I've been doing some reading lately, various things. Articles on Crosswalk.com, online newspaper articles, online stories about "religious" topics. I find people's comments on those articles fascinating.
For example, an article in the San Francisco Chronicle talked about the volunteer work at SF City Impact on Thanksgiving Day. It discussed how people are volunteering to help those in need even though the volunteers themselves have suffered financial setbacks this past year or more. It mentioned that a group of people from my church, Lakeside Church in Folsom, went down to SF to volunteer on Thanksgiving Day. Comments varied from supportive to hateful. It appears a number of people want to know why we felt we had to drive 2 hours to volunteer in a different city, didn't we have volunteer opportunities in our own town? Others appeared to feel Christians are to blame for a lot of the city's problems. They called Christians racist, sexist, bigoted, self-righteous and evil. They were right, we are human beings after all. Christians suffer from the same character defaults as non-Christians. We sin the same sins as non-Christians. The difference is this: As Christians, we have hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Back in August, the night of Lakeside's Steps Forward dessert, Roger Huang from SF City Impact was one of our speakers. He spoke of his ministry in the Tenderloin, he spoke of how his ministry got started, what he is currently doing in his ministry and of what he hopes to accomplish there in the Tenderloin District. Roger spoke of the children that live there, he spoke of offering them hope and a better life. He is very passionate about his work with the Tenderloin's residents, not only the children but the elderly, the alcoholics, the addicts, the prostitutes, and the street people. Like Jesus, Roger's daily life intersects with the "sinners and tax collectors" of that area. The people that most of San Francisco looks down upon because they are deemed unworthy and not acceptable by "normal society." During that event Roger asked the people of Lakeside to step up and help the people of San Francisco's Tenderloin District. That's why we drove 2 hours on Thanksgiving Day to pass out food in SF. There were between 800 and 1,000 volunteers that day. The majority of them came from communities outside of SF. If the residents of SF resent us for driving from out of town to help their neighbors, why don't they step up and help the less fortunate of their community themselves? If enough San Francisco residents stepped up, Roger Huang wouldn't have to go out of town to different nearby communities to ask for help. He would find all the help he needed right there in his own backyard.
Something else noteworthy here... Yes, we drove 2 hours to volunteer in SF. Lakeside Church also works within their local community. Lakesiders volunteer with the local food banks, elementary schools, and other ministry programs in and around Folsom. We also have volunteers who drive more than 2 hours to spend their time assisting with other churches and ministries wherever the help is needed. And we have an entire flock of short term and long term missionaries that go across the U.S. and other countries to not only spread God's word but also work alongside the residents of those areas to improve their lives and living conditions. God has called us to go the "Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth." We are just doing our best to be obedient to that call.
There is so much more to say. But the people who need to hear this will not listen. They see no need to listen. All I can do is pray for them, whether or not they want my prayers.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
My latest adventure
I left the apartment early, it was before sunrise. The tree-lined streets I drove down were dark and empty. The air was cold, crisp and foggy. Every once in a while another car passed going in the other direction. As I got closer to a main street other cars became more and more frequent. By the time I hit the main drag I no longer felt alone or isolated.
Arriving at my destination I was quickly put to work. There were over 100 pies and cakes to load onto the bus. As others arrived we recruited them to help and we made short work of loading the bus. Next came cases and cases of frozen turkeys and several other boxes of supplies. After loading them and the band's equipment on the bus we finally loaded up all the passengers.
More than 60 people were riding the bus and over 140 more drove or rode in their own cars. We were headed towards San Francisco's Tenderloin District where we were joining Roger Huang and SF City Impact to bring Thanksgiving Day to the residents of one of San Francisco's worst neighborhoods.
Arriving in San Francisco we made quick work of unloading the bus. Our band members exited first, taking their equipment to the stage area on a blocked off area of Jones Street. The rest of us took the cakes, turkeys and other supplies to a staging area in a nearby park. We signed in and received our ID stickers with our work assignments on them. Then we joined Pastors Jeff and Roger and other leaders in the staging area in the blocked off area on Jones Street for orientation.
