As a family we head to South Africa tonight.  It will be our first mission trip as a family.   The first 10 days we are leading a team from our church to work in a township outside of Pretoria with a ministry called Beam Africa.    We will be helping Beam as they serve kids in the neighborhood by helping feed them and hosting a kids camp.  We also will be offering some business classes for adults to help those in extreme poverty rise above their situation.  We will launch “Sekepe” and give micro-loans to empower them.   (The CCC Project will arrive while we are there and we will overlap for 2 days working with the kids.) We will do a few fun things too like go to a Lion Park and celebrate the 4th with a braai (BBQ).

It’s with a little nervousness that I take my family.  There is a lot of crime.  I am not sure how my boys will do on the long flight or if they will want to go into the township every day.  I am not sure how Jack & Drew will respond to ‘mom’ holding other kids.  I have never lead a team with my family so not sure how divided my attention will be.

But on the other hand I am excited and have been looking forward to this for a year.  I want us as a family to serve together among the least of these.  (And do some fun adventures too.) I want my wife to live out her dream of ‘running an orphanage’ by caring for orphans who live on their own.  I want Luke, Jack and Drew to rub shoulders every day with kids who don’t have everything and don’t complain about the food served them.   I want to take the extra time we have by being there a month to sit and listen to the needs of those within the township and see how Cornerstone can partner long-term there to help bring about real change.  I want to find other ministries like Beam Africa so ‘Sekepe’ can be a blessing to other ministries as well helping many be alleviated from their situation and the Kingdom of God come.

Most of all, I want to experience Jesus.  I want to serve sacrificially – my family, our team, Beam, the poor.   I want to live as He lived loving the lost, the least and the last.

Our June Letter  shares about changes afoot for the McCullough family.   One that  in two+ weeks as we head to South Africa for a month as a family.  And then changes that will happen when we return.  Of course, if you are hear at Global Andy, I guess you can see that.

You can download or save a tree and view a preview on-line in ipaper at http://www.box.net/shared/1j580o3z41.

I am reading No Place Left to Bury the Dead.   It’s subtitle is “Denial, Despair and Hope in the African AIDS Pandemic”.   So far I have only read the denial and despair parts.