Saturday, September 26, 2009
Exodus 3-4:20
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey--the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--a land flowing with milk and honey.' "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians." Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. "This," said the Lord, "is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has appeared to you." Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground." Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it." Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive." Jethro said, "Go, and I wish you well." Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
My little brother always wanted to be a missionary. Ever since he knew what one was, he dreamed of going to Africa someday and sharing with them God's word. I, on the other hand, dreamed of becoming a taxi driver and a house painter. (Barney makes eveything look more fun.) As I grew up, though, I aquired new dreams; I wanted to be a painter, a writer, a star. I loved Jesus, but I thought that I deserved to use my creative talents (which, at the time, I thought were much greater than they are in reality) to build up my own success.
I was in nineth grade when a tsunami ripped through Indonesia. I remember listening to other kids in my Spanish I class asking, "Why would God let something like this happen?" Our school hosted a fundraiser with an aid organization to raise money for diaster relief on that side of the world. As the yellow envelope passed around the class to collect money in finally landed on my desk, I reached into my wallet and pulled out the only two dollars I had with me. I looked up to the TV screen to see images of families without fathers, what used to be houses destroyed by the wind, and flood waters up to the trees, and thought to myself, "I wish I could do more." It was then that God broke my heart for missions.
From that point on, I contemplated being a foreign missionary, and I am sure I knew that that was what God was calling me to be, but I couldn't bring myself to accept His call. Fear blocked every thought of surrenderance to missions from my mind. I chose to ignore God's calling until I could no longer.
That summer I went to church camp with my youth group. We had a great time. Yet, I could not tell you anything specific that we did or talked about that week. All I remember was the time of invitation. Every night the pastor gave an invitation to respond to God's calling. he started with the calling into a personal relationship. Then he gave a call to respond to sin that was keeping us from God. Lastly, he gave a call to surrender to "vocational ministry." Every night I felt God tugging and pulling at me to respond to His call, but I ignored it. If I responded, then people would know and I would have to follow through. So I stayed in my seat. Each night, the same call was given and God's pull was even stronger, but I chose to ignore it still. The last night of camp, as we came to a time of invitation, I knew what was coming. I prepared myself to resist God (as if I actually could), but His call was so strong, I realized that I could not anymore. My face was burning red. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I had to do something, so I did the only thing I could: I got up. That night, as scared as I was about what was to come, and as many questions as I had, I surrendered to God my life to use as a messanger of His gospel to the nations.
For the next few years, I contemplated how and where God wanted me to serve. God has given me a heart and a passion for the nations of South East Asia, but I wanted Him to tell me more specifically what He wanted me to do. Junior year rolled around, and as other people started planning and preparing where they wanted to go and what they wanted to study in college, I was still lost searching. One Sunday morning, a missionary to India came and spoke at our church. Again, I could not tell you what was spoken on at all, but I do remember one brief moment when this missionary mentioned an English school for orphans that his ministry has organized. I cannot explain what happened inside of me when I heard this. I do not know what made this idea stick out to me among all of the other things this missionary was sharing, but I so know that as soon as he mentioned teaching English as a foreign language, I knew that was what I wanted to study. I had never before heard of teaching English as a second language. I had no idea what ESL meant. I did not know you could study teaching ESL. I just knew that I was supposed to be doing it.
We got home from church that afternoon, and I told my parents my idea. I think they were happy for me, but I do not remember any significant reaction, positive or negative, coming from them. The next Sunday, when we walked into the sanctuary, there were little slips of paper on each chair listing the foreign mission trips our church would be involved in over the coming year. As I glanced at the little piece of paper, I noticed a trip to South East Asia. I scrolled my eyes over to the description of the trip, only to find that a team was going to teach conversational English! It was the perfect opportunity that God had placed in my lap, and although I was scared, I followed Him anyway.
My trip was probably one of the greatest experiences of my life. However, it also brougt to my mind a lot of worries about the future. These worries were only elevated on my admission to college. I began realizing the greatness of the call God put on my life. I became scared. What would I do in a high risk nation without my family? How would I survive? I realized my lack of qualification. I could never go up to a stranger and begin a conversation, especially with the purpose of sharing something that is highly dangerous in their country to talk about. I can't even manage learning Spanish; how am I supposed to speak another language in order to teach a class a language that is foregin to them? All of these fears built up inside of me. In addition to that, I felt completely inadequate spiritually as well. Who am I to serve God overseas if I cannot regularly set aside time to meet with Him every morning? Who am I to share Jesus with people in another counrty if I struggle to share Jesus with the people I know here? My prayer quickly turned from praise to God about the great work He had done in revealing His plan to a plea for Him to remove it from me. I found myself in Moses's place, asking God to "send someone else to do it."