After orientation we broke up into our work groups. Some groups were pakaging groceries for distribution, others were assembling hot meals into carry-out boxes, still others were serving a sit down meal in the park while our band played for their entertainment.
I was assigned to group 6: delivery. Our leader was a tall, lanky man named Albert. He took us to a corner of Boedecker Park where we loaded up with bags of groceries to deliver to a residential hotel down the street. We had about 15 - 20 members in our group and we each grabbed two big yellow bags of groceries. Albert told us that he lived in this building alongside the people we were delivering to that day. We followed Albert down the street like a gaggle of ducklings, keeping our eyes on his gray and black "jester's" cap.
At the hotel Albert told us this was a 6 story building. Several of us got into the elevator so that we could start delivering to the folks on floor 6. Unfortunately, the elevator didn't climb to the 6th floor with everyone in it. As a matter of fact, the elevator only went about 1/2 way to the 2nd floor. We returned to the first floor where we offloaded about 1/2 the passengers. Trying it again this time the elevator went almost all the way to the 4th floor. Climbing up and out of the elevator, we decided to climb the remaining stairs to the 6th floor. Long hallways of many doors faced us. We spread ourselves down the hallways and began knocking,
"Free food!" we yelled. "Happy Thanksgiving! Free food!"
The bags of groceries were quickly dispersed. We then went to a kitchen on Turk Street for boxes of hot meals. The scene was similar to the grocery distribution only without getting stuck in the elevator. We climbed all 6 sets of stairs.
"Happy Thanksgiving! Hot meals!" we yelled. We knocked, we banged, we did all we could to attract the residents attention. No one wanted to miss out on a free, hot meal. Some of the residents swung their doors open wide to greet us, others opened their doors barely wide enough to accept the food. Everyone said, "Thank You!"
We delivered hot meals to 4 residential hotels. We met a wide variety of people. Some were friendly, gregarious even. They opened their doors and chatted with us. Some even invited us to peek into their rooms. We couldn't do much more than that because their rooms were pretty small, certainly not large enough for visitors. Others were not as friendly. They peered fearfully out their doors. They scurried and scampered back into their rooms as soon as they received their food. It was difficult to understand what it would be like to live as some of these people do, never leaving their tiny rooms, confined to a space of no more than a few square feet. As we walked down those hallways we saw and smelled evidence of the extreme poverty of the Tenderloin's residents.
Yes, some of the resident's are there as a result of the poor choices they have made in their lives, choices involving drugs, alcohol and other addictions. Some of them are there due to the inability to care for themselves due to mental or physical illnesses. No matter what their reasons for being there, they are all God's children. I was there that day to serve them. I was joined that day by approximately 1,000 volunteers. We were all there to spread the love of Jesus.
I went home that evening exhausted. I slept most of the way home on the bus. Driving from the church to home felt like a much longer trip than normal. I slept on the couch until my son came home from the Thanksgiving meal he shared with his girlfriend and her family. It was a full day. I hope to do the same thing next Thanksgiving.
Arriving at my destination I was quickly put to work. There were over 100 pies and cakes to load onto the bus. As others arrived we recruited them to help and we made short work of loading the bus. Next came cases and cases of frozen turkeys and several other boxes of supplies. After loading them and the band's equipment on the bus we finally loaded up all the passengers.
More than 60 people were riding the bus and over 140 more drove or rode in their own cars. We were headed towards San Francisco's Tenderloin District where we were joining Roger Huang and SF City Impact to bring Thanksgiving Day to the residents of one of San Francisco's worst neighborhoods.
Arriving in San Francisco we made quick work of unloading the bus. Our band members exited first, taking their equipment to the stage area on a blocked off area of Jones Street. The rest of us took the cakes, turkeys and other supplies to a staging area in a nearby park. We signed in and received our ID stickers with our work assignments on them. Then we joined Pastors Jeff and Roger and other leaders in the staging area in the blocked off area on Jones Street for orientation.
After orientation we broke up into our work groups. Some groups were pakaging groceries for distribution, others were assembling hot meals into carry-out boxes, still others were serving a sit down meal in the park while our band played for their entertainment.
