Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Why Not?
Why Not???
Okay...so here is my challenge to all my friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and family who are currently in college (or just graduated and haven’t made any long-term commitments yet). Take the spring semester off of school and come to Tanzania with me.
I laugh as I say that, because I say it like it is no big deal...but seriously, is it? I mean...sometimes we get so tied down to thinking that we have to get started on our careers or we have to finish school as fast as possible, but for what? Especially those who want to go into “full-time ministry”...what is the rush to get a job at a church? I mean...this would be "full time ministry" What is the rush to get your credentials? Or those of us who want to be lawyers, business men and women, polititians...will it really matter 20 years from now if you started your “career” 6 months latter then you were supposed to?
Can you imagine if ten of us decide to devote three months to non-stop, around the clock, outreach and “missions.” What a great opportunity to touch lives of children across the world or to build relationships/ friendships with Muslims and share the Truth with them. What an incredible chance to tell people who may have never heard the name “Jesus” all about who he is and what he can do for them. What an unbelievable opportunity to hold a child who has lived most of their life sniffing glue on a street to keep their stomach from feeling hungry. America is not this world...the horrors that we expect children to be sheltered from are norms in other countries, what are we going to do about it?
Not only that...but our world-view is so warped... I was thinking this morning how often I use the word “need” and I felt a little nauseous. “Need”...I do not even really know the meaning of that word, I have never had an unmet physical “need” in my life. The only way that our generation has a chance at changing this world is if we can shift our focus from “me” to “them” and from “selfishness” to “selflessness.” There is this Keith Green song that I love that says, “it is so hard to see when my eyes are on me...” how true is that? What are we going to do to get our eyes off of ourselves and onto others? Think about how an experience like this would change our hearts and our eyes/view forever.
Okay...so we are not all going to end up living in third world countries for the rest of our lives. But why not for a small period of time? What is three months in light of eternity? It is just three months. Will you miss your friends and family? Of course. Will it be difficult and lonley at times...probably. But if not now, then when? If you don’t make the time to do something like this...it isn’t going to just happen.
So it cost a lot of $...but there are so many things we could live without for the next 6 months to save for it. So our family thinks its crazy and irresponsible to take time off of school...I think God would be totally cool with it. So we haven’t “audibly” heard from God that we should do this...umm, wait...I think there is something at the end of Matthew 28? We want to wait and see if the door is opening up for us (creek...hear that sound? That is the sound of the door opening up for you =))
Okay...enough rambling. I am only challenging you to this because I think something like this could change us in a way that would bring about change to this world. I think we all need a bigger dose of passion and compassion...and what better way to get it then from putting ourselves in a situation where we can see first hand how great the need is in this world and how we can be used by God to touch it. So pray about it...think about it...email me about it and I will pray with and for you...and if it isn’t Tanzania in January, then pray and plan on serving somewhere soon (before life gets too committed and too crazy) somewhere outside of the good ol’ USA. I think each of us really should spend some amount of time outside of what we have always known to be true here in America...it would do the world (and America) SO much good to see what most of this world is living with day in and day out. If anything, it will give you experiences that you can use right here in Arizona, Rhode Island, and everywhere in between to reach people.
Email me if you want the information. Here are some web sites to check out too:
www.pureopportunity.blogspot.com
www.emmanuelcenter.blogspot.com
Okay...so here is my challenge to all my friends, co-workers, acquaintances, and family who are currently in college (or just graduated and haven’t made any long-term commitments yet). Take the spring semester off of school and come to Tanzania with me.
I laugh as I say that, because I say it like it is no big deal...but seriously, is it? I mean...sometimes we get so tied down to thinking that we have to get started on our careers or we have to finish school as fast as possible, but for what? Especially those who want to go into “full-time ministry”...what is the rush to get a job at a church? I mean...this would be "full time ministry" What is the rush to get your credentials? Or those of us who want to be lawyers, business men and women, polititians...will it really matter 20 years from now if you started your “career” 6 months latter then you were supposed to?
Can you imagine if ten of us decide to devote three months to non-stop, around the clock, outreach and “missions.” What a great opportunity to touch lives of children across the world or to build relationships/ friendships with Muslims and share the Truth with them. What an incredible chance to tell people who may have never heard the name “Jesus” all about who he is and what he can do for them. What an unbelievable opportunity to hold a child who has lived most of their life sniffing glue on a street to keep their stomach from feeling hungry. America is not this world...the horrors that we expect children to be sheltered from are norms in other countries, what are we going to do about it?
Not only that...but our world-view is so warped... I was thinking this morning how often I use the word “need” and I felt a little nauseous. “Need”...I do not even really know the meaning of that word, I have never had an unmet physical “need” in my life. The only way that our generation has a chance at changing this world is if we can shift our focus from “me” to “them” and from “selfishness” to “selflessness.” There is this Keith Green song that I love that says, “it is so hard to see when my eyes are on me...” how true is that? What are we going to do to get our eyes off of ourselves and onto others? Think about how an experience like this would change our hearts and our eyes/view forever.
Okay...so we are not all going to end up living in third world countries for the rest of our lives. But why not for a small period of time? What is three months in light of eternity? It is just three months. Will you miss your friends and family? Of course. Will it be difficult and lonley at times...probably. But if not now, then when? If you don’t make the time to do something like this...it isn’t going to just happen.
