I transcribed the following from a Highway Video....it's a prayer by Animah Al-Attas, and I really liked it.
LEADER:
God
gracious, tender, merciful
delivering our eyes from tears
our feet from stumbling
loosing our bonds
protecting us with your strength
as you engage us
you do so bountifully
Us
simple
our own souls hiding from us
children of your servant girl
skin waiting for hope
hulled up behind doors
desperate for you to breathe on us
longing for you to re-spirit us
Forgive us
when we make vows to you in secret
and then work to forget them
while we impress the crowd
PEOPLE:
Let our yes be yes, our no be no
LEADER:
When we are disingenuine in our faith
loyal when it's convenient
PEOPLE:
We are sorry and we humbly repent
LEADER:
When we avoid slowing down
PEOPLE:
Hedge us in and still our souls
LEADER:
When we ignore your voice
inviting us to be foolish
PEOPLE:
Release our grip on the need to fit in
give us guts to follow you
LEADER:
Release also the grip of our eyes
fixed on the mirror
so in love with hating ourselves that we
cannot see beyond our foibles.
We choose to let you love us
turning from the glass
to face brothers and sisters in need
PEOPLE:
Hear our prayer.
LEADER:
We pray for those who would
rather take their own lives than
persist in the land of the living
crouch down and cup your ear to
their whispers
PEOPLE:
Hear our prayer
LEADER:
We pray for the third of our world ravaged
by war
how do we pray for a number like this?
blood
broken life
divorced conscience
darkened souls
dead hope
Holy spirit, in your wisdom
PEOPLE:
Teach us how to pray and move us to
respond
LEADER:
For those disillusioned with the rest of humanity
tired of loving the seemingly unolvable
teach us to lift the cup of salvation
to those we fail to understand
May we be generous with patience and love
in your patience
PEOPLE:
Hear our prayer
LEADER:
Jesus
standing outside of time
yet all the while invading it
in the psalms of David
in the cries of Isaiah
on the streets of Jerusalem
exploding history to tell us you love us
teaching us to love others
Us
trapped in analysis
we push thumbs into your bloody
hands
we stretch out our fists inside the
wounds of your side
we see you moving
and believe
Spirit come
dress our souls
bathe our hearts
lift our eyes
with your breath
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sunday, August 19, 2007
church notes (and then a tangent about church and YIM)
Things that are in []'s are what I thought about as I listened, and if you have any thoughts on what was said, feel free to post them.
*Note: Later I go into a tangent about YIM, and door-to-do0r evangelism.
*Note: Later I go into a tangent about YIM, and door-to-do0r evangelism.
8/19/07
doctrine: eschatology
what happens after death for Christian?
New Testament teaches soul goes to heaven right away
Luke 23:42-43
Philippians 1:21-24
2 Cor 5:6-8
Acts 7:59-60
new body:
1 Cor 15:35-44
1 Thess 4:13-17
We do not long for immortality.
Longing of hearts is resurrection--there's a difference.
[The way I see it, immortality means you just keep on living, uninterrupted. Resurrection is you get rid of your earthly body first--by dying--and then get a new one, and then continue living.]
Matthew 22:31-33--Abraham, Isaac, Jacob were living
Hades=realm of the dead (Greek, generic term)
"intermediate state" [not to be confused with purgatory]
gehenna=full realm of torment
[seems that gehenna is just a more specific part of Hades. And if your version of the Bible says hell, then that's not necessarily close to the original. I sure hope what I just said is correct.]
Jesus descended into Hades--but thief was also with him that day in paradise
[if Revelation is Jewish literature of the oppressed (like African American spirituals), and should not be taken literally, but rather symbolically in this genre, what about chapter 20 and onward? How should we interpret the passages about a new heaven and a new earth? Should those be interpreted within that genre as well, and not as they've been commonly interpreted?]
It won't say, "Joe Doe, Nazarene or Baptist." It'll say "Joe Doe, Christian, believer" [emphasizing cognitive action, rather than "Follower of Christ"? I don't know. but that IS Biblical, so I'll leave that alone.]
[my thoughts about hell are the following: I know that I am going to be with Jesus, so details are not really my concern. Why bother trying to figure out what hell will be like, since I don't plan on going there? I don't agree with scaring people into Jesus's arms, or having "fire insurance". But whatever/wherever it is, my thoughts are that it's a place of suffering apart from God's love, apart from God's plan, apart from the Kingdom of God. I don't know that I could explain those concepts, or what they would be like, exactly, because it would probably take a while.]
Where was Jesus between His death and resurrection? He was in paradise, in the abode of God.
1 Peter 3:18-20: Pastor focused on the mention of baptism in here.
[Water seems to, so I hear, represent chaos in Scripture. "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Then God brought order of the chaos (doesn't matter if you believe evolution was the mechanism, or seven-day creation. It was God. Somehow). Noah and his family were delivered from the chaos of the waters/sin in the world that had caused chaos and disrupted God's movements by an ark that was above the waters. Jonah was swallowed by a large fish/whale/something that rescued him from the water, from drowning. But this water could also represent the chaos that his life was going to be if he kept running away from that which God had called him. Jesus walked on the water, and calmed the storm. He had dominion over water, over the chaos that is in our lives.]
Revelation is battle between Heaven and hell, and God wins.
[there is a theme of hope within it. even if you take it as literature of the oppressed.]
life in the intermediate state
it's in the spirit, may be given a body
2 Cor 5:1-4 ["not built by human hands"--probably not built with human materials, either]
Greek thought: Spirit
Hebrew thought: Body
Luke 9:28-32 (Transfiguration)
[how in the world did they recognize them without any record of their appearance?!?! guess it's a matter of recognizing their spirit, their essence (and I'm trying to say that without getting into any connotation of new-age stuff)]
[what does this stuff really mean for us right now?]
in prayer: "Thank you that we'll be going to heaven...." [something like that. But what does this mean for us reaching out to others, how do we put this into action? I refuse to accept simply that Christians go to heaven, everybody else goes to hell. What do we do, Rev. McDonald? What is our responsibility in the world, with this in mind? I am not asking because I don't know, I am asking because I want to hear from you.]
[One of my beefs with these sermons/studies is that I end up frustrated during the sermons. Here's what I wrote this morning:
"What does this mean for my life? How does it tell me to live in this world? How does it help me to love God and love others? This doesn't seem to beteaching Scripture. {and by that, I mean, he doesn't necessarily continue going back to Scripture thru his sermon. Today it was on "Who are the heroes and models in your life?", and he simply talked about those in his life. What the heck.} How does it teach me to grow closer to Christ?"
I refuse to leave the church on the basis of these sermons that I don't like (don't get me wrong, they are put together well and are interesting to listen to. The trouble is what I just wrote a few sentences ago, that is how I feel a lot. I probably should talk to him). I am committed to this church, I am a member, and I want to do as much as I can while I'm home to help out and encourage. This is reminding me of this summer. Cuz right now, I want to get in some sort of leadership position, so I can *really* change something, and have authority. But see, the thing is, I am home for maybe 10-15 weekends out of the year {in 2007, I'll have been in MD 11 Sundays}, and cannot establish myself for such a short time. And I think that I am not doing much. But I guess my going on a YIM trip can be encouraging to people.]
Some more of a tangent....
I can also speak out more, and get involved where possible, and encourage others to reach out. We talked about evangelism in Sunday School, and how one person we know is very bold in handing out copies of the Bible. Being bold enough to be willing to hand out Scripture like that, especially in our culture, is a big thing. But my style is definitely to be more personal, build a relationship.
If I go back to Juarez, and am asked to do door to door evangelism, I will maybe say something along the following lines, "I do not speak much Spanish, but I will try and talk to others. I will try, and do it as if I am doing it for Jesus." I probably won't be able to understand what the people are saying to me--but before heading out, I could pray for understanding, and when I meet the people, to ask them to speak slowly and clearly for me. And you know, God just might answer that request. I'm willing to give it a try. I want to ask them their names, and how many kids they have, and what they do for work, and THAT'S building a relationship. Easy questions. AND I can share about myself (ok, but not in a vain way. you know.)!
I'm ready to have another try. I'll try it.
