The Wonderful World of Spain

On a much lighter note than my last blog, I am currently studying abroad in Spain! The picture to the left was taken at the only Egyptian temple in Madrid. In the background is the Royal Palace and the Cathedral.

I flew out of the States on Wednesday and arrived here on Thursday afternoon just in time for siesta (nap time). :) We have spent the last few days just exploring Madrid. We had an orientation to our program yesterday which included a walking tour of the city. It was really awesome to hear the history of the city. We actually walked through the Today they sent us on a scavenger hunt around the city. We were able to use Spanish more often than just in restaurants, and we got to see more of Madrid that we otherwise would have.

The schedule here is going to take some getting used to. Nothing starts at night until like 9pm. 10pm is really the prime time for dinner. People usually go out to the bars (note: these are not like our bars; they have coffee, etc. and more of a lounge and chat atmosphere) around 12am and then to the discos (dance clubs) around 2am. Whew! Especially with the jet lag, I am pooped! They really don't get anything started though until like 10 or 11 am, so that helps.

Tomorrow we leave from here to take a train to the city we will actually be studying in. Thus begins the actual school part. We will have orientation at the center and take a proficiency test in order to determine which classes we will be taking. Hopefully that goes well. Little nervous. I have gotten to practice some though. It is kind of frustrating though because if you stumble in trying to use your Spanish, the natives automatically start speaking in English to you. Sometimes you just have to keep going in Spanish even though they are constantly responding in English. haha. I hear that the city I am studying in is not quite as bad though because it is smaller. Not as many people know English, so you are forced to use Spanish.

Well, that is all the update that is going to give for now, because I am missing siesta to write this. I need a nap!

God, Break My Heart

"God, break my heart for the things that break Yours."

As I look back at that prayer written at the beginning of the summer, I am blown away at just how He answered it in a far more radical way than I ever dreamed. This prayer and God's answer have changed my whole world view, and how I must live. When my heart is aligned with His, my actions are too. God's heart is about reconciling all things whether things in heaven or things on earth to Himself (Col. 1). This is what my heart must be about. Very simply, this means that I must live redemptively. My major in college must redeem all things to God. My career after college must redeem all things to God. My conversations with all people must redeem all things to God. My discipline of my children (when/if I have them...haha) must redeem all things to God. Wow. That changes things.

Beyond seeing that aspect of God's heart, my heart was truly broken by His heart for the poor and the oppressed. I have always known that Jesus cared for the poor, but I didn't realize just how close they are to His heart and just how much it pains and angers him to see us disregard them. I cannot believe how much of the Bible is about loving the poor, the orphans, the widows, the strangers in a foreign land, the wanderers, etc.

Isaiah has so many verses in which God blasts the Israelites for their lack of concern for the poor. Specifically, Isaiah 58 really convicted me this summer. Essentially, the Israelites claim they are following God's laws of fasting, and they complain that God is not listening to their cries even though they are obeying him. But, God explains the fasting that he truly desires which is "to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke, to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter. When you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood." The Gospels are absolutely filled with accounts of Jesus hanging out the "least of these," but condemning the Pharisees for their pious hypocrisy and refusal to associate with people of low position. This summer we also looked at Luke 4 in which Jesus stands in the synagogue and opens to Isaiah 61 and reads from the scroll proclaiming that the Lord has anointed him "to preach good news to the poor...to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (See Lev. 25) Wow! If that is Christ's mission statement, how much more should that be ours if we claim to be his followers? And these two Scriptures don't even scratch the surface of how much the Lord desires His people to live out His love for the poor and the oppressed.

I saw just a glimpse of just how much our consumerism and selfishness and pride and entitlement and jealousy hurt God. Jesus said that they will know we are Christians by our love (John 13:35), but I have not had a love that is any different. I haven't had a love that does "nothing out of selfish amibition or vain conceit, but in humility considers others better than myself" (Phil. 2). I haven't had a love that sees the least of these brothers of mine and feeds them, clothes them, or visits them in prison. I haven't had a love that crosses the cultural and social boundaries of race and status like Jesus did with the woman at the well. I haven't had a love that chooses to drive a run-down car or wear old clothes in order to meet the needs of others. I haven't had a love that sells everything and gives to the poor (Luke 12:33). I haven't had a love that never judges or thinks evil thoughts of any child of His. I haven't had a love that obeys Jesus commands at all.

In fact, I have been more like "my sister Sodom" which was destroyed by fire in the Old Testament because "she and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me" (Ezekiel 16:49-50). I have been so consumed with what I have and with the necessity of getting my own needs met that I have not even turned to see if my neighbor's needs have been met. But, isn't that the second greatest command? To love my neighbor as myself? And didn't Jesus say not to worry about what I will eat or drink, but to seek first the kingdom and all these things will be added? Do I really believe that? Because I haven't lived like it.