I was assigned to group 6: delivery. Our leader was a tall, lanky man named Albert. He took us to a corner of Boedecker Park where we loaded up with bags of groceries to deliver to a residential hotel down the street. We had about 15 - 20 members in our group and we each grabbed two big yellow bags of groceries. Albert told us that he lived in this building alongside the people we were delivering to that day. We followed Albert down the street like a gaggle of ducklings, keeping our eyes on his gray and black "jester's" cap.
At the hotel Albert told us this was a 6 story building. Several of us got into the elevator so that we could start delivering to the folks on floor 6. Unfortunately, the elevator didn't climb to the 6th floor with everyone in it. As a matter of fact, the elevator only went about 1/2 way to the 2nd floor. We returned to the first floor where we offloaded about 1/2 the passengers. Trying it again this time the elevator went almost all the way to the 4th floor. Climbing up and out of the elevator, we decided to climb the remaining stairs to the 6th floor. Long hallways of many doors faced us. We spread ourselves down the hallways and began knocking,
"Free food!" we yelled. "Happy Thanksgiving! Free food!"
The bags of groceries were quickly dispersed. We then went to a kitchen on Turk Street for boxes of hot meals. The scene was similar to the grocery distribution only without getting stuck in the elevator. We climbed all 6 sets of stairs.
"Happy Thanksgiving! Hot meals!" we yelled. We knocked, we banged, we did all we could to attract the residents attention. No one wanted to miss out on a free, hot meal. Some of the residents swung their doors open wide to greet us, others opened their doors barely wide enough to accept the food. Everyone said, "Thank You!"
We delivered hot meals to 4 residential hotels. We met a wide variety of people. Some were friendly, gregarious even. They opened their doors and chatted with us. Some even invited us to peek into their rooms. We couldn't do much more than that because their rooms were pretty small, certainly not large enough for visitors. Others were not as friendly. They peered fearfully out their doors. They scurried and scampered back into their rooms as soon as they received their food. It was difficult to understand what it would be like to live as some of these people do, never leaving their tiny rooms, confined to a space of no more than a few square feet. As we walked down those hallways we saw and smelled evidence of the extreme poverty of the Tenderloin's residents.
Yes, some of the resident's are there as a result of the poor choices they have made in their lives, choices involving drugs, alcohol and other addictions. Some of them are there due to the inability to care for themselves due to mental or physical illnesses. No matter what their reasons for being there, they are all God's children. I was there that day to serve them. I was joined that day by approximately 1,000 volunteers. We were all there to spread the love of Jesus.
I went home that evening exhausted. I slept most of the way home on the bus. Driving from the church to home felt like a much longer trip than normal. I slept on the couch until my son came home from the Thanksgiving meal he shared with his girlfriend and her family. It was a full day. I hope to do the same thing next Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Prayer Request
Today I was listening to my MP3 player while I worked. My MP3 player is loaded with Christian and Christmas music. I was listening to a song about the significance of the cross. For some reason an ex-boyfriend of mine was brought to my mind. This man was mentally and emotionally abusive towards me. He made my life difficult for me for the duration of our relationship. Interestingly enough, he is the man who brought me to Lakeside Church.
The first thought that came to mind was that I was really happy that I would not be spending eternity with this man. You see, even though he claimed to be a Christian when we met over the course of our relationship he made several statements that made me question his claim. Recently I heard from a mutual friend that he had converted to Mormonism. Even though many Mormons believe they are Christians they have too many doctrinal differences to truly be considered Christians. Without a saving faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior my ex-boyfriend is condemned to spend eternity separated from Jesus.
The second thought that came to my mind is that my first thought is unChristian. I should be praying for his salvation. After all, that is what missions is all about, isn't it? I should be spreading the gospel, not rejoicing in my enemy's lack of salvation. Jesus calls us to love our enemies.
Please pray for me. Pray for the strength I will need to witness to my enemies. Pray for the strength I will need to pray for my enemies. Pray that I can be an effective witness for the Lord and that I will have the strength to do as He calls me to do. I just want to do as the Lord asks of me.
Praise the Lord! He is worthy of our praise.
