Vacation trip | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: Vacation trip | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ruth DESBOROUGH
02/25/09
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Vacation trip

Mary Jane read the leaflets one more time. They were all attractive and they were all promoting Europe for a vacation. Mary Jane had been saving her money for over two years, with a plan to visit a foreign country. Her vacation was due in six months time and she now had to decide just where she would go.

France, Italy, Sweden, Germany? She had read the brochures over and over, and they were all so attractive. She had sufficient funds for any one of them. The question was which one!

But which one wasn’t the only thing on Mary Jane’s mind. Her conscience was giving her trouble. Several months ago she had signed up with the Young People’s Group at her church to go to Haiti on a mission to tell about Jesus Christ. Each participant had to provide their own plane fare, pocket money and suitable clothing. Food would be provided at the mission station.

The Group had been very enthusiastic. Twenty in all had signed up and she had been one of them.

However, as the weeks passed, Mary Jane had begun to look again through the leaflets about Europe. She had planned her trip long before the call to go to Haiti. If she did not go with the Group it would only be one less — no one would miss her. And anyway they would probably go again next year. So she reasoned.

She would excuse herself from the trip to Haiti and go to Italy. The brochure told of Rome and all about the Vatican. It would be good to see where the Pope lived. Then Mary Jane thought of Paul and the epistles he had written there. Visiting Rome might help her understand them better. She might even get to Venice, as it was also mentioned. There would be so much to see; it would be so much more interesting than Haiti.

Her mind made up, she booked for the tour, cancelled her place on the YP Group’s mission, and began counting the days to her holiday.

All went well and she had a wonderful time in Rome, visiting many historical sites. She did not see the Pope while in the Vatican but learnt much about the city. Venice was too far away, but she did get to Naples and went on short tours into country areas. She took lots of photographs and when she got home she passed them around, sharing with her friends and office mates the highlights of her holiday.

However, when she met with the YP Group they told a different story. They too had had a wonderful time and they had lots of photos. They told of poverty, of hunger, and of antagonism to the gospel and superstition. They told how they held meetings in country areas, where it seemed some had never heard about Jesus. They told how some had put their faith in Jesus for salvation and how they had started small Bible Study groups with them. They were so happy that they had shared their faith and led some to believe.

Mary Jane listened to them and she realised that she was not one of them. She could not join in their success stories; she could not claim any answers to prayer. She began to have doubts about her decision to go to Europe and enjoy herself. She began to see how selfish she had been. All she had was memories and some photos, but no record of service for the Lord.

She could not turn the clock back, but she could decide that from now on she would seek to do the Lord’s will. She remembered the story of Joshua and how he challenged the Israelites to choose whom they would serve. How he himself had said, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!”

Yes, Mary Jane resolved, I will serve the Lord. And if I get a second chance to go to Haiti I will certainly take it.

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