I'm not sure if I was just writing that about door to door evangelism en espanol, or if I was writing it about doing YIM again. Cuz I am considering it for next summer. I know that if I return to El Paso, I will have both familiar and new faces. The sad/cool thing is that I will see familiar places, and laugh at memories, and remember fondly my times there.
If God wants me to do YIM again, I'll do it. I'm open to whatever He's got for me.
I need to write to Gedeon. He gave us his address, and I don't want to leave him hanging.
I'm really glad I got one of these reflection things out. I've been thinking I needed to write something out, and tada! here it is. I think that's all for now. Kbye.
Jesus descended into Hades--but thief was also with him that day in paradise
[if Revelation is Jewish literature of the oppressed (like African American spirituals), and should not be taken literally, but rather symbolically in this genre, what about chapter 20 and onward? How should we interpret the passages about a new heaven and a new earth? Should those be interpreted within that genre as well, and not as they've been commonly interpreted?]
It won't say, "Joe Doe, Nazarene or Baptist." It'll say "Joe Doe, Christian, believer" [emphasizing cognitive action, rather than "Follower of Christ"? I don't know. but that IS Biblical, so I'll leave that alone.]
[my thoughts about hell are the following: I know that I am going to be with Jesus, so details are not really my concern. Why bother trying to figure out what hell will be like, since I don't plan on going there? I don't agree with scaring people into Jesus's arms, or having "fire insurance". But whatever/wherever it is, my thoughts are that it's a place of suffering apart from God's love, apart from God's plan, apart from the Kingdom of God. I don't know that I could explain those concepts, or what they would be like, exactly, because it would probably take a while.]
Where was Jesus between His death and resurrection? He was in paradise, in the abode of God.
1 Peter 3:18-20: Pastor focused on the mention of baptism in here.
[Water seems to, so I hear, represent chaos in Scripture. "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." Then God brought order of the chaos (doesn't matter if you believe evolution was the mechanism, or seven-day creation. It was God. Somehow). Noah and his family were delivered from the chaos of the waters/sin in the world that had caused chaos and disrupted God's movements by an ark that was above the waters. Jonah was swallowed by a large fish/whale/something that rescued him from the water, from drowning. But this water could also represent the chaos that his life was going to be if he kept running away from that which God had called him. Jesus walked on the water, and calmed the storm. He had dominion over water, over the chaos that is in our lives.]
Revelation is battle between Heaven and hell, and God wins.
[there is a theme of hope within it. even if you take it as literature of the oppressed.]
life in the intermediate state
it's in the spirit, may be given a body
2 Cor 5:1-4 ["not built by human hands"--probably not built with human materials, either]
Greek thought: Spirit
Hebrew thought: Body
Luke 9:28-32 (Transfiguration)
[how in the world did they recognize them without any record of their appearance?!?! guess it's a matter of recognizing their spirit, their essence (and I'm trying to say that without getting into any connotation of new-age stuff)]
[what does this stuff really mean for us right now?]
in prayer: "Thank you that we'll be going to heaven...." [something like that. But what does this mean for us reaching out to others, how do we put this into action? I refuse to accept simply that Christians go to heaven, everybody else goes to hell. What do we do, Rev. McDonald? What is our responsibility in the world, with this in mind? I am not asking because I don't know, I am asking because I want to hear from you.]
[One of my beefs with these sermons/studies is that I end up frustrated during the sermons. Here's what I wrote this morning:
"What does this mean for my life? How does it tell me to live in this world? How does it help me to love God and love others? This doesn't seem to beteaching Scripture. {and by that, I mean, he doesn't necessarily continue going back to Scripture thru his sermon. Today it was on "Who are the heroes and models in your life?", and he simply talked about those in his life. What the heck.} How does it teach me to grow closer to Christ?"
I refuse to leave the church on the basis of these sermons that I don't like (don't get me wrong, they are put together well and are interesting to listen to. The trouble is what I just wrote a few sentences ago, that is how I feel a lot. I probably should talk to him). I am committed to this church, I am a member, and I want to do as much as I can while I'm home to help out and encourage. This is reminding me of this summer. Cuz right now, I want to get in some sort of leadership position, so I can *really* change something, and have authority. But see, the thing is, I am home for maybe 10-15 weekends out of the year {in 2007, I'll have been in MD 11 Sundays}, and cannot establish myself for such a short time. And I think that I am not doing much. But I guess my going on a YIM trip can be encouraging to people.]
Some more of a tangent....
I can also speak out more, and get involved where possible, and encourage others to reach out. We talked about evangelism in Sunday School, and how one person we know is very bold in handing out copies of the Bible. Being bold enough to be willing to hand out Scripture like that, especially in our culture, is a big thing. But my style is definitely to be more personal, build a relationship.
If I go back to Juarez, and am asked to do door to door evangelism, I will maybe say something along the following lines, "I do not speak much Spanish, but I will try and talk to others. I will try, and do it as if I am doing it for Jesus." I probably won't be able to understand what the people are saying to me--but before heading out, I could pray for understanding, and when I meet the people, to ask them to speak slowly and clearly for me. And you know, God just might answer that request. I'm willing to give it a try. I want to ask them their names, and how many kids they have, and what they do for work, and THAT'S building a relationship. Easy questions. AND I can share about myself (ok, but not in a vain way. you know.)!
I'm ready to have another try. I'll try it.
I'm not sure if I was just writing that about door to door evangelism en espanol, or if I was writing it about doing YIM again. Cuz I am considering it for next summer. I know that if I return to El Paso, I will have both familiar and new faces. The sad/cool thing is that I will see familiar places, and laugh at memories, and remember fondly my times there.
If God wants me to do YIM again, I'll do it. I'm open to whatever He's got for me.
I need to write to Gedeon. He gave us his address, and I don't want to leave him hanging.
I'm really glad I got one of these reflection things out. I've been thinking I needed to write something out, and tada! here it is. I think that's all for now. Kbye.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
one last YIM post
Hello all,
Today is our last full day in El Paso. We are going to a local water park (which is actually on the border with New Mexico) with some of the youth from First church, some of the Tooley and Carney families, our friend Fabiola and her family from Juarez, and our friend Luis from Juarez.
VBS at Trinity Church went well. We had maybe 10 kids altogether, and I usually had 4 in my 7 and up age group. The first night I only had Allison and Krystal, and Krystal didn't want to do the motions for the songs. I tried to get her to do them, but she refused, so I relented as long as she sang. The next night, she was doing the motions. :D
Wednesday we volunteered at the Rescue Mission again, and it was nice to see familiar faces again, and to say hi to people that we remembered.
Thursday during the day we went to the Juarez Market with the Tooley family to buy souvenirs. As we drove around and I looked out the window, I tried to take it all in again. I'll definitely miss being there (I already do), even though being there was tough at times.
Friday morning we went to the little El Paso Zoo with the Tooleys and Sanchez family. That evening was our last night of VBS at Trinity, and boy were those kids wired.
On Saturday we spent some time with Pastor Charlie and his daughter Lanee, and Stephanie from Trinity Church. In the afternoon we went to Norlyn and Bobbie Brough's house. Norlyn and Bobbie had actually been missionaries in Nicaragua and Mexico too I think.
In the evening we went to the church softball games. Rachel and Angela played on the women's team, and scored two runs altogether. It was fun to watch the games and talk to our friends, since we hadn't been to any of their softball games. Betty told Rachel and Angela that we weren't leaving, that we had to stay and play softball (the
team isn't the greatest but they have fun). Afterwards, we went out to IHOP with Sara, Daniela, Esmeralda, and 3 of Esme's friends from school.
Sunday we attended service at Trinity Church. It had maybe 20 people there, including ourselves. There was a family of 3 there, and the daughter had been at VBS. I hear that her parents had been looking for someplace to go to church, and if that's the case, that's really cool that they came on Sunday. In the evening, we had the VBS closing, including the kids singing the songs, a brinca-brinca (moon bounce), facepainting, balloon animal-making, and food. When Barb (Charlie's wife) presented all the leaders with thank-you gifts, she said that we had really been a blessing and encouragement to them.
That evening the Tooley family presented our team with gifts, including sombreros for each of us. We have no choice but to wear them during our flights to Kansas City and home, because there's no way we can pack them. :D
Monday we went with Pastor Fred to the New Mexico district campground, Bonita Park. It is located near Ruidoso, NM, about 2 hours north of El Paso. It was awesome up there...we hiked, went swimming, and walked around the campground a bit. It was a lot different climate-wise from El Paso; I'd say it was 80 something degrees out,
and there were lots of pine trees, and we were in the mountains more. Pastor Fred took us to Bonito Lake, just around the corner, so we walked around there, took pictures, skipped rocks, and climbed on some of the rocks.
