Afghanistan - Level 4: Do not travel.

“Travel to all areas of Afghanistan is unsafe because of critical levels of kidnappings, hostage taking, suicide bombings, widespread military combat operations, landmines, and terrorist and insurgent attacks, including attacks using vehicle-borne, magnetic, or other improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide vests, and grenades.”

This post appeared on the U.S. State Department travel information website and the U.S. Embassy Afghanistan homepage in April 2019. We saw the same warning in 2005 when we moved to Kabul.

Our family and friends expressed their dismay over our decision to relocate to this war-decimated and poverty-stricken place.

“Will you be safe?”

As I lived month after month, year after year in Afghanistan, I began to develop a vastly different opinion about the value, the almost birthright view, of safety held by Westerners. During our time there, we experienced mortar explosions, demonstrations in our neighborhood, murdered teammates, and attacks on foreigners. I came to realize that people born in other parts of the world rarely considered safety as their #1 need each day.

When we make safety our first priority, we may exclude opportunities to experience life on a truly transformational level with God. We may miss the chance of a lifetime to understand new cultures, the global impact of our talents and abilities, and indeed, what inner strength and resiliency we possess.

Psalm 59:9(The Living Bible translation) says, “O God my Strength! I will sing your praises, for you are my place of safety.”

Check your safety thermometer. If you are dismissing a God-honoring possibility to learn, grow, and give because it holds risk, perhaps you should rethink, pray and plan well, take a deep breath, and go for it.