Recently I got an e-mail from a friend saying this:
"Hey Jess, So two questions:
1) When you were not a Christian, why weren't you? haha, i know, weird question. But even if you had heard about church and God, why wasn't it attractive to you personally? Obviously, God revealed himself, i know that, but from your point of view, what do you think?
2) What made it "click?" When you accepted Christ, why did you? And why did you want to continue pursuing him?"
You know, its funny because I've been thinking about this lately and haven't gotten to a solid conclusion, lol, but now that I'm asked...
1) Haha, well, I've found some old stuff that I had saved from when I was younger, like journals from high school, or religion books from catholic elementary school. I had questions about God and christian living (haha, some of the questions I read recently and I'm like, DANG, That's a good question!!!) alot of those questions never got answered.
I dabbled in youth group, but never felt like I got anything out of it and couldn't connect easily with anyone there, I didn't feel like I belonged or was getting anywhere--like growing spiritually. My family doesn't bring up in conversation really what they believe and most of my extended family either doesn't really go to church or only attends catholic mass on sundays. I don't know what it was, if it was because of being an only child, but I kept to myself a lot in high school. My family, especially my cousins were my friends since they all lived close by. I mean I did make some good friends that I still keep in touch with and I had some christian acqauintances, but I can't think of even one person who befriended me on a deep level or really even on a personal level who was following Christ.
Or maybe it was because for some reason it was hard for me to let people inside my heart and I guess I really never let Christ into my heart either--I didn't know that God wanted to be a part of my life and I definitely didn't think God could be my most intimate and best friend. I think in general my unrealistic optimism (lol, surprise surprise), slight arrogance, overall ignorance especially about spiritual and Godly stuff, all combined with a lot of impatience in my youth kept me from a lot of things, one of them being God! Phew, how's all that for an answer? (I feel like I just psychoanalyzed myself, lol).
2) I think it all "clicked" because a lot of things came crashing down and weighing on my heart heavy at the time. It wasn't just one thing. I mean I had just ended a relationship (although not serious, it wasn't the best ending), the so called friends that I had made didn't really care about me, they just wanted someone to be rebellious with and have fun with, I had gone against so much of what my parents had taught me over that past year, I was about to launch myself into hard core studying for the next 7 years or so for a career I basically just wanted for the prestige and money, and somehow in the back of my mind I think I knew deep down that God really did exist and that he really did care.
And then all in a matter of a few weeks that all changed! You know about finding the rock...(I found a rock on the beach when I was a little girl that has James 1:2-4 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%201:2-4&version=47 )
painted on it with a lighthouse, and "This is just for you who finds this." Then I refound it around the same time that all of that stuff I just mentioned was going on...crazy. I know.) Anyways, I think it scared and excited me at the same time, cause I sensed God was wanting something, and the thing is, I didn't know God really (Pretty scary when you think he's trying to tell you something!!!). So, I showed up at cru bible study to find out some more about God stuff, and ended up making friends who didn't just love me and leave me. I came to trust my friend, who took me out to coffee and shared what God had been doing in her life. She was so real about it and through all the crap in her past and family, she had real joy. I was blown away. Then when she shared the gospel, I trusted her and I knew that she believed it to her core...and so did the others. Then for the first time, I had real hope and began understanding what God had done for me and what he promised to do and I saw how in the bible and in my friend's lives that what God promises, He makes happen. And I trusted Him. It turns out my sense of God wanting something was right. He wanted my heart, because it belonged to Him. And even to this day, everyday, He likes reminding me of that. I just wish I would listen more : )
"For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Cor. 4:6
"I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart." Jeremiah 24:7
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
"Go forth and multiply on all the earth"
Good Morning!! I know that its been a while--like a month, whoops! I really do love this blogging thing, but I just wasn't motivated to keep it updated whenever I actually had time to. I've been thinking this morning, I have all of this knowledge and what feels like a TON of resources, what should I do with it?
A lot of my prayers have been looking like this: "Lord, will you bless this, will you bless that, will you give me this, will you give my friend that, will you show me what I should do....etc." Ouch. If I was really listening to God respond to those prayers, He might say something like, "JESS!!! I love you, and there are bigger things you could ask for! I know what you need before you even ask for it! Look at Revelation 7:9, that is what I'm doing in the world!!! Pray and ask me to send more laborers for the harvest, its so PLENTIFUL!!! (Matt. 9:37-38) I've chosen to call you my beloved daughter. Your responsibility is to make me known so that my salvation will reach the ends of the earth (Is. 49:6). As the waters cover the sea, so will the knowledge of my Glory be on all the earth!!! (Hab. 2:14)."
Whoa, I needed to hear that from Him. He believes in me, he believes and purposes to use me to make a difference in the world. Its not so much that I love Him, but HE LOVES me. Its for His glory. So, I was thinking, how can I make Him known and make the biggest impact?