I have come to realize, though, that God is a big God. The words that He spoke to Moses resonate in my mind: "Who gave man his mouth? Who made him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." God does not need my ablities to work in the world. He chooses to use my surrendered self, but it is He who does the work. I have also come to realize that my life is not mine. I have surrendered it to God. Thus, He is able to place me wherever He desires.
It is a daily struggle for me to continue following the path that God has laid before me, especially given my many fears and uncertainties. I am learning the meaning of picking up my cross daily and following Him. I am learning not to get ahead of myself, but to follow God one step at a time, taking one day at a time. I am trusting Him that years from now, I will be able to look back at all that I have gone through and praise God for doing a marvelous work in my life that I could not imagine.
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey--the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The Lord, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--a land flowing with milk and honey.' "The elders of Israel will listen to you. Then you and the elders are to go to the king of Egypt and say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God.' But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. So I will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders that I will perform among them. After that, he will let you go. "And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians." Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. "This," said the Lord, "is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has appeared to you." Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. Then the LORD said, "If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground." Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. But take this staff in your hand so you can perform miraculous signs with it." Then Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, "Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive." Jethro said, "Go, and I wish you well." Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
My little brother always wanted to be a missionary. Ever since he knew what one was, he dreamed of going to Africa someday and sharing with them God's word. I, on the other hand, dreamed of becoming a taxi driver and a house painter. (Barney makes eveything look more fun.) As I grew up, though, I aquired new dreams; I wanted to be a painter, a writer, a star. I loved Jesus, but I thought that I deserved to use my creative talents (which, at the time, I thought were much greater than they are in reality) to build up my own success.
I was in nineth grade when a tsunami ripped through Indonesia. I remember listening to other kids in my Spanish I class asking, "Why would God let something like this happen?" Our school hosted a fundraiser with an aid organization to raise money for diaster relief on that side of the world. As the yellow envelope passed around the class to collect money in finally landed on my desk, I reached into my wallet and pulled out the only two dollars I had with me. I looked up to the TV screen to see images of families without fathers, what used to be houses destroyed by the wind, and flood waters up to the trees, and thought to myself, "I wish I could do more." It was then that God broke my heart for missions.
From that point on, I contemplated being a foreign missionary, and I am sure I knew that that was what God was calling me to be, but I couldn't bring myself to accept His call. Fear blocked every thought of surrenderance to missions from my mind. I chose to ignore God's calling until I could no longer.
That summer I went to church camp with my youth group. We had a great time. Yet, I could not tell you anything specific that we did or talked about that week. All I remember was the time of invitation. Every night the pastor gave an invitation to respond to God's calling. he started with the calling into a personal relationship. Then he gave a call to respond to sin that was keeping us from God. Lastly, he gave a call to surrender to "vocational ministry." Every night I felt God tugging and pulling at me to respond to His call, but I ignored it. If I responded, then people would know and I would have to follow through. So I stayed in my seat. Each night, the same call was given and God's pull was even stronger, but I chose to ignore it still. The last night of camp, as we came to a time of invitation, I knew what was coming. I prepared myself to resist God (as if I actually could), but His call was so strong, I realized that I could not anymore. My face was burning red. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I had to do something, so I did the only thing I could: I got up. That night, as scared as I was about what was to come, and as many questions as I had, I surrendered to God my life to use as a messanger of His gospel to the nations.
For the next few years, I contemplated how and where God wanted me to serve. God has given me a heart and a passion for the nations of South East Asia, but I wanted Him to tell me more specifically what He wanted me to do. Junior year rolled around, and as other people started planning and preparing where they wanted to go and what they wanted to study in college, I was still lost searching. One Sunday morning, a missionary to India came and spoke at our church. Again, I could not tell you what was spoken on at all, but I do remember one brief moment when this missionary mentioned an English school for orphans that his ministry has organized. I cannot explain what happened inside of me when I heard this. I do not know what made this idea stick out to me among all of the other things this missionary was sharing, but I so know that as soon as he mentioned teaching English as a foreign language, I knew that was what I wanted to study. I had never before heard of teaching English as a second language. I had no idea what ESL meant. I did not know you could study teaching ESL. I just knew that I was supposed to be doing it.