So it cost a lot of $...but there are so many things we could live without for the next 6 months to save for it. So our family thinks its crazy and irresponsible to take time off of school...I think God would be totally cool with it. So we haven’t “audibly” heard from God that we should do this...umm, wait...I think there is something at the end of Matthew 28? We want to wait and see if the door is opening up for us (creek...hear that sound? That is the sound of the door opening up for you =))
Okay...enough rambling. I am only challenging you to this because I think something like this could change us in a way that would bring about change to this world. I think we all need a bigger dose of passion and compassion...and what better way to get it then from putting ourselves in a situation where we can see first hand how great the need is in this world and how we can be used by God to touch it. So pray about it...think about it...email me about it and I will pray with and for you...and if it isn’t Tanzania in January, then pray and plan on serving somewhere soon (before life gets too committed and too crazy) somewhere outside of the good ol’ USA. I think each of us really should spend some amount of time outside of what we have always known to be true here in America...it would do the world (and America) SO much good to see what most of this world is living with day in and day out. If anything, it will give you experiences that you can use right here in Arizona, Rhode Island, and everywhere in between to reach people.
Email me if you want the information. Here are some web sites to check out too:
www.pureopportunity.blogspot.com
www.emmanuelcenter.blogspot.com
Monday, July 04, 2005
language gap...
I drove a friend of mine to Montréal on Saturday and when I got there it happened to be the weekend of their International Jazz Festival. After I dropped off Amber at the bus station, I thought I would walk around the city a little bit and “explore.” It is such a neat city...I felt like I was in Europe and it was so great to hear people all around me speaking French.
Dale mentioned on a blog that whenever he is in a big city he tries to sit in a coffee shop and talk to people...so I thought I would give it a try. (I’m still not the best at striking up conversations with random people...but I’m trying to get better) So I was sitting outside of a little coffee shop drinking my enduire de caramel (I think it was espresso and caramel?) It was so much fun to just sit and listen to people all around me speaking in french...and all sorts of different languages. There were a lot of tourists there because of the Jazz Festival, so I met people from the Mid East (who had a relative playing in that weekend...did you know there was Arabic Jazz? I didn’t...but this couple played it for me and I loved it...I'm trying to find it on-line right now so I can purchase it), Asia, and several parts of Europe. It really is a neat city and I had such a great time just having conversations with store owners and people who were hanging out watching the different Jazz bands.
The only frustrating thing was the language barrier. I mean...I love hearing other languages, I just wish it did not take so long to learn another language. Wouldn’t it be awesome to just sit down and be able to have an in-depth conversation with someone in French, Swahili, Arabic, German, and Spanish? If someone knows of a brain chip that you could implant in your head that would make you fluent in 20 different languages, please...let me know. =)
In the mean time...I will stick to learning Spanish and as much Swahili as I can. I really want to immerse my children in other cultures and languages from the time they are born. It is so vital that Americans learn a love for other cultures, languages...well, more a love for people and use knowing their culture and languages as the means to connect. I think the attitude that we are Americans and don't "need" anything else from this world is very boxed thinking and it needs to change.
I love America. (By the way, happy Fourth of July...this is one of my favorite holidays.) I love that I live here. I feel amazingly blessed that I was born in a country with such freedom, an abundance of wealth, and the possibility to pursue any dream one can think up. I wouldn't choose to be born into any other country in this world, but the American church needs to become more globally minded. The fact that we have been blessed with so much should drive us to not only accept, but pursue people from all over the world and show them the love they need...our impact on eternity greatly depends on how our worldview shifts over the upcoming years.
Dale mentioned on a blog that whenever he is in a big city he tries to sit in a coffee shop and talk to people...so I thought I would give it a try. (I’m still not the best at striking up conversations with random people...but I’m trying to get better) So I was sitting outside of a little coffee shop drinking my enduire de caramel (I think it was espresso and caramel?) It was so much fun to just sit and listen to people all around me speaking in french...and all sorts of different languages. There were a lot of tourists there because of the Jazz Festival, so I met people from the Mid East (who had a relative playing in that weekend...did you know there was Arabic Jazz? I didn’t...but this couple played it for me and I loved it...I'm trying to find it on-line right now so I can purchase it), Asia, and several parts of Europe. It really is a neat city and I had such a great time just having conversations with store owners and people who were hanging out watching the different Jazz bands.
The only frustrating thing was the language barrier. I mean...I love hearing other languages, I just wish it did not take so long to learn another language. Wouldn’t it be awesome to just sit down and be able to have an in-depth conversation with someone in French, Swahili, Arabic, German, and Spanish? If someone knows of a brain chip that you could implant in your head that would make you fluent in 20 different languages, please...let me know. =)
In the mean time...I will stick to learning Spanish and as much Swahili as I can. I really want to immerse my children in other cultures and languages from the time they are born. It is so vital that Americans learn a love for other cultures, languages...well, more a love for people and use knowing their culture and languages as the means to connect. I think the attitude that we are Americans and don't "need" anything else from this world is very boxed thinking and it needs to change.
I love America. (By the way, happy Fourth of July...this is one of my favorite holidays.) I love that I live here. I feel amazingly blessed that I was born in a country with such freedom, an abundance of wealth, and the possibility to pursue any dream one can think up. I wouldn't choose to be born into any other country in this world, but the American church needs to become more globally minded. The fact that we have been blessed with so much should drive us to not only accept, but pursue people from all over the world and show them the love they need...our impact on eternity greatly depends on how our worldview shifts over the upcoming years.
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