Tuesday Norlyn and Bobbie Brough took us to White Sands, NM, and the sand dunes that are there. We had a great time with them, sledding down the dunes and sometimes attempting to surf down them. At times it reminded me of the time I went sledding in Maine. :)
I will definitely miss being here, as these people and this place have become my home for the past two months. We have felt very welcome, and have felt the "Mi casa es su casa" hospitality.
Thank you again for your prayers and support. This trip was great, and slowly but surely I will process all that it has meant for me. :)
Today is our last full day in El Paso. We are going to a local water park (which is actually on the border with New Mexico) with some of the youth from First church, some of the Tooley and Carney families, our friend Fabiola and her family from Juarez, and our friend Luis from Juarez.
VBS at Trinity Church went well. We had maybe 10 kids altogether, and I usually had 4 in my 7 and up age group. The first night I only had Allison and Krystal, and Krystal didn't want to do the motions for the songs. I tried to get her to do them, but she refused, so I relented as long as she sang. The next night, she was doing the motions. :D
Wednesday we volunteered at the Rescue Mission again, and it was nice to see familiar faces again, and to say hi to people that we remembered.
Thursday during the day we went to the Juarez Market with the Tooley family to buy souvenirs. As we drove around and I looked out the window, I tried to take it all in again. I'll definitely miss being there (I already do), even though being there was tough at times.
Friday morning we went to the little El Paso Zoo with the Tooleys and Sanchez family. That evening was our last night of VBS at Trinity, and boy were those kids wired.
On Saturday we spent some time with Pastor Charlie and his daughter Lanee, and Stephanie from Trinity Church. In the afternoon we went to Norlyn and Bobbie Brough's house. Norlyn and Bobbie had actually been missionaries in Nicaragua and Mexico too I think.
In the evening we went to the church softball games. Rachel and Angela played on the women's team, and scored two runs altogether. It was fun to watch the games and talk to our friends, since we hadn't been to any of their softball games. Betty told Rachel and Angela that we weren't leaving, that we had to stay and play softball (the
team isn't the greatest but they have fun). Afterwards, we went out to IHOP with Sara, Daniela, Esmeralda, and 3 of Esme's friends from school.
Sunday we attended service at Trinity Church. It had maybe 20 people there, including ourselves. There was a family of 3 there, and the daughter had been at VBS. I hear that her parents had been looking for someplace to go to church, and if that's the case, that's really cool that they came on Sunday. In the evening, we had the VBS closing, including the kids singing the songs, a brinca-brinca (moon bounce), facepainting, balloon animal-making, and food. When Barb (Charlie's wife) presented all the leaders with thank-you gifts, she said that we had really been a blessing and encouragement to them.
That evening the Tooley family presented our team with gifts, including sombreros for each of us. We have no choice but to wear them during our flights to Kansas City and home, because there's no way we can pack them. :D
Monday we went with Pastor Fred to the New Mexico district campground, Bonita Park. It is located near Ruidoso, NM, about 2 hours north of El Paso. It was awesome up there...we hiked, went swimming, and walked around the campground a bit. It was a lot different climate-wise from El Paso; I'd say it was 80 something degrees out,
and there were lots of pine trees, and we were in the mountains more. Pastor Fred took us to Bonito Lake, just around the corner, so we walked around there, took pictures, skipped rocks, and climbed on some of the rocks.
Tuesday Norlyn and Bobbie Brough took us to White Sands, NM, and the sand dunes that are there. We had a great time with them, sledding down the dunes and sometimes attempting to surf down them. At times it reminded me of the time I went sledding in Maine. :)
I will definitely miss being here, as these people and this place have become my home for the past two months. We have felt very welcome, and have felt the "Mi casa es su casa" hospitality.
Thank you again for your prayers and support. This trip was great, and slowly but surely I will process all that it has meant for me. :)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
VBS frenzy!
Hi all,
***this part typed July 15***
We have just finished a week of Tumbleweed Gulch Vacation Bible School at El Paso First, and this coming week we'll be doing the same theme at Trinity Church on the westside.
I worked as a "crew leader" for posse #3, grades 3-5, and led them to each of the stations every night. This was one of the larger groups, as we usually had upwards of 11 kids each night. I had two helpers from the church with me to help with crowd control. :) I remembered the first night how fun that age group is, since I had worked with that group at kids' camp for two summers. It reminded me of why I
became an Education major. :) Rachel led crafts, Angela led games, and Brandi worked with the 1st/2nd graders.
Thursday night was the toughest I think, because we had changed around the routine to allow more time for practicing the songs. This of course confused the kids (as well as the leaders!), and it was just one hectic night. However, more of my kids were actually doing the motions to the songs that night--I wasn't continually asking someone to do the motions or not mess around.
On Friday we had a special time to present to the families, where the kids sang their songs, said their verses, and had their crafts displayed. We also had food for them and facepainting and balloon animals.
We had a total of 58 kids last week (not all at the same time), and 35 helpers, Melissa said. This is a switch from when we had started with only 6 helpers, and that was just before Monday.
Saturday we went to Trinity Church and helped decorate for their VBS, which is this week. I think we'll probably have the same roles there as we did at First Church. This afternoon we decorated some more. There are some awesome "barn doors" (to the sanctuary), fake barbed wire along the walls, and a corral around the stage.
***typed July 17***
Last night was the first night of Trinity's VBS, and there were only 7 or 8 kids there, all of them already involved in the church. I had two girls in my group, Allison and Krystal, both age 7 and they were the oldest ones there. The leaders at the church were very enthusiastic, getting the kids to "yee-haw" at various times.
We will continue with this VBS the rest of the week, and hopefully more kids will come.
It is sad to think that we have only 9 more days here, but I want to make the most of our time, especially with VBS, the families/teens we've met, working at the Rescue Mission, etc.
Prayer Requests
~health/safety
~VBS at Trinity Church: that kids that are not already "churched" will come, that we will have the right time/right place/right person and right words to lead people to Christ, that we will reflect God's love
~Joel Tooley's mom Dee is in the hospital in Mississippi, and she could very much use prayer
That's about all I can think of for right now. Thanks again for all your support and prayers, and I will see you in August/September!
***this part typed July 15***
We have just finished a week of Tumbleweed Gulch Vacation Bible School at El Paso First, and this coming week we'll be doing the same theme at Trinity Church on the westside.
I worked as a "crew leader" for posse #3, grades 3-5, and led them to each of the stations every night. This was one of the larger groups, as we usually had upwards of 11 kids each night. I had two helpers from the church with me to help with crowd control. :) I remembered the first night how fun that age group is, since I had worked with that group at kids' camp for two summers. It reminded me of why I
became an Education major. :) Rachel led crafts, Angela led games, and Brandi worked with the 1st/2nd graders.
Thursday night was the toughest I think, because we had changed around the routine to allow more time for practicing the songs. This of course confused the kids (as well as the leaders!), and it was just one hectic night. However, more of my kids were actually doing the motions to the songs that night--I wasn't continually asking someone to do the motions or not mess around.
On Friday we had a special time to present to the families, where the kids sang their songs, said their verses, and had their crafts displayed. We also had food for them and facepainting and balloon animals.
We had a total of 58 kids last week (not all at the same time), and 35 helpers, Melissa said. This is a switch from when we had started with only 6 helpers, and that was just before Monday.
Saturday we went to Trinity Church and helped decorate for their VBS, which is this week. I think we'll probably have the same roles there as we did at First Church. This afternoon we decorated some more. There are some awesome "barn doors" (to the sanctuary), fake barbed wire along the walls, and a corral around the stage.
***typed July 17***
Last night was the first night of Trinity's VBS, and there were only 7 or 8 kids there, all of them already involved in the church. I had two girls in my group, Allison and Krystal, both age 7 and they were the oldest ones there. The leaders at the church were very enthusiastic, getting the kids to "yee-haw" at various times.
We will continue with this VBS the rest of the week, and hopefully more kids will come.