I'll let Paul tell you, "You then, my son, be strong in the grace (humility and graciousness) that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others." 2 Timothy 2:1-2
So all along when Jesus says, "...therefore, go and make disciples of all nations..." I was thinking addition, lets add to our numbers. But that's not what he meant. He meant multiplication to God's kingdom.
I kind of like to visualize it as tossing a stone in water...as the ripples get further away from the place the stone entered the water, the bigger the ripple gets. I want my life to be that stone. For the glory of God. That is what its all about.
A lot of my prayers have been looking like this: "Lord, will you bless this, will you bless that, will you give me this, will you give my friend that, will you show me what I should do....etc." Ouch. If I was really listening to God respond to those prayers, He might say something like, "JESS!!! I love you, and there are bigger things you could ask for! I know what you need before you even ask for it! Look at Revelation 7:9, that is what I'm doing in the world!!! Pray and ask me to send more laborers for the harvest, its so PLENTIFUL!!! (Matt. 9:37-38) I've chosen to call you my beloved daughter. Your responsibility is to make me known so that my salvation will reach the ends of the earth (Is. 49:6). As the waters cover the sea, so will the knowledge of my Glory be on all the earth!!! (Hab. 2:14)."
Whoa, I needed to hear that from Him. He believes in me, he believes and purposes to use me to make a difference in the world. Its not so much that I love Him, but HE LOVES me. Its for His glory. So, I was thinking, how can I make Him known and make the biggest impact?
I'll let Paul tell you, "You then, my son, be strong in the grace (humility and graciousness) that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others." 2 Timothy 2:1-2
So all along when Jesus says, "...therefore, go and make disciples of all nations..." I was thinking addition, lets add to our numbers. But that's not what he meant. He meant multiplication to God's kingdom.
I kind of like to visualize it as tossing a stone in water...as the ripples get further away from the place the stone entered the water, the bigger the ripple gets. I want my life to be that stone. For the glory of God. That is what its all about.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Ee-Taow!!!
So, its been a couple of weeks, I know! Its just that so much has happened and I could write a novel about it all if I had the time and energy. So, maybe a little rundown of the last couple of weeks, but I'm sorry for lack of details. I would absolutely LOVE to talk about it more in detail later though!
So, the weekend of the 28th a guy named Justin spent the weekend with us (He's a Messianic Jew--and he leads summer pilgrimages in Israel for college students-it sounds awesome, I know!). He took us to a local Messianic Synagogue and shared the entire layout of the bible with us, and how ALL OF IT points to Christ. There is so much in scriptures that I never saw before--how many times the word "nations" is mentioned, and the parables, and Jesus' life. I learned so much about Jesus' culture and His humanness but also the incredible part of him. His ministry was only for 3 years, but in those three years the world was changed forever, it was turned upside down. This man is Jesus, Emmanuel, Messiah, Healer, Redeemer, Lover (not that kind of lover! He's a lover of people in its truest sense). I learned the incredible parallels in the feeding of the 5000 in John 6:1-15 and psalm 23 and also the comparison of the details in the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the lesser talked about 4000 in Mark 8:1-13. It opened my eyes a whole lot to God's heart and who Jesus is!
The next week we finished up the Perspectives course which was also overall incredible and eye-opening, I finished up with a 93%, oh yeah! Then we went through Perspectives coordinator training, so I'm all trained up to start up or help out with a new class basically anywhere I live, even overseas, which is quite exciting. We watched an amazing video called Ee-Taow!! about this couple and a huge team of people(there with them, and at home) working with this tribe in Papua New Ginea for years learning the language and presenting the gospel in a series of stories starting with Genesis and pointing out God's promise for a redeemer and someone to die in our place. Once the tribe saw that this promised one was Jesus, the entire tribe accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior and now they have shared this gospel in all the surrounding villages and are preparing to take it to other tribes and learn a whole new language and culture. That is the gospel power! The gospel is so encompassing and life changing and HUGE. God is really moving in the world, and until every people group has had a chance to hear the gospel, the end won't come (and Jesus won't come for a second time)(Matt. 24:14).
4th of July was great fun. I got to spend it playing volleyball and barbequeing and going around philly with a Japanese girl, then fireworks and a free live John Legend concert. We left at 7:45 the next morning and headed out to Massechusetts to the very sites where men like Stott, Moody, Mills, Wishard, and the Wilders who said stuff about missions like, "we can do this if we will" and "I am willing to go anywhere, at anytime, to do anything for Jesus". We stood and prayed at the very same places students just like us stood and prayed over 100 years ago. These were the beginners of the Haystack Prayer Movement and Student Volunteer Movement http://www.thetravelingteam.org/?q=node/98 , http://www.thetravelingteam.org/?q=node/99 (a bit of what we learned while there).