We got home from church that afternoon, and I told my parents my idea. I think they were happy for me, but I do not remember any significant reaction, positive or negative, coming from them. The next Sunday, when we walked into the sanctuary, there were little slips of paper on each chair listing the foreign mission trips our church would be involved in over the coming year. As I glanced at the little piece of paper, I noticed a trip to South East Asia. I scrolled my eyes over to the description of the trip, only to find that a team was going to teach conversational English! It was the perfect opportunity that God had placed in my lap, and although I was scared, I followed Him anyway.
My trip was probably one of the greatest experiences of my life. However, it also brougt to my mind a lot of worries about the future. These worries were only elevated on my admission to college. I began realizing the greatness of the call God put on my life. I became scared. What would I do in a high risk nation without my family? How would I survive? I realized my lack of qualification. I could never go up to a stranger and begin a conversation, especially with the purpose of sharing something that is highly dangerous in their country to talk about. I can't even manage learning Spanish; how am I supposed to speak another language in order to teach a class a language that is foregin to them? All of these fears built up inside of me. In addition to that, I felt completely inadequate spiritually as well. Who am I to serve God overseas if I cannot regularly set aside time to meet with Him every morning? Who am I to share Jesus with people in another counrty if I struggle to share Jesus with the people I know here? My prayer quickly turned from praise to God about the great work He had done in revealing His plan to a plea for Him to remove it from me. I found myself in Moses's place, asking God to "send someone else to do it."
I have come to realize, though, that God is a big God. The words that He spoke to Moses resonate in my mind: "Who gave man his mouth? Who made him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." God does not need my ablities to work in the world. He chooses to use my surrendered self, but it is He who does the work. I have also come to realize that my life is not mine. I have surrendered it to God. Thus, He is able to place me wherever He desires.
It is a daily struggle for me to continue following the path that God has laid before me, especially given my many fears and uncertainties. I am learning the meaning of picking up my cross daily and following Him. I am learning not to get ahead of myself, but to follow God one step at a time, taking one day at a time. I am trusting Him that years from now, I will be able to look back at all that I have gone through and praise God for doing a marvelous work in my life that I could not imagine.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Oh my! I am so sorry it has taken me so long to finish the last part of this blogging series! I had totally forgotten about it until... well... now. It is going to take me awhile to rewind that far back in my mind, but let me try. Actually, I think I am going to extend this series for you because I wrote a paper for my English class about our last week of camp, so I'll probably post that separately. Hopefully that will shorten the length of this post. (Which I'm sure would be nice for you all, but it would certainly be nice for me. My fingers get tired!)
We had been warned about the second to last week of camp: Boy's Week by the director of the week before. I realize this is not the forum to vent certain frustrations, but I will say that there were plenty of them. On top of working with difficult adults, we were working with about 30 hyperactive, 4th-7th grade boys. Oh boy(s).
This week was probably the most difficult, but I'm sure it was even moreso for the guys as us girls got to hang out by ourselves during cabin time, and drive to the home we were staying at evey night. (Being boys week, there was no point in us staying overnight when we had no cabin to look over.) The stresses were high, the frustrations were high, and the focus on ministry was very low.
Looking back on this week, I wish I could have done it over. I was so angry with people that I forgot why I was at this camp in the first place. I was not there to make people happy. Really, I wasn't there to run games or music or teach lessons help out with crafts or tell boys what they can or cannot do. I was there to love God and love His children. Though there is no doubt in my mind that God can and will use what happened in that week for His own glory, it is rather difficult for me to look back and recognize the fact that I did not do what I had been called to.
I wish I had some funny stories to tell about this week, but it has been awhile, and most of the things that I do remember I should probably not write about.
Being this was the second to last week of camp and the worst week yet, us counselors were not looking forward to our last week together this summer. We had met the director for girl's week two weeks prior. I guess you could say her motto was, "cleanliness is next to godliness!" as she made clear to us at our initial meeting. Before we even had time to think about what we were going to wear the first day that week (our red camp shirts that we wore every week), she already had a list of every other minor detail that could not be less important going into a week of camp. So, needless to say, we were more than a little discouraged that the very end of our summer was going to turn out so bad. I think we were even more disappointed that God did not seem to be working in any of the lives of the kids we met the whole summer. I prayed the whole week before that God would change our attitudes about the week we were about to face. It was the Thursday night before that I finally surrendered my work to Him. I realized that there was nothing I could do or plan to change lives. It is all His power. I let go of all my plans and ideas and let God lead the way. Only then were we really able to see Him working. It is still amazing to me how when we really pray to God in humility and surrenderance how big He answers our prayers. I don't think any of us were prepared for what we saw Him do that last week...
