus that roads were not just a means for traveling.  For Jesus roads were what he traveled on to change people's lives.  On roads, Jesus was typically traveling for a specific purpose to achieve a specific goal.  It is on roads that Jesus had intimate conversations with friends, with His apostles and with those he wanted to mold into the image of His father.  For Jesus, roads were a tool that he could use to make a difference in people's lives.

      Everytime I travel over to East Africa I am always amazed at the poor quality of the roads that I travel upon.  Most of the secondary roads are dirt and they are bumpy, dusty and rock filled.  The main roads (though mostly paved) can be even worse as they are filled with potholes, dangerous shoulders and wild drivers.  The road I (and the kids) walk every morning to the learning center at MITS is a dirt road.  This time of year it is typically dusty and filled with large rocks.  When it rains the road becomes treacherous with mud and a type of mud that sticks to everything.  But what makes the road to the learning center at MITS  unique is that it is a road that is leading to success for so many young street kids.  It might be ugly, dirty, muddy, rocky and just a down right pain to walk (or drive) on but it is built for success.  As I walk down this road with the kids I imagine Jesus walking beside me talking to the kids, encouraging the kids and just absolutely loving these kids.  This road, because of where it leads, is giving hope to so many street kids.  It is giving them an opportunity to receive an education.  It is giving them an opportunity to learn a skill and apply it in the real world as a job.  It is giving them an opportunity to get off of the streets, become free from drugs and addictions and just find a place where someone loves them.  And most importantly, it is giving them an opportunity to learn about God, His love and His plans for their lives.  

Michael & Simon (from left to right) on the road to success.

      How about the road you travel everyday?  Is it just something you take to get to another destination today?  Or do you travel that road with a purpose . . . or more importantly, do you travel that road as an ambassador with a calling?  Do you seek to make a difference when you reach your destination?  Are you striving to love people, encourage them and teach them about the love of Jesus?  If not, begin thinking about how you can use your road today to help people find success in the kingdom.

The gate at one of the boys compound (the writing reads:
God's Leaders are Made in the Streets)