It is sad to think that we have only 9 more days here, but I want to make the most of our time, especially with VBS, the families/teens we've met, working at the Rescue Mission, etc.
Prayer Requests
~health/safety
~VBS at Trinity Church: that kids that are not already "churched" will come, that we will have the right time/right place/right person and right words to lead people to Christ, that we will reflect God's love
~Joel Tooley's mom Dee is in the hospital in Mississippi, and she could very much use prayer
That's about all I can think of for right now. Thanks again for all your support and prayers, and I will see you in August/September!
Monday, July 09, 2007
update #3 YIM I think
Saludos a todos!
(Greetings to all!)
Today is my first week back in El Paso after a week in Juarez. It has been a while since I've updated you all, so I'm not sure what I have and have not said.
I think when I last wrote, we were in Juarez for two weeks. The second week we were there, we had gotten to know more of the youth from Cuarta Iglesia (4th church), including Fabiola and many others. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we helped with VBS at the Peniel mission where we had gone door to door. The funny thing is that our team became translators for the Work and Witness team from Denver. It was great to see the kids from the community again, for three days, and continue those relationships with the kids we had seen before.
The following week we returned to El Paso to help with the basketball camp. These were the original dates, except that they weren't the correct dates. We still had about 20 kids show up, which was great. We helped with the younger kids, teaching basic skills of dribbling, passing, and shooting. And if you know me, you know I'm not usually athletic. Mike (our site coordinator) had me lead a couple days, and a few times we just had the kids do whatever they wanted when they got tired of basketball (whether it was coloring, frisbee, or Uno). Pastors Fred and Marco also did devotions at the end of the morning. One night, I realized that I needed to be more extroverted to get to know these kids, and to ask them their names. I knew that I couldn't do that on my own, or with whatever energy I had, and so I definitely
relied on God for that. With the basketball camp, it was about encouraging the kids in their efforts and simply being their friend. That will probably go for Vacation Bible School these next two weeks as well.
Last Saturday we decorated the El Paso First Church for the Tumbleweed Gulch (think old western theme) VBS. We made a splendid fence out of brown poster paper and markers. We had a few people from the church with us, including 13 year old Amanda. It was awesome having her there, because Mike says it's tough to get her to come to things other than Sunday mornings. She and I made a pretty amazing cactus out of
this brown tubing and paint and tissue paper.
Our team also did some canvassing around the neighborhood, including some follow-up with families that had come to the previous basketball camp. Yet again, we're just connecting with people in the community.
We did attempt a movie night, and invited some people from the community to come see Facing the Giants. We really didn't put out much effort, and planned it at the last minute, so maybe it's not surprising that we and Marco's family were the only ones watching it.
Last week we were in Juarez again at Tercera Iglesia (3rd church), with Gedeon and his family. The first night we were there, they wanted us to go into the community and do evangelism door to door. We ended up just handing out these tracts to people, including some kids at a playground. That night we went with Fernando, who is Nayeli's dad, and on Thursday night we went with Jonatan, one of the youth who is in seminary. We were frustrated because all we could really do was recite our spiel. However, it was awesome to hear that on Saturday night and Sunday morning that about 3 girls came to the services because of our going into the community. I know many of you hear of missions trips where hundreds/thousands come to faith in Jesus because
of the JESUS FILM! but we are content to simply see small steps like this for the churches here. Now it's up to the congregations to continue reaching out to the communities.
When we were with the youth back in Juarez, we actually went to an alberca (pool/park) with them as they had an "esgrima" competition. The awesome thing is that we saw two rounds of Bible quizzing, and I was able to help keep score (despite the language barrier).
Many of you heard me say before the trip that I was looking forward to using my Spanish. But having spent three weeks in Juarez, I recognize Spanish as simply being a tool in communicating wtih people. If you are curious as to how we are doing with Spanish, I know that words are coming back to me from the book learning I had in high school. Being able to learn words in context, whether it is by pointing to something and asking, or continual reference to something, or by looking at things in S-Mart, is helpful as well.
These next two weeks we will be helping with two VBS's at the two churches in El Paso. After that we have a few days before we head back to Kansas City. It is strange to think that our time here is almost at an end, as some days seem slow. But once you plan out the weeks, it seems a lot shorter.
I almost forgot! We have had quite the health adventures here. If you have been praying for our health, thank you because we have not died. For about a week, one of our teammates had a rash on her face. When she went to the dermatologist, she found out that she was allergic to mango skin, as it is very similar to poison ivy. Who
would have thought she would have mangoface? Another teammate had, as she calls it, dysentery (which it was not at all) and became moderately dehydrated. She stayed in El Paso for a few days recuperating while we were in Juarez. It was good to have her back after a few days!
Prayer Requests
~VBS: for the leaders (including ourselves), the kids that come, the parents, and the church here to connect with the community
~Health/safety
~the Nazarene Border Initiative leaders Joel and Barry, and the work they want to do here
~Our site coordinator Mike S
Thanks again for your support and prayers,
Jessica
(Greetings to all!)
Today is my first week back in El Paso after a week in Juarez. It has been a while since I've updated you all, so I'm not sure what I have and have not said.
I think when I last wrote, we were in Juarez for two weeks. The second week we were there, we had gotten to know more of the youth from Cuarta Iglesia (4th church), including Fabiola and many others. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we helped with VBS at the Peniel mission where we had gone door to door. The funny thing is that our team became translators for the Work and Witness team from Denver. It was great to see the kids from the community again, for three days, and continue those relationships with the kids we had seen before.
The following week we returned to El Paso to help with the basketball camp. These were the original dates, except that they weren't the correct dates. We still had about 20 kids show up, which was great. We helped with the younger kids, teaching basic skills of dribbling, passing, and shooting. And if you know me, you know I'm not usually athletic. Mike (our site coordinator) had me lead a couple days, and a few times we just had the kids do whatever they wanted when they got tired of basketball (whether it was coloring, frisbee, or Uno). Pastors Fred and Marco also did devotions at the end of the morning. One night, I realized that I needed to be more extroverted to get to know these kids, and to ask them their names. I knew that I couldn't do that on my own, or with whatever energy I had, and so I definitely
relied on God for that. With the basketball camp, it was about encouraging the kids in their efforts and simply being their friend. That will probably go for Vacation Bible School these next two weeks as well.
Last Saturday we decorated the El Paso First Church for the Tumbleweed Gulch (think old western theme) VBS. We made a splendid fence out of brown poster paper and markers. We had a few people from the church with us, including 13 year old Amanda. It was awesome having her there, because Mike says it's tough to get her to come to things other than Sunday mornings. She and I made a pretty amazing cactus out of
this brown tubing and paint and tissue paper.
Our team also did some canvassing around the neighborhood, including some follow-up with families that had come to the previous basketball camp. Yet again, we're just connecting with people in the community.
We did attempt a movie night, and invited some people from the community to come see Facing the Giants. We really didn't put out much effort, and planned it at the last minute, so maybe it's not surprising that we and Marco's family were the only ones watching it.
Last week we were in Juarez again at Tercera Iglesia (3rd church), with Gedeon and his family. The first night we were there, they wanted us to go into the community and do evangelism door to door. We ended up just handing out these tracts to people, including some kids at a playground. That night we went with Fernando, who is Nayeli's dad, and on Thursday night we went with Jonatan, one of the youth who is in seminary. We were frustrated because all we could really do was recite our spiel. However, it was awesome to hear that on Saturday night and Sunday morning that about 3 girls came to the services because of our going into the community. I know many of you hear of missions trips where hundreds/thousands come to faith in Jesus because
of the JESUS FILM! but we are content to simply see small steps like this for the churches here. Now it's up to the congregations to continue reaching out to the communities.
When we were with the youth back in Juarez, we actually went to an alberca (pool/park) with them as they had an "esgrima" competition. The awesome thing is that we saw two rounds of Bible quizzing, and I was able to help keep score (despite the language barrier).
Many of you heard me say before the trip that I was looking forward to using my Spanish. But having spent three weeks in Juarez, I recognize Spanish as simply being a tool in communicating wtih people. If you are curious as to how we are doing with Spanish, I know that words are coming back to me from the book learning I had in high school. Being able to learn words in context, whether it is by pointing to something and asking, or continual reference to something, or by looking at things in S-Mart, is helpful as well.