But, now that I know the good I ought to do, I must do it. Christ calls me to the narrow way, and I must follow. He calls me to take up my cross daily and to die to my own desires. That is where life is more abundant. That is where I will receive 100 times more in this present life and in the life to come (Mark 10:30).

He has called. I can do nothing but follow. I am but a humble servant.

Last Mission Indy Week

Whew! The last week of Mission Indy...again...where to begin???

This fourth week was at Englewood Christian Church on the near east side of Indianapolis. We interns actually stayed at the mission house next door instead of at the church with the groups. This was the same place that we had stayed during our first week in Indy. It was pretty awesome to get to finish where we started. You know us English majors...we like it when things come back full circle. Gives us a sense of security and completion. I guess the non-postmodern ones like that anyway...haha. Okay, enough about English.

We had groups during this week from Knoxville, TN, Florissant, MO, Clinton, IN, and one other city in Indiana that I can't remember...oops. I can remember the group just not their town. Anyway, I was with First United Methodist Church from Clinton, IN. They were great. We worked on a member of Englewood's home just a few blocks from the church. This had been a previous Mission Indy house, but had not gotten finished the year before. We arrived thinking that we really only had to do some touch ups on soffit and then the back of the house, but soon realized that the group from last year had some how neglected to prime anything which meant that all the paint was peeling off. Ahh!!! What a nightmare! We had to rescrape, reprime, and repaint over the whole house! We had intended to only be there for 2 days and then move onto a different project, but we ended up staying the whole week and still having more to be done. Lesson learned. Preparation is 70% of painting. Even though it is a pain, I would much rather do it than come back a year later only to find that it all needs to be rescraped and repainted.

One blessing of the week was that the leader of the youth group, Ed, had a great deal of carpentry experience. He was able to do far more on the house than we ever thought possible. He replaced an entire wall from the inside to the out including putting up new siding on the north side of the house. He also replaced boards on the bottom of the east side of the house which were completely rotted. This was a great help to Ron who otherwise would have had to do that himself.

The week was great. The kids were great workers most of the time...haha...and it was a delight to get to work along side them and get to hear what they were learning. I also got to spend a lot of time with the 4 year old neighbor Ben. So precious! He rode on my shoulders and helped me facilitate the worksite. :)

God worked in huge ways throughout the summer. So many, that I am totally unaware of as well. He had things prepared for use before we even knew that we needed them. My next blog will be about some of the major things that God taught me throughout the summer. The challenge will definitely be making it short enought that people will actually read it! haha.

Catching Up on Mission Indy

Wow...I have been done with Mission Indy now for almost a month, but I haven't blogged about the last two weeks. Sorry about that. Where to begin, where to begin.

Well, the last week at Shepherd was totally different than any of the others, but was still enjoyable just the same. The kids got to go to a basketball camp run by a former NBA player known as Big Ray. People from the community also donated money for all of them to get a basketball ball with new basketball clothes, socks, and Adidas shoes. They were so excited when they found out that they actually got to keep everything. Every back contained a personal letter from the person who donated the money.

The girls and the boys were separated for basketball camp which was helpful for organization, but that also meant that I didn't get to see the boys all week. :( I really missed them. The mornings for the girls were the pretty much same as all of the other weeks. We had an hour of worship and some free time outside. But, then instead of Bible study and devotions, we had to get them all changed into their basketball clothes. This was quite a chore seeing as the clothes had to be taken home and washed every day of the camp. Then they were brought back in one huge bag that we had to sort through according to the initials we had put on the tags of the clothes. With kindergarteners waiting and watching for their clothes while you do this, it was mass chaos. haha. After the chaos, we ate lunch and headed to Howe High School for the camp.

At the camp, I worked with the kindergarten and first grade girls again who could not participate with the rest of the group because they were just too small. They would have been getting run over and hit by balls left and right. Yikes! I can just imagine the tears. We went to the upstairs gym and did our own activities. I had the girls first do some stretches then some ice creams (running up and down the gym and touching the lines on the floor). This made them good and tired! :) We then broke up into centers and worked on defensive slides, shooting, dribbling, and passing as best as a kindergartner can. I learned a whole lot about patience during the camp as well as asking for help. One of the earlier days of the week, I tried to work with all 25 girls under 6 years old on my own...it was TERRIBLE! I was exhausted and so frustrated. I realized from then on that I could no longer be so proud as to think that I could do it all. From then on, it was way better and less hectic.

After camp, we rode the bus back to Shepherd and the girls had to change back into their normal clothes (so we could wash their basketball clothes) within the 5 minutes before their parents arrived. Again, chaos! haha. Finally, 3:30 arrived, the kids left for home, and Tracy and I drove home absolutely exhausted from the day. haha. It was crazy to say the least, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I miss those girls so much! I often look back through my pictures of them. Their beautiful smiles and pure joy are evidence of God's love in their lives. I only hope I can see them again on this side of heaven and hear how God has continued to show himself to them as they have grown older.