We had been warned about the second to last week of camp: Boy's Week by the director of the week before. I realize this is not the forum to vent certain frustrations, but I will say that there were plenty of them. On top of working with difficult adults, we were working with about 30 hyperactive, 4th-7th grade boys. Oh boy(s).
This week was probably the most difficult, but I'm sure it was even moreso for the guys as us girls got to hang out by ourselves during cabin time, and drive to the home we were staying at evey night. (Being boys week, there was no point in us staying overnight when we had no cabin to look over.) The stresses were high, the frustrations were high, and the focus on ministry was very low.
Looking back on this week, I wish I could have done it over. I was so angry with people that I forgot why I was at this camp in the first place. I was not there to make people happy. Really, I wasn't there to run games or music or teach lessons help out with crafts or tell boys what they can or cannot do. I was there to love God and love His children. Though there is no doubt in my mind that God can and will use what happened in that week for His own glory, it is rather difficult for me to look back and recognize the fact that I did not do what I had been called to.
I wish I had some funny stories to tell about this week, but it has been awhile, and most of the things that I do remember I should probably not write about.
Being this was the second to last week of camp and the worst week yet, us counselors were not looking forward to our last week together this summer. We had met the director for girl's week two weeks prior. I guess you could say her motto was, "cleanliness is next to godliness!" as she made clear to us at our initial meeting. Before we even had time to think about what we were going to wear the first day that week (our red camp shirts that we wore every week), she already had a list of every other minor detail that could not be less important going into a week of camp. So, needless to say, we were more than a little discouraged that the very end of our summer was going to turn out so bad. I think we were even more disappointed that God did not seem to be working in any of the lives of the kids we met the whole summer. I prayed the whole week before that God would change our attitudes about the week we were about to face. It was the Thursday night before that I finally surrendered my work to Him. I realized that there was nothing I could do or plan to change lives. It is all His power. I let go of all my plans and ideas and let God lead the way. Only then were we really able to see Him working. It is still amazing to me how when we really pray to God in humility and surrenderance how big He answers our prayers. I don't think any of us were prepared for what we saw Him do that last week...
Monday, August 17, 2009
Yes, I have finally made it back to tell you the third part of my story, and I know you are thrilled! I apologize if I am not as detailed with my stroytelling as I have been. It has been a few weeks, and I am much older now and tend to forget things much quicker than before. So, where was I?....
The third week of camp was youth missions week. This week, we were given a mission project to work on helping an elderly lady around the outside of her house. This lady was so kind and patient with all of us (all 6 counselors and 11... then 10... then 9... then 8 kids). The first day we spent doing yard work: raking leaves, picking up trash, pulling weeds, etc. The next few days we spent painting her house.
May I just pause to say that this was a dream come true for me! When I was little (like, still watching Barney little)my dream was to be a house painter when I grew up (or a taxi cab driver, but I don't see that one happening anytime soon).
Anyways, we had 7 girls and 1 boy by the end of the week, and most of them were not very happy to be there. The whole time we heard complaints about when we were going to leave, or wanting to do something else. It was very discouraging for us, who had been called to serve these kids all summer, to hear the selfishness that came out of their mouths. We became broken about the hearts of these kids who did not know how to show great love because they didn't know the greatest love of all. We all met every day to pray and talk about what we could do to bring these kids where they needed to be for God to work in their lives. We just wanted a serious response from these kids that we had not gotten thus far. The night after our big prayer meeting, we all settled down for cabin devotions. The kids had apparently been led in a great campfire devotion by one of the other counselors (I was unfortunately unpresent), because when we got settled for our devotion time, they all started asking some really great serious questions about God and the Bible and what is true and why... As difficult as it was to answer some of their questions, it was so sweet and encouraginging to know that they were really thinking about spiritual things.