The first thought that came to mind was that I was really happy that I would not be spending eternity with this man. You see, even though he claimed to be a Christian when we met over the course of our relationship he made several statements that made me question his claim. Recently I heard from a mutual friend that he had converted to Mormonism. Even though many Mormons believe they are Christians they have too many doctrinal differences to truly be considered Christians. Without a saving faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior my ex-boyfriend is condemned to spend eternity separated from Jesus.
The second thought that came to my mind is that my first thought is unChristian. I should be praying for his salvation. After all, that is what missions is all about, isn't it? I should be spreading the gospel, not rejoicing in my enemy's lack of salvation. Jesus calls us to love our enemies.
Please pray for me. Pray for the strength I will need to witness to my enemies. Pray for the strength I will need to pray for my enemies. Pray that I can be an effective witness for the Lord and that I will have the strength to do as He calls me to do. I just want to do as the Lord asks of me.
Praise the Lord! He is worthy of our praise.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Loving
Sometimes I need to remember that a post does not have to be long. I would post more often if I would just remember that.
My Bible Study focus the past couple of months has been on "Love." More specifically, building relationships by expressing love the way Jesus did. That means treating those I don't like (biblically translated as "my enemies") in a loving manner. I did that today. I did something nice for someone I do not like very much. She was appreciative. One down, several more to go...
I guess I will post my progress here, even if no one else reads this it is a way of keeping myself accountable.
My Bible Study focus the past couple of months has been on "Love." More specifically, building relationships by expressing love the way Jesus did. That means treating those I don't like (biblically translated as "my enemies") in a loving manner. I did that today. I did something nice for someone I do not like very much. She was appreciative. One down, several more to go...
I guess I will post my progress here, even if no one else reads this it is a way of keeping myself accountable.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
What is your mission?
I posted this blog on the Lakeside Brazil July 2009 blog just after returning from Sao Paulo, Brazil. It says things that I still deeply believe. I thought it would be useful, helpful and informative to re-post it here.
One evening, after worship services a few years ago, I approached Jeff Kreiser, Lakeside's Pastor of Outreach and Extension. He was in conversation with a small group of men, I believe they were a delegation from a Korean church. As I approached him Jeff swung around, opened his arm towards me and pulled me into the conversation.
"This is Karen," he said as he introduced me, "one of Lakeside's missionaries."
I was taken aback. I had never thought of myself in those terms before. I knew I wanted to be a missionary, by that time I had been on two or three mission trips to Mexico, but had never really considered myself to be a missionary. My view of myself changed that evening. Just as it changed again during this recent trip to work with Restoration Ministries in Brazil.
If you read my Facebook profile it describes me as a full-time missionary. When I wrote that I believed I was qualified to call myself a full-time missionary, not only because of my commitment to going to Mexico and building homes for the homeless but also because of the things I do here, in my own backyard. They're not big things, they may even slip under the radar unnoticed, but that's okay by me. I'd rather be a tax collector than a Pharisee (Luke 18:10-13). However, what I do want to be is a lamp shining from a lampstand (Luke 8:16). After working with Restoration Ministries for 11 out of the past 14 days I believe I have added substantial fuel to my humble little lamp.
The majority of the ministry workers at RM are young adults, in their teens through their 30's. Each and every day they immerse themselves in the lives of the peoples of Sao Paulo's favelas. I have great admiration for them all. Walking alongside of them for a week showed me the depth of the faith, hope and love they all contain. It also showed me the depth of their commitment to Jesus. I know the only way I would have the strength to do what they do everyday is by leaning heavily on Jesus. It is very evident through their lives and ministry that that is exactly what they do.
Lakeside's Brazil team walked alongside Tati, Wellington, and the rest of the RM teams for just over a week on this journey. We went on tours of the favelas, learning about the daily lives and living conditions of the poor in Sao Paulo. We met people, young and old, all sizes, shapes and colors. We met them in their homes, on their streets and at Camp California. We hugged them, we laughed with them, we prayed with them, we cried with them and we worshipped with them. Oh how we worshipped with them! I was fortunate enough to participate in three worship services in Sao Paulo and will never forget the faces of the people as they sang and prayed and listened, rapt, to the messages. In the midst of poverty, crime, drugs, alcohol and other diseases I saw people worshipping the Lord with unrestrained joy and passion. I saw people young and old lifting their arms and voices, singing their hearts out to the Lord. I saw people whose life circumstances would break me living their lives for the Lord.