These next two weeks we will be helping with two VBS's at the two churches in El Paso. After that we have a few days before we head back to Kansas City. It is strange to think that our time here is almost at an end, as some days seem slow. But once you plan out the weeks, it seems a lot shorter.
I almost forgot! We have had quite the health adventures here. If you have been praying for our health, thank you because we have not died. For about a week, one of our teammates had a rash on her face. When she went to the dermatologist, she found out that she was allergic to mango skin, as it is very similar to poison ivy. Who
would have thought she would have mangoface? Another teammate had, as she calls it, dysentery (which it was not at all) and became moderately dehydrated. She stayed in El Paso for a few days recuperating while we were in Juarez. It was good to have her back after a few days!
Prayer Requests
~VBS: for the leaders (including ourselves), the kids that come, the parents, and the church here to connect with the community
~Health/safety
~the Nazarene Border Initiative leaders Joel and Barry, and the work they want to do here
~Our site coordinator Mike S
Thanks again for your support and prayers,
Jessica
Friday, June 22, 2007
hola de Juarez
Hello all,
We are finishing up our second week in Juarez, Mexico, and will be returning soon to El Paso. Now to most of you, this schedule looks the same as what it was last week. However, our plans have changed so many times that it would not be worth it to describe all the changes. For instance, at one point we were going to go to Las Palomas, and help there. Rest assured though, we are learning to be flexible and not to have any expectations. It reminds me of when I was in Belize and Wassim kept asking Doc about what our destination would be like--finally Doc responded, "WASSIM! You'll find out when we get there!" :)
The first few days here were rough, as we were trying to settle into some sort of routine. We had no translator, knew nobody outside Pastor Richard's family, and we were the only English speakers. However, the families here have helped us to feel at home, preparing us meals, taking us where we needed to go, and introducing us to others. Benjamin was one of the first people we met, and he and Suri came with us to the mission these two weeks.
We helped at a mission just outside of the city, called Peniel. We invited families to church and to VBS, as well as a game day we had with the neighborhood kids. We played games, shared a Bible story, colored pictures, and did face painting. This was a great time to build relationships with some of the kids, because we later saw them at VBS. The day before VBS started, we worked to clear gravel and sand out of one of the rooms and moved it to make a sort of stage in the mission.
Benjamin became one of our good friends, and it was sad to see him leave earlier this week. He was our Spanish-to-Spanish translator, looking out for us, and he helped us meet more of the youth from the church. These people have become our friends, and we have talked with them and done lots of fun activities.
We are a forerunning group for the Nazarene Border Initiative, and its goal is to allow the Mexican church's leaders to decide what to do in their communities. Rather than the American teams coming in with a plan, the Mexican church can place us wherever they wish, and not be told what to do in their community.
We helped a group from Denver First Church in doing VBS at Peniel this week. One woman from the group, Angela, told us that on Tuesday she was worried that there would be no translator available at Peniel, and in the midst of her stress, she finally remembered to pray and trust God to provide. God used us to meet that need! There were many children at VBS, upwards of 30 I'm sure.
As well as we know now, tonight we will be working with the youth of this church to go door to door in the neighborhood, and invite people to church. We will be spending the night at Fabiola's before going to a sort of water park with them as well.
Next week there was supposed to be a basketball camp in El Paso, but at the last minute, Barry and Mikey found out that it was this week. They had 35 kids on the first day of the camp! We will be heading back to help out with however many kids show up for the original time, which will be interesting as we don't have many skills in basketball. :)
There are so many stories I want to share, but I don't have the time or space to share now. I'm sure you will be hearing many stories once I return. :)
Prayer Requests:
~this week's basketball camp, and the children and families that will come
~the Vacation Bible Schools that we will be helping with in July, I think
~Health, safety, energy each day
~Communication
Some advice of what NOT to do when there is a language barrier:
~Don't try to get money from an ATM. You may get 20 pesos ($2) instead of $20.
~Don't try to tell jokes or stories. They're not as funny.
~Don't pretend like you know more of the language than you do. It may be assumed that you are fluent.
~Don't say you like something, because it may be assumed that you cannot live without it.
~Don't assume that all words are similar between languages. For instance, "embarazada" does not mean embarrassed. It means "pregnant."
~Don't smile and nod every time you are asked something.
We are finishing up our second week in Juarez, Mexico, and will be returning soon to El Paso. Now to most of you, this schedule looks the same as what it was last week. However, our plans have changed so many times that it would not be worth it to describe all the changes. For instance, at one point we were going to go to Las Palomas, and help there. Rest assured though, we are learning to be flexible and not to have any expectations. It reminds me of when I was in Belize and Wassim kept asking Doc about what our destination would be like--finally Doc responded, "WASSIM! You'll find out when we get there!" :)
The first few days here were rough, as we were trying to settle into some sort of routine. We had no translator, knew nobody outside Pastor Richard's family, and we were the only English speakers. However, the families here have helped us to feel at home, preparing us meals, taking us where we needed to go, and introducing us to others. Benjamin was one of the first people we met, and he and Suri came with us to the mission these two weeks.
We helped at a mission just outside of the city, called Peniel. We invited families to church and to VBS, as well as a game day we had with the neighborhood kids. We played games, shared a Bible story, colored pictures, and did face painting. This was a great time to build relationships with some of the kids, because we later saw them at VBS. The day before VBS started, we worked to clear gravel and sand out of one of the rooms and moved it to make a sort of stage in the mission.
Benjamin became one of our good friends, and it was sad to see him leave earlier this week. He was our Spanish-to-Spanish translator, looking out for us, and he helped us meet more of the youth from the church. These people have become our friends, and we have talked with them and done lots of fun activities.
We are a forerunning group for the Nazarene Border Initiative, and its goal is to allow the Mexican church's leaders to decide what to do in their communities. Rather than the American teams coming in with a plan, the Mexican church can place us wherever they wish, and not be told what to do in their community.
We helped a group from Denver First Church in doing VBS at Peniel this week. One woman from the group, Angela, told us that on Tuesday she was worried that there would be no translator available at Peniel, and in the midst of her stress, she finally remembered to pray and trust God to provide. God used us to meet that need! There were many children at VBS, upwards of 30 I'm sure.
As well as we know now, tonight we will be working with the youth of this church to go door to door in the neighborhood, and invite people to church. We will be spending the night at Fabiola's before going to a sort of water park with them as well.
Next week there was supposed to be a basketball camp in El Paso, but at the last minute, Barry and Mikey found out that it was this week. They had 35 kids on the first day of the camp! We will be heading back to help out with however many kids show up for the original time, which will be interesting as we don't have many skills in basketball. :)
There are so many stories I want to share, but I don't have the time or space to share now. I'm sure you will be hearing many stories once I return. :)
Prayer Requests:
~this week's basketball camp, and the children and families that will come
~the Vacation Bible Schools that we will be helping with in July, I think
~Health, safety, energy each day
~Communication
Some advice of what NOT to do when there is a language barrier:
~Don't try to get money from an ATM. You may get 20 pesos ($2) instead of $20.
~Don't try to tell jokes or stories. They're not as funny.
~Don't pretend like you know more of the language than you do. It may be assumed that you are fluent.
~Don't say you like something, because it may be assumed that you cannot live without it.
~Don't assume that all words are similar between languages. For instance, "embarazada" does not mean embarrassed. It means "pregnant."
~Don't smile and nod every time you are asked something.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
here I am, in El Paso
Hi everyone,
This email is going to be rather long, but chock-full of info. Here goes. It may be abbreviated for the sake of time and space. I'll elaborate later.
Training Camp:
~Very intense and they kept us busy doing team building activities, attending workshops, sitting in and participating in various chapels/discussions, being part of a family group (my team plus 2 Guatemala teams), Poverty meal.
~Our team gets along very well and we have a lot of fun in addition to doing our ministry.
Sunday the 3rd:
~Arrived in El Paso after a delayed flight (we ended up just jumping onto another one in the nick of time)
~driving around, getting to know the area
~eating lunch with Marco the Spanish pastor
~ate dinner at a Sonic, which are NOT back east. :)
~Mikey had a "surprise" for us, which was to take us to an overlook once it was dark. It was really awesome to look out over the city, with all the lights, and think that there was at least one person for every light out there. Also, to think about our upcoming ministry and what we would be doing (which we still didn't really know too much at that point).