The fourth week of camp was music week. This was probably one of the best organized weeks of camp. If it were not for all of the camper drama, it would have been one of the best weeks. The kids spent a lot of time learning about music theory (basic basic stuff) and practicing songs for their performance at the end of the week. Because teaching music takes a considerable amount of talent, the director for the week took charge of this part of the week. It was very nice to be able to take a break and chill in a quiet, air conditioned room. The director for this week was so real, so down to earth, so helpful, so kind and patient, so nice... I can't say enough good things about her! I almost felt bad that she had to deal with everything that she did!
The kids we were working with this week were in 4th-7th grade. It was difficult to stop all of the matchmaking that went on among some of the more immature ones. There was no need for these 10 year olds to have "boyfriends" or "girlfriends," yet it seemed like all conversation seemed to revolve around that exact subject. On top of that, we had a lot of hypochondriacs (mostly girls). So many kids "needed" band-aids and tylenol... too many. This caused a lot of problems, even with some parents.
So, I've been waiting to talk to you about the last part of the title of this series, and I'm sure you have been to. During this week, we were able to take the kids off the camp site to a field nearby where, every year during this time, all of the local hot air balloon pilots gather and give people rides in tethered balloons. (They only go up about 50 feet and then come back down.) It was our job (as summer missionaries and humble servants) to help out the pilots where they needed it. For the first part of the evening, two of the other girls and I helped out holding the very heavy balloon filled with hot air down to the ground with the wind working in the oposite direction. We tried our hardest not to fail, but I'm sure the people we were working with were glad to get rid of us, because two of us and one of the guys were sent to help another pilot who was not giving rides, but actually flying. So, the three of us, who had never before been in a hot air balloon before, helped put it together. Who knew it was so complicated!? There were so many steps and parts and things to do, and it was all so heavy! After we assembled the balloon, then we got to ride in it! (This is how they test to make sure that you constructed it correctly.) I got the honor of riding from one field to another across some powerlines and landing back on the ground sideways. The pilot didn't seemed too concerned about it, though, so I decided not to be either. This was probably one of the greatest highlights of my summer: crashing in a hot air balloon.
It was quite a long week, drama included. However, we had completed more than half of our summer and only had two weeks left! Whoo-Hooo! :)
Return soon for the conclusion of our four part series...
The third week of camp was youth missions week. This week, we were given a mission project to work on helping an elderly lady around the outside of her house. This lady was so kind and patient with all of us (all 6 counselors and 11... then 10... then 9... then 8 kids). The first day we spent doing yard work: raking leaves, picking up trash, pulling weeds, etc. The next few days we spent painting her house.
May I just pause to say that this was a dream come true for me! When I was little (like, still watching Barney little)my dream was to be a house painter when I grew up (or a taxi cab driver, but I don't see that one happening anytime soon).
Anyways, we had 7 girls and 1 boy by the end of the week, and most of them were not very happy to be there. The whole time we heard complaints about when we were going to leave, or wanting to do something else. It was very discouraging for us, who had been called to serve these kids all summer, to hear the selfishness that came out of their mouths. We became broken about the hearts of these kids who did not know how to show great love because they didn't know the greatest love of all. We all met every day to pray and talk about what we could do to bring these kids where they needed to be for God to work in their lives. We just wanted a serious response from these kids that we had not gotten thus far. The night after our big prayer meeting, we all settled down for cabin devotions. The kids had apparently been led in a great campfire devotion by one of the other counselors (I was unfortunately unpresent), because when we got settled for our devotion time, they all started asking some really great serious questions about God and the Bible and what is true and why... As difficult as it was to answer some of their questions, it was so sweet and encouraginging to know that they were really thinking about spiritual things.
The fourth week of camp was music week. This was probably one of the best organized weeks of camp. If it were not for all of the camper drama, it would have been one of the best weeks. The kids spent a lot of time learning about music theory (basic basic stuff) and practicing songs for their performance at the end of the week. Because teaching music takes a considerable amount of talent, the director for the week took charge of this part of the week. It was very nice to be able to take a break and chill in a quiet, air conditioned room. The director for this week was so real, so down to earth, so helpful, so kind and patient, so nice... I can't say enough good things about her! I almost felt bad that she had to deal with everything that she did!
The kids we were working with this week were in 4th-7th grade. It was difficult to stop all of the matchmaking that went on among some of the more immature ones. There was no need for these 10 year olds to have "boyfriends" or "girlfriends," yet it seemed like all conversation seemed to revolve around that exact subject. On top of that, we had a lot of hypochondriacs (mostly girls). So many kids "needed" band-aids and tylenol... too many. This caused a lot of problems, even with some parents.