Wednesday evening I worshipped in a home church with a woman whose daughter was killed when the drugs lords walked into her home at night and took her away. The daughter was murdered because she was dating a cop, one of Sao Paulo's few honest cops. Years after his daughter's murder this woman's husband does not sleep nights. Instead, he spends them vigilant, watching over his surviving family members, including his orphaned granddaughter. At that same service was a woman whose husband works in another town. He works there because there he is able to make enough money there to support his wife, children and extended family (about 14 people in all, plus a baby on the way) but he does not make enough money to come home more than once every few weeks. Recently, he has not come home at all and and she worries that he has found another woman in the other town. Both these women and their families were at this home service. I watched their transformed faces as they worshipped the Lord. The depth of their worship left me feeling lacking in the depth of mine.
Those are just two of the many, many stories I heard these past few days. I had my heart broken over and over again for the poor of Sao Paulo. And because of who I am I did not want to leave Sao Paulo until I had fixed the problem. But in reality, there is no quick and easy solution for the poverty and other problems of Sao Paulo. Neither is the problem isolated to Sao Paulo. Poverty, crime, addictions and disease are prevalent throughout our world. As a Christian I am called to be a witness to the world. Jesus expects me to embrace different standards from the world's standards. He expects me to love my neighbor and my enemies. He expects me to forgive those who have wronged me. He expects me to lift up the poor and downtrodden. He expects me to fight for social justice and and to live a life of sacrifice for Him. He also expects me to be a light, a shining example to those who have not yet fully embraced His expectations of them. He expects this from everyone who proclaims that they follow Him. For although we have been saved by grace through faith and not by works, we have been saved for works which God prepared beforehand, for each of us individually (Ephesians 2:8-10). What is your mission? It can be as simple as pulling out your checkbook to support worldwide missions, it can be as simple as raising our next generation of missionaries or it can be as complicated as taking the steps needed to go on a mission trip such as the one our Lakeside Team just returned from. We are called to obedience to Matthew 28:19. United together, in the body of Christ, we can do it! United together, with the strength of Christ, we will do it! Jesus has promised to be with us, "even to the end of the age." He is calling us right now. I know how I am responding. How are you responding?
On a lighter note... after some not very extensive study, I have determined that toilets south of the equator DO flush in a counter-clockwise direction. You are now free to study north of the equator flushing...
posted by Karen, Brazil July 2009 team member
One evening, after worship services a few years ago, I approached Jeff Kreiser, Lakeside's Pastor of Outreach and Extension. He was in conversation with a small group of men, I believe they were a delegation from a Korean church. As I approached him Jeff swung around, opened his arm towards me and pulled me into the conversation.
"This is Karen," he said as he introduced me, "one of Lakeside's missionaries."
I was taken aback. I had never thought of myself in those terms before. I knew I wanted to be a missionary, by that time I had been on two or three mission trips to Mexico, but had never really considered myself to be a missionary. My view of myself changed that evening. Just as it changed again during this recent trip to work with Restoration Ministries in Brazil.
If you read my Facebook profile it describes me as a full-time missionary. When I wrote that I believed I was qualified to call myself a full-time missionary, not only because of my commitment to going to Mexico and building homes for the homeless but also because of the things I do here, in my own backyard. They're not big things, they may even slip under the radar unnoticed, but that's okay by me. I'd rather be a tax collector than a Pharisee (Luke 18:10-13). However, what I do want to be is a lamp shining from a lampstand (Luke 8:16). After working with Restoration Ministries for 11 out of the past 14 days I believe I have added substantial fuel to my humble little lamp.
The majority of the ministry workers at RM are young adults, in their teens through their 30's. Each and every day they immerse themselves in the lives of the peoples of Sao Paulo's favelas. I have great admiration for them all. Walking alongside of them for a week showed me the depth of the faith, hope and love they all contain. It also showed me the depth of their commitment to Jesus. I know the only way I would have the strength to do what they do everyday is by leaning heavily on Jesus. It is very evident through their lives and ministry that that is exactly what they do.
