I found myself in a very unfamiliar place. We were on a 12th
floor balcony looking over some of the most famous sites in the world lit up on
a Sunday evening in Washington DC. The United Nations building space was filled
with mounds of expensive food and drinks, and we had recently been in the same
small room with one of the most famous global athletes in history and President
Obama’s National Security Advisor.
As I moved from conversation to conversation in this
fascinating, intimidating, and surreal social environment, I stood by myself for
a moment and thought of a small village in Zambia where the darkness of that
night did not feature famous lighted monuments, gourmet food, or well-dressed
famous and powerful people. However, the time I spent in Kakolo Village and the
friends I made in this forgotten African community was without a doubt the
reason I found myself on a Washington DC balcony at one of the elite addresses
in the modern world. These 2 seemingly completely different places and peoples
were, in fact, surprisingly and divinely connected in my story, a story that is
still being written with new chapters and characters…
While in DC I told several people the story of how Bono’s
words at Wheaton College in 2002 shifted my life and career trajectory in a
disturbing and beautiful way. The last 15 years have been featured a massive
learning curve about global poverty, economics, health care, and cultures for
me as a classically suburban evangelical Christian. I’m about to take my 8th
trip to sub-Saharan Africa with my family and a bundle of overexcited college
students. My mind and my heart are bent to know about, to care about, and to
respond to global issues like HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty, sex trade, hunger, and
a parasitic disease called MALARIA.
It was a surprise to be invited by the United Nations
Foundation NOTHING BUT NETS campaign to share my story, our small Christian
university’s story with some of the people most concerned about malaria at
their annual Champions Summit. And yet it was incredibly natural to talk about
the people we know, the places we’ve been, and the plans we’ve pursued in
trying to deliver life-saving bed nets to people in Zambia whose lives are holistically
impacted by the bite of a mosquito. The profound opportunity we have been given
by our God to help eradicate malaria in NDOLA, ZAMBIA and even the entire beautiful
continent of Africa has become the invitation I just cannot say NO to despite
all the other invitations and responsibilities that daily come my way.
Our little trip to DC with friends and CU students I love
was another high point in our journey pursuing justice and restoration in our
world. Cornerstone University was a seriously unlikely guest at an event filled
with people who had vastly different life experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles.
But the power of a grander vision, the hope of a compelling mission, and the
calling I believe comes from within each human being bearing the image and
heart of a God who has created everyone to flourish and be fully alive as His
beloved people makes connection and relationships with people from very
different places.
After learning from global experts and advocating before
members of Congress on Capitol Hill, our final night of our DC excursion was
spent at a Starbucks near our Georgetown neighborhood hotel. It was another
dream session for our Night of Nets initiative and here’s what I came away with
as we invite the Holy Spirit to continue to grow our vision for being
instruments of hope and healing through the transformational power of a bed net
given in Jesus’ name:
1. Until God tells us otherwise, we continue to feel
called to focus our energy and resources toward helping to end the suffering
malaria still causes in our world today
2. There’s still more room to invite more stakeholders on
our CU campus to join the Night of Nets campaign in new and deeper ways going
forward. It may very well bring unprecedented unity and passion and purpose to
our community.
3. We long to see more campuses join us in providing
life-saving bed nets through campus events. Our audacious target is to have 100
schools join the Night of Nets community by 2018.
4. We will continue to provide bed nets to an amazing network
of churches through our Jubilee Centre to help reduce the devastating impact of
malaria in Zambian communities. These nets are a vehicle for physical healing
& deeper connection with the Body of Christ distributing them.
5. We will also continue to partner with the work being
done by World Vision and Nothing But Nets as they distribute millions of bed
nets to refugees & those at most risk in sub-Saharan Africa.
6. We will pay special attention to the resources our own
government is putting toward global health concerns like malaria and plan to
advocate for increased funding for the highly effective President’s Malaria
Initiative program in the coming years as we continue to see malaria being
eradicated from more and more communities and nations in our world. The
multiplying economic and community impact of this disease being wiped out is
gigantic.
7. Our hearts continue to break for those still affected
every day by this disease (pregnant women & children at greatest risk). We will
spend even more time praying for healing & protection & comfort as we
call out to God to end this health crisis & gain victory in the fight
against malaria.
Night of Nets is a simple idea that leverages the
incredible power and influence of sport in our culture and world to do
something good and transformational in the lives of others. I love the fact
that the games we love to play and attend can be catalytic in harnessing the
resources and voices of a generation that cares deeply about making the world
and the daily lives of its people more like God intended them to be. We are
joining athletes like Stephen Curry and teams like the Detroit Pistons in sharing
how you can make a huge impact with very little—
The journey from Pennsylvania Avenue to Kakolo Village
seems unimaginable in many ways. But our creative God has made the path
straight and beautiful for so many folks from Grand Rapids and Zambia alike. We
will both sleep under them in Zambia once again this June, the love of Jesus makes
even stronger our strings, our nets that connect us as we pray and dream and
create and serve
and work for the end of malaria in our lifetime. I do believe…the best is yet
to come…CHIP