Monday the 4th:
~We went to a park and played games (kicked around a soccer ball) with some kids, Alex and Annabelle.
~Inventoried the kitchen, so when the Oklahoma W&W group comes, they will know what they need to bring.
~We've been doing a lot of brainstorming about how to get the church's name out there, and to meet people where they are and to begin building relationships with them. It's tough work, slow going, really. I felt like I didn't have any real ideas because I don't know this community, and by the time I get to know it, we'll leave. We also have been trying to publicize a free basketball camp at the end of this month, as well as VBS, by going door-to-door, which is very in-your-face and I'm definitely not fond of that method. But it's what the church is using, as well as talking to families in the park.
~PS: Mom, there is really not a dormitory on the premises of El Paso First Church. We have one room, Mikey has his room, there is an office, and the rest of the top floor is completely empty. HOWEVER, a Work and Witness team will be working on that, for use with the Border Initiative.
Tuesday the 5th:
~Went over into Juarez to meet with Eliseo the DS of that area, and plan what we will be doing next week and the week after. Basically, we're trying to get the Nazarene Border Initiative going again (for more info, you can check out nazarene.org or ask me later).
~This week and the week after, we will be working at a mission near Juarez, as well as doing community outreach at one or more of the 9 Nazarene churches in Juarez. We also will help with a VBS, and we are not a work and witness team (that's not our focus this summer).
~Mike Direnzo pointed out that there is such a contrast between El Paso and Juarez, and I didn't really think about it till a few days later, and it's true. Juarez is definitely poorer. I haven't yet been hit with culture shock, but that will probably come next week or the week after.
~The language in this area is Spanglish, as evidenced by 4 year old Fabiola, Marco's daughter: "Mas higher!" In El Paso, it's mostly English, but in Juarez it will really be mostly Spanish!
~I have been learning to trust and rely on God, because in this new environment, I don't really know all that I'm doing, I don't know the community, and certainly can't get through the days without asking God to work in the life of this city and to show us opportunities to take part in the movement of God (theosis?) here.
~Mikey took us on a hike up to Elephant Peak, in the Franklin Mtns State Park, and it was a lot of fun. The weather here is very dry, except for the VERY RARE rain, so the hike wasn't bad at all (unlike being back east). We could see pretty much all of El Paso and Juarez, and it was a spectacular view. We probably could even see New Mexico, for that matter.
Wednesday the 6th:
~discussed with Pastor Fred (who is actually from Lowell) his ideas for the church and this summer
~Went to another park to see if any kids were there, but they weren't, so we went to the library and got some books and a yoga video (hey, the key to missions is flexibility, says Joel T)
~It's tough being here and trying to help the church grow when we don't have any existing connections beyond the church in the community.
~However, we had an opportunity to help this 91 yr old woman, Isidra, who had come from Juarez trying to buy a motor scooter. She was walking down the sidewalk with her walker in the heat of the day. We ended up having Jaime, a neighbor, help drive her back since the woman that was at the address Isidra had knew nothing about the scooter.
~Attended the youth group and played some games with them like the Neighbor Game (which I had done with Impact), and volleyball for a while. I have been more athletic this past week than I have for maybe the past 2 years. :)
(Side thought: Sorry if this is unclear grammatically at times; I am just trying to get everything out)
Thursday the 7th:
~some more brainstorming and visiting parks
~Barry and Mikey had us wash a bunch of dishes to prepare for the Oklahoma group, and we really were not seeing the point, or if we were even making a dent in the number that needed to be done. We got to use a machine, and it was a good team bonding time as we laughed, trying to see the point. Now there are a number of clean dishes downstairs, and we know how to use the dishwasher. :)
~went around the neighborhood, door-to-door, to tell them about upcoming activities at the church. I feel like a telemarketer when I do that, but most people cheerfully accepted the flyer. As Mikey put it, whether they read it or not is a simple decision, and we aren't asking them to make a great big decision suddenly.
~Mikey compared El Paso to DC in this manner. El Paso is not Mexico, it's not really Texas, it's not New Mexico, and it's not really the US. It's its own place.
Friday the 8th:
~We got to serve breakfast and dinner at the El Paso Rescue Mission, a place that helps the homeless get back on their feet. I was able to talk to 3 people, just asking them their stories, and telling them a bit about myself, and just otherwise brightening their day as I served drinks and cereal. In the morning, as I was placing sugar on the trays for their cereal, I kept thinking of how I should look into "the face of the other," and not be caught up in my service that I forget the people right in front of me. Kind of like Mary and Martha in the Bible.
~We did Jazzercise with 4 women from the community....told you I was being athletic! :)
~Ate lunch with Marco the Spanish pastor and his family....yumm....we had milanesa and beans and rice and something else.
~Went to the t-ball park during a game and handed out flyers about the church's childrens' activities, and this group seemed very receptive, especially for a free sports activity.
Saturday the 9th:
~Just two days prior, we had brainstormed to have a fun and games day at the park for kids, with facepainting, balloon animal making (okay, just a sword, dog, or sombrero), and games and such. We ended up having about 15 kids show up that morning. I was excited to see this little girl that had been at the t-ball park the night before, because she had waved at me as I walked by her again. When she saw me on Saturday, she said, "I know you!" So cute. :)
~ate dinner at Barry and his wife Charlie's house....they are the USA/Canada Work and Witness coordinators....watched a movie....then returned to the electricity-free church (power outage)
Sunday (today)
~attended both Spanish and English services
~went to Fabiola's birthday party, and helped out with games and playing with the kids
What a week. I will definitely be sharing more later, in August.
This week and next I will be in Juarez.
The end of this month I will be here in El Paso, working with a basketball camp (I think), then we will go back to Juarez. For two weeks in July we will be doing VBS in El Paso....including the week of my birthday :). Then we will have a few days before returning to Kansas City!
Prayer requests:
~communication while we are in Juarez
~for God to work in the life of these cities and to enable us to step out of our comfort zones when we need to
~safety, health
This email is going to be rather long, but chock-full of info. Here goes. It may be abbreviated for the sake of time and space. I'll elaborate later.
Training Camp:
~Very intense and they kept us busy doing team building activities, attending workshops, sitting in and participating in various chapels/discussions, being part of a family group (my team plus 2 Guatemala teams), Poverty meal.
~Our team gets along very well and we have a lot of fun in addition to doing our ministry.
Sunday the 3rd:
~Arrived in El Paso after a delayed flight (we ended up just jumping onto another one in the nick of time)
~driving around, getting to know the area
~eating lunch with Marco the Spanish pastor
~ate dinner at a Sonic, which are NOT back east. :)
~Mikey had a "surprise" for us, which was to take us to an overlook once it was dark. It was really awesome to look out over the city, with all the lights, and think that there was at least one person for every light out there. Also, to think about our upcoming ministry and what we would be doing (which we still didn't really know too much at that point).
Monday the 4th:
~We went to a park and played games (kicked around a soccer ball) with some kids, Alex and Annabelle.
~Inventoried the kitchen, so when the Oklahoma W&W group comes, they will know what they need to bring.
~We've been doing a lot of brainstorming about how to get the church's name out there, and to meet people where they are and to begin building relationships with them. It's tough work, slow going, really. I felt like I didn't have any real ideas because I don't know this community, and by the time I get to know it, we'll leave. We also have been trying to publicize a free basketball camp at the end of this month, as well as VBS, by going door-to-door, which is very in-your-face and I'm definitely not fond of that method. But it's what the church is using, as well as talking to families in the park.
~PS: Mom, there is really not a dormitory on the premises of El Paso First Church. We have one room, Mikey has his room, there is an office, and the rest of the top floor is completely empty. HOWEVER, a Work and Witness team will be working on that, for use with the Border Initiative.
Tuesday the 5th:
~Went over into Juarez to meet with Eliseo the DS of that area, and plan what we will be doing next week and the week after. Basically, we're trying to get the Nazarene Border Initiative going again (for more info, you can check out nazarene.org or ask me later).
~This week and the week after, we will be working at a mission near Juarez, as well as doing community outreach at one or more of the 9 Nazarene churches in Juarez. We also will help with a VBS, and we are not a work and witness team (that's not our focus this summer).
