Today Laura and I walked 2.5 miles with Sandy McWilliams, a 53-year-old Presbyterian from KY who is walking from Louisville KY to Pennsville NJ this summer to raise awareness about the disease her mom has, psp or progressive supranuclear palsy. It was great to walk with a gentle soul on a mission. God works with each one of us in different ways.

Someone remarked to me today that "Mission begins at home. We have plenty of needy people right here in this country." The implication was that my trip to Zambia is somehow a waste of time, money and resources that could be spent here at home. I am sure I will run headlong into this viewpoint again, so I thought I should address it on my blog.

Mission does indeed begin at home, but if you read the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19f.) Jesus is very clear that we are to go out to all peoples everywhere, all over the world. The book of Acts quotes Jesus in Acts 1:7,with details on the Great Commission: first Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, then to the ends of the earth.

Beginning our witness and giving in our own neighborhoods is biblical: limiting it to our local area is not. Everyone who is in need, all over the world, is our neighbor.

These are some of the thoughts I have on mission as I prepare to journey to Zambia.