So, I've been waiting to talk to you about the last part of the title of this series, and I'm sure you have been to. During this week, we were able to take the kids off the camp site to a field nearby where, every year during this time, all of the local hot air balloon pilots gather and give people rides in tethered balloons. (They only go up about 50 feet and then come back down.) It was our job (as summer missionaries and humble servants) to help out the pilots where they needed it. For the first part of the evening, two of the other girls and I helped out holding the very heavy balloon filled with hot air down to the ground with the wind working in the oposite direction. We tried our hardest not to fail, but I'm sure the people we were working with were glad to get rid of us, because two of us and one of the guys were sent to help another pilot who was not giving rides, but actually flying. So, the three of us, who had never before been in a hot air balloon before, helped put it together. Who knew it was so complicated!? There were so many steps and parts and things to do, and it was all so heavy! After we assembled the balloon, then we got to ride in it! (This is how they test to make sure that you constructed it correctly.) I got the honor of riding from one field to another across some powerlines and landing back on the ground sideways. The pilot didn't seemed too concerned about it, though, so I decided not to be either. This was probably one of the greatest highlights of my summer: crashing in a hot air balloon.
It was quite a long week, drama included. However, we had completed more than half of our summer and only had two weeks left! Whoo-Hooo! :)
Return soon for the conclusion of our four part series...
Sunday, August 9, 2009
I thought perhaps I'd take a break from writing about camp. It's a subject that needs motivation to write about, and right now, I'm motivated in another direction. In a way, though, I guess I am sort of gonna talk about camp anyways, or at least something I learned while I was there. I want to talk about evangelism.
Every time I hear that word, I shutter. Perhaps it is wrong of me. It's not that I don't enjoy seeing people come to know Christ! I can think of no greater thing to be excited about! The process of sharing the gospel with someone, though, is, truth be told, less than that. (Now, before you write me off as a heathen and a heretic, let me finish.) I will be the first to admit that I do not have the gift of evangelism. When it comes to explaining the process by which we come to God, I am left fumbling for words. It's embarrassing for me to say that I am no good at explaining something that is such a big part of my life! Perhaps that's why I shutter: because I'm embarrassed. Perhaps it's because I'm fearful of what people might say or think. Whatever it is, it is something I have been faced with this summer, when I realized the need for the gospel in the lives of these kids.
It seemed like we had a schedule for everything at camp this summer: wake up, go to sleep, eat food, play games, go swimming, take showers... you name it, we had a time slot for it. I guess I kind of assumed then that sharing the gospel should have a time slot as well. It only seemed appropriate that it be shared on the fourth night of camp, just like it's done in VBS and every other organized church event. However, after it had not been shared for two weeks after the first week, us counselors kind of figured we were expected to pick up the ball that had been dropped. I tried sharing the plan of salvation in my cabin during our devotion time before bed for a couple weeks, but we didn't see any fruit from it. The next week, I shared the gospel during the campfire, but again, it was fruitless. It was discouraging to see nothing happen. Nobody was saved, nobody was convicted of sin, nobody cared. It was that night after the campfire that I cried out to God asking Him for help. I knew that I could never come up with the right words to say to reach these kids. I knew that there was nothing I could do to make them draw close to God. but I knew that God was able to open up hearts and fill my mouth with His word. So I asked Him to do just that. I surrendered all of my planning and strategies and asked Him to guide every action, every conversation, everything that would happen the following week.
The next week i had no plan as to what to do my evening devotions on. I would think of a couple ideas throughout the day, and ask God to lead our cabin conversation in the way he wanted it to go. Oh boy, did He take us places! Starting the first night, my campers bombarded me with questions about God and salvation and baptism and creation and everything else under the sun! I hope that God spoke to their hearts, because I don't even remember half of the things that came out of my mouth in response to many of the tough questions they were asking. This happened every night, but through it I was able to speak about what it meant to be saved and what it meant to have a relationship with Christ. The second-to-last night (may I just say that God is so good! He knows what He's doing!), all of our conversation and questions led right into a gospel presentation. Unlike the other weeks when I felt like the conversation just dropped after I was done speaking, though, they continued to ask questions and share thoughts about salvation. It was so exciting for me to witness how God was working in their hearts! We stayed up an extra hour and a half talking about God's free gift of eternal life through the sacrifice of His Son.