~Mike Direnzo pointed out that there is such a contrast between El Paso and Juarez, and I didn't really think about it till a few days later, and it's true. Juarez is definitely poorer. I haven't yet been hit with culture shock, but that will probably come next week or the week after.
~The language in this area is Spanglish, as evidenced by 4 year old Fabiola, Marco's daughter: "Mas higher!" In El Paso, it's mostly English, but in Juarez it will really be mostly Spanish!
~I have been learning to trust and rely on God, because in this new environment, I don't really know all that I'm doing, I don't know the community, and certainly can't get through the days without asking God to work in the life of this city and to show us opportunities to take part in the movement of God (theosis?) here.
~Mikey took us on a hike up to Elephant Peak, in the Franklin Mtns State Park, and it was a lot of fun. The weather here is very dry, except for the VERY RARE rain, so the hike wasn't bad at all (unlike being back east). We could see pretty much all of El Paso and Juarez, and it was a spectacular view. We probably could even see New Mexico, for that matter.
Wednesday the 6th:
~discussed with Pastor Fred (who is actually from Lowell) his ideas for the church and this summer
~Went to another park to see if any kids were there, but they weren't, so we went to the library and got some books and a yoga video (hey, the key to missions is flexibility, says Joel T)
~It's tough being here and trying to help the church grow when we don't have any existing connections beyond the church in the community.
~However, we had an opportunity to help this 91 yr old woman, Isidra, who had come from Juarez trying to buy a motor scooter. She was walking down the sidewalk with her walker in the heat of the day. We ended up having Jaime, a neighbor, help drive her back since the woman that was at the address Isidra had knew nothing about the scooter.
~Attended the youth group and played some games with them like the Neighbor Game (which I had done with Impact), and volleyball for a while. I have been more athletic this past week than I have for maybe the past 2 years. :)
(Side thought: Sorry if this is unclear grammatically at times; I am just trying to get everything out)
Thursday the 7th:
~some more brainstorming and visiting parks
~Barry and Mikey had us wash a bunch of dishes to prepare for the Oklahoma group, and we really were not seeing the point, or if we were even making a dent in the number that needed to be done. We got to use a machine, and it was a good team bonding time as we laughed, trying to see the point. Now there are a number of clean dishes downstairs, and we know how to use the dishwasher. :)
~went around the neighborhood, door-to-door, to tell them about upcoming activities at the church. I feel like a telemarketer when I do that, but most people cheerfully accepted the flyer. As Mikey put it, whether they read it or not is a simple decision, and we aren't asking them to make a great big decision suddenly.
~Mikey compared El Paso to DC in this manner. El Paso is not Mexico, it's not really Texas, it's not New Mexico, and it's not really the US. It's its own place.
Friday the 8th:
~We got to serve breakfast and dinner at the El Paso Rescue Mission, a place that helps the homeless get back on their feet. I was able to talk to 3 people, just asking them their stories, and telling them a bit about myself, and just otherwise brightening their day as I served drinks and cereal. In the morning, as I was placing sugar on the trays for their cereal, I kept thinking of how I should look into "the face of the other," and not be caught up in my service that I forget the people right in front of me. Kind of like Mary and Martha in the Bible.
~We did Jazzercise with 4 women from the community....told you I was being athletic! :)
~Ate lunch with Marco the Spanish pastor and his family....yumm....we had milanesa and beans and rice and something else.
~Went to the t-ball park during a game and handed out flyers about the church's childrens' activities, and this group seemed very receptive, especially for a free sports activity.
Saturday the 9th:
~Just two days prior, we had brainstormed to have a fun and games day at the park for kids, with facepainting, balloon animal making (okay, just a sword, dog, or sombrero), and games and such. We ended up having about 15 kids show up that morning. I was excited to see this little girl that had been at the t-ball park the night before, because she had waved at me as I walked by her again. When she saw me on Saturday, she said, "I know you!" So cute. :)
~ate dinner at Barry and his wife Charlie's house....they are the USA/Canada Work and Witness coordinators....watched a movie....then returned to the electricity-free church (power outage)
Sunday (today)
~attended both Spanish and English services
~went to Fabiola's birthday party, and helped out with games and playing with the kids
What a week. I will definitely be sharing more later, in August.
This week and next I will be in Juarez.
The end of this month I will be here in El Paso, working with a basketball camp (I think), then we will go back to Juarez. For two weeks in July we will be doing VBS in El Paso....including the week of my birthday :). Then we will have a few days before returning to Kansas City!
Prayer requests:
~communication while we are in Juarez
~for God to work in the life of these cities and to enable us to step out of our comfort zones when we need to
~safety, health
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Youth in Mission, here I come!
To all:
This is the first of multiple emails I will be sending this summer to update you on my Youth in Mission trip. As most of you are aware, I will be heading to El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico for almost two months for a missions trip (If you don't know where that is, it's in the western part of Texas that kind of pokes into New Mexico).
Here are the basics, as I knew in January, of what I'm doing. I heard that things can change at any time, so you'll hear later if this is not what I'm actually doing:
~Partner with a Latin American YIM team
~Facilitate evangelism training and outreach
~Involvement with compassionate ministries (I wonder if I will see any banana boxes, School Pal-Paks, or Crisis Care Kits!)
~Participate in Work and Witness projects
~Assisting in leadership training for Nazarene leaders in Mexico
~Train, coordinate, and lead a short-term missions trip for Latin American youth (Maximum Mission) in Mexico
After a flurry of emails between our team and our site coordinators, I can also share this with you:
"We want this time for you to be different than what you're used to - we want you to be stetched - spiritually, socially, emotionally - etc. You will gain new things this summer. You will sacrifice things this summer. We want to come into this totally open to something new from God.
You will be asked to share your testimony (your journey with God); you will be asked to lead church services; you will be asked to integrate with the Hispanic community; you will be asked to LEAD teenagers in a deeper spiritual journey with God; you will be asked to do things you're good at and to do things you've never done before. You will asked to do things that are very mundane. You will be asked to do things that don't have a lot of direction/explanation. You will be asked to experience your journey with God in a whole new way."
I fly out Tuesday to Kansas City for my week of training camp with all the other YIM students. We will then disperse on the 3rd for our various sites around the world! I will be keeping a journal (those of you from my Belize/Guatemala trip know how I journal!) and taking plenty of photographs, so that you can get a glimpse of my experience.
Great news: All of my trip funds have been raised, and I will even be reimbursed for my airfare to and from Kansas City! It was awesome to see God provide all my funds, even if it all happened at the last minute!
Prayer requests:
~safety in general, as well as during travel
~keeping us healthy
~for God to enable our team to reflect Him to the people there by the border
~working in the hearts of those at our site
I'm wicked excited to see what God holds this summer for me, and will keep you all posted throughout the summer (possibly with pictures too)! I will have internet access every so often, so emails/messages will be muchly appreciated. :)
Thank you to all have supported me and my trip over the past few months, whether it was through financial contributions, sharing ideas, or by simply praying for me. I appreciate your generosity and prayers, and can't wait to see what happens this summer!
"So right here and now I am all in
'Cause I'm letting go of everything I am
And I'm holding on to everything You are
I'm letting go of everything I once was
I'm all in
I'm fallin' into Your arms again" (by TobyMac)
This is the first of multiple emails I will be sending this summer to update you on my Youth in Mission trip. As most of you are aware, I will be heading to El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico for almost two months for a missions trip (If you don't know where that is, it's in the western part of Texas that kind of pokes into New Mexico).
Here are the basics, as I knew in January, of what I'm doing. I heard that things can change at any time, so you'll hear later if this is not what I'm actually doing:
~Partner with a Latin American YIM team
~Facilitate evangelism training and outreach
~Involvement with compassionate ministries (I wonder if I will see any banana boxes, School Pal-Paks, or Crisis Care Kits!)
~Participate in Work and Witness projects
~Assisting in leadership training for Nazarene leaders in Mexico
~Train, coordinate, and lead a short-term missions trip for Latin American youth (Maximum Mission) in Mexico
After a flurry of emails between our team and our site coordinators, I can also share this with you:
"We want this time for you to be different than what you're used to - we want you to be stetched - spiritually, socially, emotionally - etc. You will gain new things this summer. You will sacrifice things this summer. We want to come into this totally open to something new from God.