Lakeside's Brazil team walked alongside Tati, Wellington, and the rest of the RM teams for just over a week on this journey. We went on tours of the favelas, learning about the daily lives and living conditions of the poor in Sao Paulo. We met people, young and old, all sizes, shapes and colors. We met them in their homes, on their streets and at Camp California. We hugged them, we laughed with them, we prayed with them, we cried with them and we worshipped with them. Oh how we worshipped with them! I was fortunate enough to participate in three worship services in Sao Paulo and will never forget the faces of the people as they sang and prayed and listened, rapt, to the messages. In the midst of poverty, crime, drugs, alcohol and other diseases I saw people worshipping the Lord with unrestrained joy and passion. I saw people young and old lifting their arms and voices, singing their hearts out to the Lord. I saw people whose life circumstances would break me living their lives for the Lord.
Wednesday evening I worshipped in a home church with a woman whose daughter was killed when the drugs lords walked into her home at night and took her away. The daughter was murdered because she was dating a cop, one of Sao Paulo's few honest cops. Years after his daughter's murder this woman's husband does not sleep nights. Instead, he spends them vigilant, watching over his surviving family members, including his orphaned granddaughter. At that same service was a woman whose husband works in another town. He works there because there he is able to make enough money there to support his wife, children and extended family (about 14 people in all, plus a baby on the way) but he does not make enough money to come home more than once every few weeks. Recently, he has not come home at all and and she worries that he has found another woman in the other town. Both these women and their families were at this home service. I watched their transformed faces as they worshipped the Lord. The depth of their worship left me feeling lacking in the depth of mine.
Those are just two of the many, many stories I heard these past few days. I had my heart broken over and over again for the poor of Sao Paulo. And because of who I am I did not want to leave Sao Paulo until I had fixed the problem. But in reality, there is no quick and easy solution for the poverty and other problems of Sao Paulo. Neither is the problem isolated to Sao Paulo. Poverty, crime, addictions and disease are prevalent throughout our world. As a Christian I am called to be a witness to the world. Jesus expects me to embrace different standards from the world's standards. He expects me to love my neighbor and my enemies. He expects me to forgive those who have wronged me. He expects me to lift up the poor and downtrodden. He expects me to fight for social justice and and to live a life of sacrifice for Him. He also expects me to be a light, a shining example to those who have not yet fully embraced His expectations of them. He expects this from everyone who proclaims that they follow Him. For although we have been saved by grace through faith and not by works, we have been saved for works which God prepared beforehand, for each of us individually (Ephesians 2:8-10). What is your mission? It can be as simple as pulling out your checkbook to support worldwide missions, it can be as simple as raising our next generation of missionaries or it can be as complicated as taking the steps needed to go on a mission trip such as the one our Lakeside Team just returned from. We are called to obedience to Matthew 28:19. United together, in the body of Christ, we can do it! United together, with the strength of Christ, we will do it! Jesus has promised to be with us, "even to the end of the age." He is calling us right now. I know how I am responding. How are you responding?
On a lighter note... after some not very extensive study, I have determined that toilets south of the equator DO flush in a counter-clockwise direction. You are now free to study north of the equator flushing...
posted by Karen, Brazil July 2009 team member
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
sharing
I have a Facebook profile. One of my friends posts quite often, she is on fire for the Lord and she exhorts us to turn our lives over to Him. She posts essays and videos, she links pages to her profile, she wants us to believe. She believes in His truth and His passion and His love, grace and mercy. I do too, that's one of the reasons we are such good friends. Her Facebook profile, that's her mission. Facebook, as well as a few other places, is her mission field. She takes every advantage of all the benefits Facebook affords her in spreading God's word.
Some days I am sure of my mission field. Some days I am not so sure. Some days I know that I am to go to Mexico and Brazil and other places to reach out to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I know I should helping build homes, playing with kids, helping lead street programs. I also know that I should be talking to others about those experiences, that I should be encouraging others to go on mission trips as well. When I was younger I used to believe that in order to go on a mission trip you had to make it your career, spend years out in the African bush or New Guinea jungles. Now I know that every time you reach out and help a person you are on mission. I know every time you share God's word you are on mission.