You know, sometimes it amazes me how shocked we are when God does what He promises to. I had asked God to take over the week and lead it toward Him, and He did exactly that. I gave up all that I had planned and expected to DO and let Him MINISTER to these kids. I was so caught up in the schedule of things that I had not relied on Him to take us where we needed to go, but when I surrendered myself to Him to do what He pleased, then He did great things not only in the lives of these kids, but it my life as well. I am so excited to be able to say that God did amazing things that week. We were able to talk to many of the campers that week about what God was doing in their lives and found that He was working in their hearts and convicting them of many different things. It's exciting for me to say that we even saw some come to know Christ as their Savior!
Through all of the happenings of that week compared to the weeks prior, I learned that "evangelism" is not a specific speech you say at a specific time. Instead, it is the constant lifestyle and conversation that points to Christ and what He has done for us. I learned that, though it is important to be purposeful in your speech and manner, it is also important to be mindful of God and where He is leading and to rely on Him for all sources of wisdom and strength. It is Him to does the work anyways. We are just privileged to be His tools.
Every time I hear that word, I shutter. Perhaps it is wrong of me. It's not that I don't enjoy seeing people come to know Christ! I can think of no greater thing to be excited about! The process of sharing the gospel with someone, though, is, truth be told, less than that. (Now, before you write me off as a heathen and a heretic, let me finish.) I will be the first to admit that I do not have the gift of evangelism. When it comes to explaining the process by which we come to God, I am left fumbling for words. It's embarrassing for me to say that I am no good at explaining something that is such a big part of my life! Perhaps that's why I shutter: because I'm embarrassed. Perhaps it's because I'm fearful of what people might say or think. Whatever it is, it is something I have been faced with this summer, when I realized the need for the gospel in the lives of these kids.
It seemed like we had a schedule for everything at camp this summer: wake up, go to sleep, eat food, play games, go swimming, take showers... you name it, we had a time slot for it. I guess I kind of assumed then that sharing the gospel should have a time slot as well. It only seemed appropriate that it be shared on the fourth night of camp, just like it's done in VBS and every other organized church event. However, after it had not been shared for two weeks after the first week, us counselors kind of figured we were expected to pick up the ball that had been dropped. I tried sharing the plan of salvation in my cabin during our devotion time before bed for a couple weeks, but we didn't see any fruit from it. The next week, I shared the gospel during the campfire, but again, it was fruitless. It was discouraging to see nothing happen. Nobody was saved, nobody was convicted of sin, nobody cared. It was that night after the campfire that I cried out to God asking Him for help. I knew that I could never come up with the right words to say to reach these kids. I knew that there was nothing I could do to make them draw close to God. but I knew that God was able to open up hearts and fill my mouth with His word. So I asked Him to do just that. I surrendered all of my planning and strategies and asked Him to guide every action, every conversation, everything that would happen the following week.
The next week i had no plan as to what to do my evening devotions on. I would think of a couple ideas throughout the day, and ask God to lead our cabin conversation in the way he wanted it to go. Oh boy, did He take us places! Starting the first night, my campers bombarded me with questions about God and salvation and baptism and creation and everything else under the sun! I hope that God spoke to their hearts, because I don't even remember half of the things that came out of my mouth in response to many of the tough questions they were asking. This happened every night, but through it I was able to speak about what it meant to be saved and what it meant to have a relationship with Christ. The second-to-last night (may I just say that God is so good! He knows what He's doing!), all of our conversation and questions led right into a gospel presentation. Unlike the other weeks when I felt like the conversation just dropped after I was done speaking, though, they continued to ask questions and share thoughts about salvation. It was so exciting for me to witness how God was working in their hearts! We stayed up an extra hour and a half talking about God's free gift of eternal life through the sacrifice of His Son.
You know, sometimes it amazes me how shocked we are when God does what He promises to. I had asked God to take over the week and lead it toward Him, and He did exactly that. I gave up all that I had planned and expected to DO and let Him MINISTER to these kids. I was so caught up in the schedule of things that I had not relied on Him to take us where we needed to go, but when I surrendered myself to Him to do what He pleased, then He did great things not only in the lives of these kids, but it my life as well. I am so excited to be able to say that God did amazing things that week. We were able to talk to many of the campers that week about what God was doing in their lives and found that He was working in their hearts and convicting them of many different things. It's exciting for me to say that we even saw some come to know Christ as their Savior!
