No more talk!

So, only one week of training left... it is all I can do to keep my thoughts here in Chicago. I seem to be constantly thinking ahead. I'm ready to jump into fundraising (or plunge in face first seems like a more apt description) in order to get to Uganda. We have spent the past few weeks praying and talking about it... time for the talk to be done!
I like looking at my to do list and see so many things checked off but I also seem to be adding to it daily. A newsletter to write, prayer cards to format then print, presentations to put together... Please keep praying for Beckie and I as we leave from here and start preparing on a whole new level! The next 100 days are going to fly by.

Ride for Refugees

The sun came out, there were lots of people, fun was had, overall a great day!

"The tears of a stranger are only water"

Class the other day was on Hinduism. Here is a brief glance at my notes and a briefer glance at my thoughts:
3rd largest world religion (after Christianity and Islam). No systematic theology. Nothing/no one has any individual self worth or value. The cast system- very bleak! Rigid laws keeing one from changing anything in their life. Some Hindus conceive of ultimate salvation as absorption into the one divine reality, with all loss of individual existence. Others conceive of it as heavenly existence in adoration of a personal god. Any one of a possible 330 million! gods. This all feels so depressing. If this life doesn't work out for you, don't worry, you will be coming back to try again. It is hopeless and dependant on some nebulous number of good works.


Reincarnation, karma, nirvana, millions of gods and goddesses, many ways of salvation- one of these ways is called the way of devotion, or bhakti yoga. There is in all of us a longing for a more emotional and personal approach to God and many Hindus try to fill this desire though this attempt at salvation. It involves a self-surrender to one of the many personal gods and goddesses. They express devotion through acts of worship, temple rituals, and pilgrimages. And I have now seen this in action. It is bowing down to a plastic idol. An idol wrapped in the finest silk and adorned with the most precious gold. But, still clearly a plastic idol. Food is set at their feet. They are put to bed and gotten up again. They get angry and offended and one can try to make ammends. But they are not loving. They care nothing for the worshiper. They do not speak. One simply has to guess how they are feeling or what they want to be apeased.

Pantheistic and henotheistic. Reality is pain- disengage.

Let me tell you, after spending a few hours in the temple I needed to disengage.

* These pictures are of just the outside of the temple and the grounds as it was disrespectful to take pictures inside.

Ethnic cooperation

So how is this for a drastic shift... today's focus was race relations and cross cultural understanding. On the up side we had some great soul food for lunch today. On the down side I've barely started processing all that other stuff! Now there's a whole new flavor churning up there. Hold on, it may be a while before I mull it all out enough....

A day in the life of an MIT

Doing homework.... we have a hard time focusing. Anyone wonder why?

Look we actually DO spend some time in class!

Our trek to the farmers market Saturday AM. 6 miles round trip. 3 of those miles with several pounds of veggies. It was an adventure.

Eating together! Good food, good discussion, good friends, good times!

spiritual things

We've been talking about spiritual warfare a lot the past few days. Satan's goals are to marginalize, belittle, discourage and intimidate. And so he does and we let him! We don't even see it but it is all around us! Here in the states we are so hesitant to talk about spiritual things. We only think about them once in a while, sometimes at church and sometimes not even then! We are not talking about it, we are not thinking about it. But it is there. We are created as spiritual beings. I am going to be timid no longer! The muslims love to talk about spiritual things. Hindus, seiks, animists- they all have spiritual things on their minds all the time. I don't want to apologize for talking about my spirituality.
Jesus gave us authority over so many things! Did you know that? I mean really KNOW what you as a child of the King have been given authority over? Know to the depths of your soul that you have been given authority over the things that Jesus had authority over because of his sacrifice?! This is hard stuff, I know. I've been pondering and processing for a little while now. So I give you permission to process too. But, think about it. Really think. It's worth the brain cells.
Jesus has ultimate authority over satan. 1 John 3:8-10
Jesus has authority over death. John 11:25-26
He has authority over wisdom and knowledge. Col. 2:2-4
He has authority over salvation and condemnation. Heb 9:28
This list could go on and on. Authority over rulers of this world, over the church, nature, demonic powers, angels, sin, space and time, disease...
Are you thinking about spiritual things now? Good.
We are quick to explain all sorts of things with answers that we understand. But sometimes there is a real spiritual part of the issue that we don't even look at. Don't even want to look at. Are you dealing with something in your life now? Does it have a spiritual component? Something that Jesus already has authority over? Do you need to bring it to Him?

Overload

Whoa! The week is getting progressively more overwhelming....

Currently we're dealing with spiritual stuff- like oppression, miracles, signs, wonders, warfare, the Holy Spirit, prayer .... I'm not even sure what I'm thinking about all of it yet. I have some serious processing to do. On top of that we just recieved our pre-language training work. 10 hours of work to put in before those classes start the end of next week.

Please be praying as we process all of this stuff and spend some intense hours together!

vision

I'm wondering right now what my personal vision is. I am learning God's greater plan, I have a faint idea of the needs of Soroti, I'm coming to an understanding of my skills and giftings. Now how will it all fit together? And on top of that my vision should be a 30 second idea that sums all this stuff up. I'm going to be pondering this for a while....