There are other days when I am not sure about my mission field. Those days I run against roadblocks, people refuse to listen, don't want my help and tell me not to mention the Lord within their hearing. But I also know this: to not speak of the Lord, to not praise His name or glorify His word goes against every fiber of my being. Jesus is my Lord and Savior. In Him I trust, in Him alone. Or as Psalm 62:1 puts it, "My souls waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation." NASB To not share that is to be selfish, to cheat my brothers and sisters of something good and wonderful and blessed. I am not that selfish.
Some days I am sure of my mission field. Some days I am not so sure. Some days I know that I am to go to Mexico and Brazil and other places to reach out to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I know I should helping build homes, playing with kids, helping lead street programs. I also know that I should be talking to others about those experiences, that I should be encouraging others to go on mission trips as well. When I was younger I used to believe that in order to go on a mission trip you had to make it your career, spend years out in the African bush or New Guinea jungles. Now I know that every time you reach out and help a person you are on mission. I know every time you share God's word you are on mission.
There are other days when I am not sure about my mission field. Those days I run against roadblocks, people refuse to listen, don't want my help and tell me not to mention the Lord within their hearing. But I also know this: to not speak of the Lord, to not praise His name or glorify His word goes against every fiber of my being. Jesus is my Lord and Savior. In Him I trust, in Him alone. Or as Psalm 62:1 puts it, "My souls waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation." NASB To not share that is to be selfish, to cheat my brothers and sisters of something good and wonderful and blessed. I am not that selfish.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Love and missions
You don't always have to go far away to "do" missions. Our church does missions in three steps:
- Local Impact or Step 1 - this is where we impact the community around our churches, Folsom and Orangevale mostly but also El Dorado Hills the other small communities around them.
- North American Impact or Step 2 - these trips are a little further out, maybe as close as San Francisco but also as far as Brooklyn, New York and the El Florido Valley in Mexico.
- Global Impact or Step 3 - you usually have to get on an airplane and fly overseas for these trips. We have regular trips to Central and South America as well as several locations in Africa, Europe and Asia.
I have done missions in all three steps. Each step and each "zone" within a step had their own flavor. The one factor unifying them all is love. At least, it is for me. I step up and do missions as an expression of the love that I have for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I do it as an act of worship and as an act of obedience. Jesus' last words to his disciples were, "GO!" (Matthew 28:19) and I cannot help but go. I will go where He leads me all the days of my life.
Monday, September 7, 2009
My first step out of my comfort zone.
A little over a week ago I was asked to share my testimony at a missions dessert we had at Lakeside Church. I have never done a lot of public speaking so I was terrified, to put it mildly. I did have friends and family there to support me and it's not like I was the only or even the first speaker that night. I prepared a few notes beforehand but when I got up in front I spoke "off the cuff." I didn't say everything I'd planned but said a lot of stuff I didn't. Isn't that how it always works? I have had a lot of positive feedback about that evening. Later, I expanded on my notes and posted that to my Facebook notes.
I'm sitting here at my computer looking at a snapshot taken on my very first missions trip. My daughter Megan and I had, on a whim, answered an item in Lakeside's bulletin about a house building trip to Mexico. We didn't have the money to pay for the trip but the couple heading it up gave us a scholarship. The two of us showed up at Lakeside Church that Thursday morning, excited, scared and very unsure of what we were getting ourselves into. Diane had made arrangements for us to ride down in the church van so we loaded our luggage on a truck and schlepped our lunchboxes and other items over to the van. Meg and I found ourselves sitting in a seat behind a young woman named Kim. This was not Kim's first trip to Mexico and she shared some stories with us on the way down. I'm not really quite sure who else was with us in the van that trip, we mostly talked with Kim and slept a lot.