Through all of the happenings of that week compared to the weeks prior, I learned that "evangelism" is not a specific speech you say at a specific time. Instead, it is the constant lifestyle and conversation that points to Christ and what He has done for us. I learned that, though it is important to be purposeful in your speech and manner, it is also important to be mindful of God and where He is leading and to rely on Him for all sources of wisdom and strength. It is Him to does the work anyways. We are just privileged to be His tools.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
(Before I continue with my story, I would like to give a short intro) Right now it is almost 2 in the morning, and although I will have to get up at 6:30, I am still awake. "Why?" you may ask: because.... I GOT A NEW LAPTOP!!!! I am SOOOO excited right now! Each keystroke fills my heart with greater excitement! Anyways, I still should probably not be up at this hour, but I am, so I figured I would spend my time continuing my account of camp:
The second week of camp was 2nd and 3rd grade week. This was the only short week of the year, only going from Sunday to Wednesday. If it had gone on any longer, I think we all would have died. Each Sunday afternoon, we would arrive at camp an hour before the campers could check in. (If you're thinking that an hour is not enough time to be given instructions on our responsibilities for the week, you are absolutely right.) In this time, our director for the week (yes, the director changes EVERY week, only causing more stress and confusion on our part) came out of the "staff cabin," handed each of us a folder with a 5 page schedule in it, turned right back around, and went back inside. Coming from the great experience we had last week, it was quite a shock to know that we would be in charge of running all activities, beginning in less than an hour. This included puppets, crafts, Bible story time, music, (because we HAD to have a program to perform for all the parents), games, devotions, and everything in between. With no help from the director (in fact, we barely even SAW the director), we were pretty stressed.
The highlight of that week was our first trip to the miniature horse farm. Bless the lady's heart that owns all of these horses! I have never met a more proud, dedicated horse owner (granted, I haven't met barely any horse owners, but that's beside the point). We were informed that we were not to call these horses "ponies" because they were not "ponies," they were horses (oh, except for the one miniature donkey, but we were told not to tell her she's a donkey, because it hurts her feelings!) Among the horses were Joe, a champion stallion, FWR Midnight Sneekers, and, our personal favorite, Coupon! After the 2 hour tour, we all climbed back onto the tractor trailer that we had riden on (of course, the director drove her own vehicle), and crossed back over the highway to get to camp! This was the first of four trips to the horse farm, and it didn't get any more interesting than that. So, I guess looking back on the week, there aren't a lot of dramatic stories to tell after all, but that doesn't mean it didn't have it's stressful moments!
Tune in next time for the continuation of... "Campers, Chickens, and Hot Air Balloons!"
The second week of camp was 2nd and 3rd grade week. This was the only short week of the year, only going from Sunday to Wednesday. If it had gone on any longer, I think we all would have died. Each Sunday afternoon, we would arrive at camp an hour before the campers could check in. (If you're thinking that an hour is not enough time to be given instructions on our responsibilities for the week, you are absolutely right.) In this time, our director for the week (yes, the director changes EVERY week, only causing more stress and confusion on our part) came out of the "staff cabin," handed each of us a folder with a 5 page schedule in it, turned right back around, and went back inside. Coming from the great experience we had last week, it was quite a shock to know that we would be in charge of running all activities, beginning in less than an hour. This included puppets, crafts, Bible story time, music, (because we HAD to have a program to perform for all the parents), games, devotions, and everything in between. With no help from the director (in fact, we barely even SAW the director), we were pretty stressed.
The highlight of that week was our first trip to the miniature horse farm. Bless the lady's heart that owns all of these horses! I have never met a more proud, dedicated horse owner (granted, I haven't met barely any horse owners, but that's beside the point). We were informed that we were not to call these horses "ponies" because they were not "ponies," they were horses (oh, except for the one miniature donkey, but we were told not to tell her she's a donkey, because it hurts her feelings!) Among the horses were Joe, a champion stallion, FWR Midnight Sneekers, and, our personal favorite, Coupon! After the 2 hour tour, we all climbed back onto the tractor trailer that we had riden on (of course, the director drove her own vehicle), and crossed back over the highway to get to camp! This was the first of four trips to the horse farm, and it didn't get any more interesting than that. So, I guess looking back on the week, there aren't a lot of dramatic stories to tell after all, but that doesn't mean it didn't have it's stressful moments!
Tune in next time for the continuation of... "Campers, Chickens, and Hot Air Balloons!"
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