You will be asked to share your testimony (your journey with God); you will be asked to lead church services; you will be asked to integrate with the Hispanic community; you will be asked to LEAD teenagers in a deeper spiritual journey with God; you will be asked to do things you're good at and to do things you've never done before. You will asked to do things that are very mundane. You will be asked to do things that don't have a lot of direction/explanation. You will be asked to experience your journey with God in a whole new way."
I fly out Tuesday to Kansas City for my week of training camp with all the other YIM students. We will then disperse on the 3rd for our various sites around the world! I will be keeping a journal (those of you from my Belize/Guatemala trip know how I journal!) and taking plenty of photographs, so that you can get a glimpse of my experience.
Great news: All of my trip funds have been raised, and I will even be reimbursed for my airfare to and from Kansas City! It was awesome to see God provide all my funds, even if it all happened at the last minute!
Prayer requests:
~safety in general, as well as during travel
~keeping us healthy
~for God to enable our team to reflect Him to the people there by the border
~working in the hearts of those at our site
I'm wicked excited to see what God holds this summer for me, and will keep you all posted throughout the summer (possibly with pictures too)! I will have internet access every so often, so emails/messages will be muchly appreciated. :)
Thank you to all have supported me and my trip over the past few months, whether it was through financial contributions, sharing ideas, or by simply praying for me. I appreciate your generosity and prayers, and can't wait to see what happens this summer!
"So right here and now I am all in
'Cause I'm letting go of everything I am
And I'm holding on to everything You are
I'm letting go of everything I once was
I'm all in
I'm fallin' into Your arms again" (by TobyMac)
Friday, May 18, 2007
current glimpses
*~*
from Down by the River: "Marketing people learn that Mexicans believe the truth must be something bad, something constantly claimed by their government and therefore something very suspect." What does this mean in terms of ministry to them and sharing verses from the Bible, especially John 14:6 (Jesus is the way, truth, and life)?
*~*
*~*
I have this sense of sacredness in certain places, that where I am is holy ground, and to do anything but move and speak softly (or in some cases, to even enter) violates such sacredness. To name a few places, the New England Holocaust Memorial, some bedrooms, and old or empty churches. I felt like it was only proper to simply walk through the Holocaust Memorial silently, reading the information, and thinking about it. If I am ever in some family's house, and walk slightly into the parents' bedroom, I feel like I'm intruding. "Marriage should be honored by all." It's as though that's their space, and that's where the mystery of marriage is. Something like that. I visited the Trinity Church this past weekend (that's the one at Copley Square, right?), but only was in the foyer and downstairs in the bookstore. I couldn't help but want to tread softly, and speak softly if at all.
*~*
*~*
How can we alleviate the suffering of illegal immigrants? What are churches down there doing to help? What is the general church attitude? I'm pretty sure that "the least of these" includes those that the government refuses to help before they boot them out of the country.
*~*
*~*
Humanity is falling to pieces. We break each other and tear each other down. This brokenness is sin. Christ is the "glue" that will put us back together. Holiness, wholeness, comes when we allow Christ to put the broken pieces of our lives back together, when we can can help others put their broken lives back together. Whether it's relational or financial or personal, we're all broken in some way. We cannot be useful until we are whole again at the most basic levels (thank you Maslow).
*~*
*~*
As I've been learning about different situations, I cannot help but wonder, "What does this mean in terms of ministry? What can be done to fix this?"
*~*
What are your thoughts?
from Down by the River: "Marketing people learn that Mexicans believe the truth must be something bad, something constantly claimed by their government and therefore something very suspect." What does this mean in terms of ministry to them and sharing verses from the Bible, especially John 14:6 (Jesus is the way, truth, and life)?
*~*
*~*
I have this sense of sacredness in certain places, that where I am is holy ground, and to do anything but move and speak softly (or in some cases, to even enter) violates such sacredness. To name a few places, the New England Holocaust Memorial, some bedrooms, and old or empty churches. I felt like it was only proper to simply walk through the Holocaust Memorial silently, reading the information, and thinking about it. If I am ever in some family's house, and walk slightly into the parents' bedroom, I feel like I'm intruding. "Marriage should be honored by all." It's as though that's their space, and that's where the mystery of marriage is. Something like that. I visited the Trinity Church this past weekend (that's the one at Copley Square, right?), but only was in the foyer and downstairs in the bookstore. I couldn't help but want to tread softly, and speak softly if at all.
*~*
*~*
How can we alleviate the suffering of illegal immigrants? What are churches down there doing to help? What is the general church attitude? I'm pretty sure that "the least of these" includes those that the government refuses to help before they boot them out of the country.
*~*
*~*
Humanity is falling to pieces. We break each other and tear each other down. This brokenness is sin. Christ is the "glue" that will put us back together. Holiness, wholeness, comes when we allow Christ to put the broken pieces of our lives back together, when we can can help others put their broken lives back together. Whether it's relational or financial or personal, we're all broken in some way. We cannot be useful until we are whole again at the most basic levels (thank you Maslow).
*~*
*~*
As I've been learning about different situations, I cannot help but wonder, "What does this mean in terms of ministry? What can be done to fix this?"
*~*
What are your thoughts?
Friday, May 04, 2007
Being a college student is fun. Most of the time.
I am 99% finished my 10 lesson plans for Ed Psych. All I have to do "tomorrow" is tweak one a bit, do some formatting, and then print it to hand in. After that, I'm done most of my work!
At about 1 am, I decided that I needed to get the oxygen moving in my body again, so I ran around the front lawn twice. Where else can you do crazy things like that except at college?
Next week before I take my finals, I have to do some Arts and Music papers, study for Linear, and study for Christian Tradition. Then I'm DONE!!!!
I can't wait for the end of the semester to really be here, because it means I will be moving out of the dorm and into the KP's house for the rest of the month. I won't have any homework to do, but will be able to read FUN books again! I'll put that reading list up shortly.
On May 29th, I will be heading to Kansas City for my YOUTH IN MISSION trip to Mexico!!!!!!!!! I honestly haven't had time to be excited, or at least I haven't allowed myself time, due to school stresses. Not to mention, I've been trying to practice my Spanish, work on figuring out how to raise the money for the trip (but that's all done now! Yay God! Thank you for providing for me!), and a whole host of other things. Maybe the rest of this month will be a nice time of relaxing and preparing!
Last weekend was quizzing Regionals, and the short summary of the weekend is this: crazy, intense, stressful, fun, and we stayed in a sketchy hotel. But that's another story for another blog.
It's almost 2 am. I need to go to bed! I'm a little loopy right now, in case you can't tell. At least I can sleep in tomorrow till who knows when.
(yes I know I just typed this blog after writing about 7 pages of a paper, but I really just needed to do SOMETHING before I went to bed. it's a really pointless entry, I'll admit.)
I am 99% finished my 10 lesson plans for Ed Psych. All I have to do "tomorrow" is tweak one a bit, do some formatting, and then print it to hand in. After that, I'm done most of my work!
At about 1 am, I decided that I needed to get the oxygen moving in my body again, so I ran around the front lawn twice. Where else can you do crazy things like that except at college?
Next week before I take my finals, I have to do some Arts and Music papers, study for Linear, and study for Christian Tradition. Then I'm DONE!!!!
I can't wait for the end of the semester to really be here, because it means I will be moving out of the dorm and into the KP's house for the rest of the month. I won't have any homework to do, but will be able to read FUN books again! I'll put that reading list up shortly.
On May 29th, I will be heading to Kansas City for my YOUTH IN MISSION trip to Mexico!!!!!!!!! I honestly haven't had time to be excited, or at least I haven't allowed myself time, due to school stresses. Not to mention, I've been trying to practice my Spanish, work on figuring out how to raise the money for the trip (but that's all done now! Yay God! Thank you for providing for me!), and a whole host of other things. Maybe the rest of this month will be a nice time of relaxing and preparing!
Last weekend was quizzing Regionals, and the short summary of the weekend is this: crazy, intense, stressful, fun, and we stayed in a sketchy hotel. But that's another story for another blog.
It's almost 2 am. I need to go to bed! I'm a little loopy right now, in case you can't tell. At least I can sleep in tomorrow till who knows when.
(yes I know I just typed this blog after writing about 7 pages of a paper, but I really just needed to do SOMETHING before I went to bed. it's a really pointless entry, I'll admit.)
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