The Mexico trips are hard for me to describe. Even though we have a regular "schedule" and "routine" no two trips are ever alike. We go out on build teams on Friday and Saturday mornings and Mike and Diane do a good job of changing teams around so that we meet new people. My photograph sitting here in front of me was the group shot at the end of our first build. In addition to Meg and me in this photo are Jean Hughes, Mike and Jack Fallon, Steve and Sharrise Baltikauskas, Jim, Jessie and Matt Parker, a guy I believe is Michael Callahan and an older man and a young man I cannot identify. There is also the woman we built a home for, her four children and five kids from the neighborhood. No matter how busy or frantic my day, all I have to do is look at this picture and I am filled with peace. Weird, I know.
The Mexico experience is a good first missions experience for most people. It takes you away from home, out of your comfort zone. It reinforces the team experience and it puts you "in the trenches" with the people you are ministering to. It also gives you the opportunity to sample a language and culture not your own but not totally unfamiliar, especially if you live in California. One of the original appeals this trip had for me was that it was only 4 days long, not so long that I couldn't stand it if I found Mexico was not to my liking. Who was I kidding? I love Mexico! I love the people, I love the food, I love the attitudes! Throw all you preconceived notions out the window. Come serve the people here. You will find that no matter how hard you try, it is impossible not to be served in return. God will minister to your heart. You will be changed from the inside out.
Ever since that first trip I have always made sure that there was money in my budget for Mexico. Lakeside usually has a trip about every six months. My plans are to go every time unless I am on a longer term missions trip. I will find out what God's plans are for me as I walk down the path of my life. I do know that I feel a definite tug to go farther and for a longer term. I just don't have a direction, yet.
I'm sitting here at my computer looking at a snapshot taken on my very first missions trip. My daughter Megan and I had, on a whim, answered an item in Lakeside's bulletin about a house building trip to Mexico. We didn't have the money to pay for the trip but the couple heading it up gave us a scholarship. The two of us showed up at Lakeside Church that Thursday morning, excited, scared and very unsure of what we were getting ourselves into. Diane had made arrangements for us to ride down in the church van so we loaded our luggage on a truck and schlepped our lunchboxes and other items over to the van. Meg and I found ourselves sitting in a seat behind a young woman named Kim. This was not Kim's first trip to Mexico and she shared some stories with us on the way down. I'm not really quite sure who else was with us in the van that trip, we mostly talked with Kim and slept a lot.
The Mexico trips are hard for me to describe. Even though we have a regular "schedule" and "routine" no two trips are ever alike. We go out on build teams on Friday and Saturday mornings and Mike and Diane do a good job of changing teams around so that we meet new people. My photograph sitting here in front of me was the group shot at the end of our first build. In addition to Meg and me in this photo are Jean Hughes, Mike and Jack Fallon, Steve and Sharrise Baltikauskas, Jim, Jessie and Matt Parker, a guy I believe is Michael Callahan and an older man and a young man I cannot identify. There is also the woman we built a home for, her four children and five kids from the neighborhood. No matter how busy or frantic my day, all I have to do is look at this picture and I am filled with peace. Weird, I know.
The Mexico experience is a good first missions experience for most people. It takes you away from home, out of your comfort zone. It reinforces the team experience and it puts you "in the trenches" with the people you are ministering to. It also gives you the opportunity to sample a language and culture not your own but not totally unfamiliar, especially if you live in California. One of the original appeals this trip had for me was that it was only 4 days long, not so long that I couldn't stand it if I found Mexico was not to my liking. Who was I kidding? I love Mexico! I love the people, I love the food, I love the attitudes! Throw all you preconceived notions out the window. Come serve the people here. You will find that no matter how hard you try, it is impossible not to be served in return. God will minister to your heart. You will be changed from the inside out.
Ever since that first trip I have always made sure that there was money in my budget for Mexico. Lakeside usually has a trip about every six months. My plans are to go every time unless I am on a longer term missions trip. I will find out what God's plans are for me as I walk down the path of my life. I do know that I feel a definite tug to go farther and for a longer term. I just don't have a direction, yet.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
beginnings
I just returned from a mission trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil. This was my 9th mission trip, the 8 previous were to El Florido, Mexico where we built little homes for the homeless. Jesus' directive to "Go!" has a firm grip on my heart and I am compelled to obey. I plan on using this blog to journal my process as I walk along in this journey.
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