Weekend

What a restful weekend. No classes Saturday or Sunday! Beckie and I hopped on our bikes and headed toward Wisconsin. For better or worse we didn't make it :) but we did ride for about 3 hours (don't worry mom, my ankle still feels great) and did some exploring. We found a farmer's market and got produce enough for the week with only $4! We found an old railroad bridge and played for a while. We watched a movie and went got a Jewel card. Now we're refreshed and ready to hit the books again!

I'm so humbled and also so encouraged by the amazing friends I made this last week. Three have already left- back to fundraising and preparing to go. Three newbies will be joining us this weekend for the next session of training. Of those that I've gotten to know, one is headed to Athens, Greece to serve women affected by sex trafficking. One is headed to a "hard" country (her words, not mine, we can't share where she is going for safety reasons!) to be relational and teach healthcare. And both of the couples are headed to Quito, Ecuador to the school where they all grew up as missionary kids.

It was so good to spend time with these guys, talking, sharing our stories and laughing, lots of laughing. I was reminded that we are not in this alone! There is a huge network out there of people who understand the struggles. And though we all use different words and verbs to share what we will be doing, our underlying passion and vision is the same.

Much better

So week one done. I have enjoyed so much getting to know this group and learn from them. We are headed from here to Athens, Greece Quito, Ecuador Soroti , Uganda and a "restricted" country. I want to post so much more but too tired now.....

"missionary in training"

So I've managed to make it this far.... haven't flunked out yet :)

Actually, I'm having a lot of fun. The first two days this whole group of 50+ (see the very small picture to the right, trust me Beckie and I are in there) but we are a much smaller group now for the rest of the training. 9 currently and that number will fluctuate a little more as the short termers leave and a few others will join for language acquisition. We attend class all day- today was "Human Resources", session #1 of "Finance", "Information Systems" and sessions #1 & 2 of "Cross Cultural Communication". Tomorrow is more communication, "Team Dynamics", "World Wide Ministry of ITeams" and "medical insurance". (A whole hour for that last one- very exciting). But our evenings are free. We make and eat dinner together and generally just goof off. Life is good.

100% in 100 days

I'm trying to get into the habit of posting frequently again... feel like I have a lot to do to prepare for class Monday but this is as good a reason as any to procrastinate some more. My brain is a little fried but I'll try to make this coherent. Anyway....

Fundraising!
So I made it through our VERY intense fundraising seminar. Nearly 18 hours of lecture crammed into 2 days. But it was all good material. I feel like I finally know how to tackle this huge undertaking of $40,000 and $3,000 per month that has to be raised before we can get to Soroti.
I know God will provide. Beckie and I are trusting for 100% of our funds raised in 100 days. Watch out. I will be calling you up! I'm looking for "vicarious rope holders". Could that be you?

I was reminded again and again that I am not begging for money. I am offering people the opportunity to invest in the great comission and join God in the work that He is doing!
I'm trusting God to do really big things in the next 4 months. I have to admit I'm asking big thinks of Him but I'm also learning that He is honored by the magnitude of our requests. They acknowledge how amazing He really is. He told us (James 4:2) "You do not have because you do not ask."
We can't do what only God can do but He won't do what He's asked us to do!

New Chapter...

I have hung up the green scrubs, given away most of the potted plants and dropped the cats off to their new home. I'm living out of suitcases and the back of my car. Tomorrow Beckie and I head to Chicago to start training with IT. It feels like a whole new season, very exciting but just a little bittersweet.

Whoa...

Been a whirlwind last few days. I've been feeling so anxious and blaming in on a lack of running. But really it is so much more. Talked with someone I really looked up to and she reminded me that God gives us grace enough for one day at a time.
Just one.
One day.
Sufficient grace to cover it.
More than just enough.
So often I want more.
But now I'm just enjoying the grace for today. Still struggling with a little anxiety but the perspective check was good. I'll just keep calling out. I know He hears.

Suffering

This world is a messed up place. Just in case you hadn't noticed allow me to point it out to you. There are kids, innocent children starving, homeless, parent less. They have done nothing wrong. There are some who will never sleep in a clean bed with a mattress and sheets. There are some who will never know what it is like to be healthy. They are infected by HIV before they have ever made a single choice for themselves. Young girls raped. Young boys abducted. Scared. Hungry. Lonely. Hurting. Suffering.
Worse yet, it is not isolated to one small place on this planet. Or even confined to one large place. It is all over. Everywhere. There is abuse in my backyard. Hunger , pain and suffering on your street.

Yeah, but God exists and He loves us right? All of us? These kids too? He is fair, forgiving, and merciful, right? So how do these two things fit? I know that God is all wise, all knowing, all powerful. He can fix this mess we've made...right?

Then why doesn't He?

(Don't worry, not having a crisis of belief, just trying to understand...)

Second Annual Semi Silent Retreat

Second Annual Semi Silent Retreat

It is good to just shut up sometimes.