Ernest Smith

For this week’s guest blogger, I have asked Steve Murphy if he would share an experience that the Lord gave him recently.  Steve is a good friend of mine and I have been blessed to not only work with him at Seacoast, but have him as an example of what it looks like to be a godly father and husband.  The experience Steve shares not only rocked his world, and view of the world, but it challenged him to do something, with the talent God has given him, to make a great difference in the lives of people around the world.  I know his experience will encourage and challenge each of us.

Enjoy.

In mid-July of this year, I received a completely unexpected invitation to shoot video of a medical mission trip in Masindi, Uganda. It just happened to work out in my schedule so I agreed to go. I realize now how unprepared I was for what I would encounter. I traveled for the better part of two days with the Seacoast Missions Pastor, Jason Surratt to join a team already at work. The first day, we piled tightly into small vans filled with medical personnel and supplies and drove 3  hours over some of the most brutal roads I have ever experienced, to a remote village where there hadn’t been any  medical care available for more than 7 years. Word had spread that a medical team was coming and people walked or biked for countless miles in hopes of being seen for any number of maladies. To the team’s surprise, an estimated crowd of nearly 3,000 people was waiting in line when we arrived. While the team made quick work of unloading and setting up this makeshift clinic, I grabbed my video camera and headed towards the crowd.

I have been in video production for more than 20 years, I consider myself a video-storyteller… and yet, standing there in the midst of a sea of such desperate people, I didn’t know what to do. It was as if I had forgotten how to focus the lens and push the record button. I remember praying, “God, how do you want me to tell this story? Where do I even begin?”

I wandered around the perimeter of the crowd for nearly an hour before I finally dared to hit ‘record’. The confused stares of the people waiting made me feel like I couldn’t stand in one place for very long, so I would shoot a little and move quickly to somewhere else. The day went by in a surreal blur, and I knew that most of my footage was useless. I had to start over. I had to pray… a lot.

Watch This…Uganda 2011

My second day with the team, I finally found a better rhythm, and some newfound confidence. God was giving me an opportunity to see things as He sees them. I forced myself to stay close to the people. I knew that my time was short and I was determined to bring back something of worth, something that might motivate others to get involved.
I am now profoundly affected by my experience in a country that I probably couldn’t have picked out on a map six months ago, and I cannot wait to go back again. God broke my heart for Uganda, because I believe that His own heart breaks for Uganda. He does that kind of thing… sends you off on a journey, perhaps not knowing what to expect, often to find HIS purpose and not your own.

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am, send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)