¿Donde está mi Biblia?

Life has reached a crazy hectic pace that I´d been anticipating all summer. There have been many trials of patience, learning to trust and wait. There have been many opportunities to grow as a leader, by example and by speaking in truth.

The other day, I was reading in Hebrews in order to catch up with my small group Bible study back in Poulsbo. As I read chapter 5, a few verses captured my attention. The author writes about high priests, or leaders:
"Every high priest is selected from among men, and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people." Hebrews 5:1-3 NIV

I´m grateful that God has only called me to be an intern leader and a youth pastor, not a high priest.For more than a year now, God has been teaching me how to be gentle. I didn´t realize how important it was for leaders to be gentle until I read this passage yesterday. In my "position" this summer, there have been many opportunities to show this gentleness, or grace. And it´s important for me to realize just how weak I am as well.

It´s daunting though, to consider my own sins as well as the sins of those I lead. Praise be to God that Jesus has paid for all of them! Still, I´m praying for wisdom to help strengthen and encourage those around me. God has called me here for a reason. I hope I have the humility to understand why.

a day at the beach

The rain is gone! Today we took the interns and all of their host families to the beach. I am completely sun burned and exhausted. One of the girls on our team was stung by a sea urchin, but, all in all, it was a good day. We only have one more weekend for the interns to spend with their host families. Time is going so quickly!

I´m trying to absorb this experience as much as possible. (Right now, I´ve absorbed a lot of sun, salt water, and fried food.) Already, I know I´ll miss people I´ve grown close to.

What a beautiful day. What a beautiful opportunity. I feel so blessed.

tropical wave

So I still have no idea what a "Tropical Wave" is, but apparently we´re having one right now. From what I gather, it´s less severe than a tropical storm. But, it means that we have thunderstorms every day for a week, downpours that turn the lawn into a lake, and enough water for my cement ceiling to leak all over the floor! It also means that motorcycle taxi drivers won´t pick up interns, staff don´t expect much to get done, and children won´t come to English classes even if it´s sunny in the afternoon when we show up. It´s kind of like a snow day in Kitsap county.

Yesterday morning, one of the girls on our team (Elisa) shared from Job 37:
"My heart pounds as I think of this.
It trembles within me.
Listen carefully to the thunder of God´s voice as it rolls from his mouth.
It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes in every direction.
Then comes the roaring of the thunder-the tremendous voice of his majesty.
He does not restrain it when he speaks.
God´s voice is glorious in the thunder.
We can´t even imagine the greatness of his power.
He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down.
Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power." Job 37:1-7 NLT

Granted, this is one of Job´s friends talking to Job. But it´s Elihu,the last guy that gets angry at everyone else for being "older and wiser" yet saying stupid stuff that didn´t help Job at all. This week, I see Elihu´s point. I see how God´s voice can resonate in a thunderclap. I understand how we´ll never imagine the greatness of his power. How exciting!

Honestly, I´d rather it stop raining. I really don´t like rain. At all. But, I´m grateful for the reminder of God´s power. I see that His plan is far greater than my own, which is currently having to change every 15 minutes depending on the weather! During the tropical wave, I have been challenged especially by Psalm 46:10. "Be still and know that I am God." NIV

love

Our focus for this week with the interns is "Servant Leadership". Mostly, its a challenge to me and Julie. This summer, God is growing me to be a mediator.

Live in harmony with each other. Don´t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don´t think you know it all! Romans 12:16 NLT

What a picture of love. Speaking with anyone, willing to learn. Even if I am not sharing the "Gospel" I can still speak of God in humility. What a challenge.

Please pray that I have patience, that I keep praying when things get uncomfortable. Genuine love, the love described in Romans 12, is ridiculous. I don´t have the strength to do it. But, love is the mark of God working through us.

Also, pray that I sleep well and cope with life. Last night I fell asleep around 3 am local time. With projects in full swing, and more people speaking to me in Spanish everyday, I need to be rested. God gives us strength. Pray that He overfills me, please.

I´m starting to get excited to come home to the states. There is so much more to be done here, I´d love to come back. But now, I´m getting ready to share this experience at home. I can´t wait to be among family, friends, students. God has given me a heart for the people in Barahona this summer, but Kitsap will always be home.

Part of learning to love in Barahona means surrendering my right to the computer. It´s hard to find time and opportunity to check emails or update blogs. I love you, though!

still alive, don´t worry

Just updated the cotnglobalinterns2009.blogspot.com page.

There´s been a team here this week that has been using the computer every night, thus no updates. But, this has been an amazing week for building relationships in our team and with the people we work with. Our focus for the interns was "making disciples", a challenge and a mission for the rest of our lives, to be sure.

Prayer request:
One of the girls on our team, Dayna, just found out that a good friend in MI died of cancer. He was 20 years old and had a series of unsuccessful treatments. It´s been a hard loss for her to take. Please pray for her as she mourns and that we would be able to support her as her tearmmates.

solitude

Solitude is hard to come by. Even now, our security guard, Nardo, is sitting behind me reading his Bible. We are greeted in the villages by climbing children, competing for attention they desparately crave. At our casa there is a steady stream of people throughout the week, often extending into the weekend. And going for a run by myself is absolutely unheard of...so I run the length of our driveway 30-40 times whenever I want a work-out. In a culture steeped in relationship, solitude can be a very foreign concept.

This week, though, I had the opportunity for some quality alone time. We took the team of interns to a hotel on the beach and assigned everyone (ourselves included) to 6 hours of solitude. I found a quiet spot on the pebbly beach, grabbed my Bible and journal, and settled in to watch the waves of the Carribbean Sea. Finally, I felt able to experience solitude. Rest.

¨Be still and know that I am God¨ Psalm 46:10 NIV

The ocean here is beautiful. Like the mountains in Montana or the trees at home, watching the ocean here reminds me of God´s power and His love. The six hours of solitude on Tuesday were some of the best hours I´ve used in a while. There is much value in being still.

I can´t wait to share stories and photos of my experience here in Barahona. There is so much to tell! So much that can only be conveyed in person. I´m here for another month if anyone wants to come visit...

compels

"The love of Christ compels us" 2 Cor 5:14

Tomorrow morning we´re taking the team of interns for a 3-day beach retreat to reflect on the summer experience and cast vision for the final month of our trip. Julie and I chose to begin the retreat with a short devotional time based on this verse. What are our motives? What are we doing down here? Why are we doing it?

I wish that this were our answer: the love of Christ compels us. I pray that this is our answer. But I´m not so sure.

Lately I´ve been reading Paul´s letters to the early churches. I hope to grow this summer in passion for Christ and the church. I hope to be compelled to action by Christ´s love. Reading the end of the book of Acts, I want life to be a miserable, terrible adventure of God´s glory revealed. I want to experience love so compelling that prison, beatings, even death no longer matters. (Mom, don´t worry. I´m not going to seek out prison, beatings or death.)

What would a life look like, compelled by the love of Christ?


If every day, I wake up compelled by Christ´s love, my life would definitely look different. What if that love began to impact, to compel others? How could a community be changed by this compelling love?

The eight weeks of this summer provide a manageable snapshot of Christian life. How is Christ´s love compelling us in Barahona? In the rest of life, with undefined boundaries, it´s often harder to observe the fruits of our motives. I get the feeling that this challenge will last longer than the 3 days of this retreat, longer than the 4 weeks left in Barahona.

Christ´s love never changes. We can choose to experience it or not. His love compels.