written by Branndon Bargo
I remember as a boy going on trips with my missionary grandfather to Mexico. It was exciting to visit remote jungle villages, experiencing a different culture. But, I remember not looking forward to the boring church services. I thought if only I could just go exploring and forget the church stuff it would be perfect. I enjoyed my time with my grandfather, but thought the mission life was not for me.
It is now 20 years later, and I am both an explorer and a missionary; the best of both worlds, to share His story and His beauty. I have always had a thirst for life, and a child like sense of dreaming. As I have grown older nothing has changed with my dreams, except that now I am achieving each of them one by one. As with each of my dreams they are like flames that are eternally burning. They do not go out unless they are first attempted and then accomplished. I know now it is because they are not just dreams, but desires that Christ has placed in me.
My most recent dream is one that is so huge that I know that it is completely from God. I know this because as I was sharing my dream with a Ugandan pastor he told me, “I know this vision you have is from God because you will never accomplish it without His help and the help from many other people.” He then said, “God does not want you to do things that are so small that He is not needed, He wants you to lean on Him, and that is done when you dream big.” I had my confirmation, and I thanked God for reminding me of the gifts and dreams that He lets me share with Him.
This dream that is so big is the eradication of malaria from the planet.
Small Pox is the only disease that has ever been eradicated in human history, but malaria is a disease that is on the precipice of elimination. Most experts say that it will never happen in our lifetime, yet America had malaria in the 50’s and 60’s and we were able to eradicate it. I began asking myself if it is a naïve boyhood dream or a possibility for malaria eradication. I began praying and this is what the Lord shared with me: I want my name to be made famous. I want the world to stop and take notice of who I am. If a disease is eradicated in my name, and I am given the credit then the world will know who I am, and that I am God.
It will not happen though, unless the church first acts. We must be an example to the world. It should not come from Bill Gates, or the World Health Organization, but the Body. A movement must begin, and it needs to be the body that is the catalyst.
I am being faithful to the dream the Lord has given me and have started a non- profit which I have named the One Blood Initiative, www.onebloodinitiative.org. The name comes from Acts 17:26 in which we are all of one father, and are of one family. We must give hope to our brothers and sisters.
To begin this movement I am heading to Africa this summer, but since I am both a missionary and explorer I needed to do something that would draw attention in a unique way. I decided that I would meet with community leaders, and build relationships in three east African countries: Tanzania, Kenya , and Uganda by climbing the thee highest mountains in Africa. My brother and I will be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya, and Mt. Stanley. We will travel to each mountain by bike, and will cross the largest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria, by kayak. Our focus is to go to as many different ecosystems in these three countries and meet with pre-established leaders to discuss strategies in malaria eradication. One such relationship is the Ugandan pastor who earlier spoke to me about the God sized vision I had. He is the pastor of a church in Kampala, Uganda with 40,000 members. His vision is to have 10,000 churches in Uganda. He and His 40,000 members are on board to help in any way possible. It is the beginning of the movement.
God is a big God, and he is a God who dreams big. If our God is an awesome God should He not be doing awesome things? As we draw closer to His return, He wants His name to be known in greater ways. Begin dreaming as a child, and become part of His kingdom story. You can follow His and our story at www.onebloodinitiative.org, on facebook at One Blood Expedition, or twitter at @OneBloodExp.