Then we spent last week hearing from some experts on knowledge of the major world religions. As a project we then went as learners to visit some local temples including Buddhist, Hare Krishna and a Muslim Mosque. I don't really have the words to explain my experience with this. I might have to elaborate more later....
This past weekend was absolutely great. We got to relax on grounds surrounded by mountains and we had lots of freetime. We stayed at a New Tribes Mission Center and heard (and experienced) what it would be like to go into a tribe that has an unlearned language and culture to the rest of the world, and go in there and start building relationships with them, spending about 5 years minimum learning the language and making an alphabet, teaching the tribe how to read and write it, translate the bible into it, and to start teaching them what the bible says. I was blown away. One of the guys had worked for 14 years with a tribe in Venezuela and saw pretty much the whole tribe come to know Christ and be transformed--until the government kicked out foreigners. It was incredible spending time with the NTM staff!
Today we spent in Chinatown talking to people. I got to talk to a couple of Vietnamese women and we ate some tasty authentic Chinese for lunch. Tomorrow we're getting up early to go serve breakfast in an innercity homeless shelter and just to talk to people and love on them, I'm kind of excited for this!
So, the weekend of the 28th a guy named Justin spent the weekend with us (He's a Messianic Jew--and he leads summer pilgrimages in Israel for college students-it sounds awesome, I know!). He took us to a local Messianic Synagogue and shared the entire layout of the bible with us, and how ALL OF IT points to Christ. There is so much in scriptures that I never saw before--how many times the word "nations" is mentioned, and the parables, and Jesus' life. I learned so much about Jesus' culture and His humanness but also the incredible part of him. His ministry was only for 3 years, but in those three years the world was changed forever, it was turned upside down. This man is Jesus, Emmanuel, Messiah, Healer, Redeemer, Lover (not that kind of lover! He's a lover of people in its truest sense). I learned the incredible parallels in the feeding of the 5000 in John 6:1-15 and psalm 23 and also the comparison of the details in the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the lesser talked about 4000 in Mark 8:1-13. It opened my eyes a whole lot to God's heart and who Jesus is!
The next week we finished up the Perspectives course which was also overall incredible and eye-opening, I finished up with a 93%, oh yeah! Then we went through Perspectives coordinator training, so I'm all trained up to start up or help out with a new class basically anywhere I live, even overseas, which is quite exciting. We watched an amazing video called Ee-Taow!! about this couple and a huge team of people(there with them, and at home) working with this tribe in Papua New Ginea for years learning the language and presenting the gospel in a series of stories starting with Genesis and pointing out God's promise for a redeemer and someone to die in our place. Once the tribe saw that this promised one was Jesus, the entire tribe accepted Him as their personal Lord and Savior and now they have shared this gospel in all the surrounding villages and are preparing to take it to other tribes and learn a whole new language and culture. That is the gospel power! The gospel is so encompassing and life changing and HUGE. God is really moving in the world, and until every people group has had a chance to hear the gospel, the end won't come (and Jesus won't come for a second time)(Matt. 24:14).
4th of July was great fun. I got to spend it playing volleyball and barbequeing and going around philly with a Japanese girl, then fireworks and a free live John Legend concert. We left at 7:45 the next morning and headed out to Massechusetts to the very sites where men like Stott, Moody, Mills, Wishard, and the Wilders who said stuff about missions like, "we can do this if we will" and "I am willing to go anywhere, at anytime, to do anything for Jesus". We stood and prayed at the very same places students just like us stood and prayed over 100 years ago. These were the beginners of the Haystack Prayer Movement and Student Volunteer Movement http://www.thetravelingteam.org/?q=node/98 , http://www.thetravelingteam.org/?q=node/99 (a bit of what we learned while there).
Then we spent last week hearing from some experts on knowledge of the major world religions. As a project we then went as learners to visit some local temples including Buddhist, Hare Krishna and a Muslim Mosque. I don't really have the words to explain my experience with this. I might have to elaborate more later....
This past weekend was absolutely great. We got to relax on grounds surrounded by mountains and we had lots of freetime. We stayed at a New Tribes Mission Center and heard (and experienced) what it would be like to go into a tribe that has an unlearned language and culture to the rest of the world, and go in there and start building relationships with them, spending about 5 years minimum learning the language and making an alphabet, teaching the tribe how to read and write it, translate the bible into it, and to start teaching them what the bible says. I was blown away. One of the guys had worked for 14 years with a tribe in Venezuela and saw pretty much the whole tribe come to know Christ and be transformed--until the government kicked out foreigners. It was incredible spending time with the NTM staff!
Today we spent in Chinatown talking to people. I got to talk to a couple of Vietnamese women and we ate some tasty authentic Chinese for lunch. Tomorrow we're getting up early to go serve breakfast in an innercity homeless shelter and just to talk to people and love on them, I'm kind of excited for this!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
A little blurb of my Sunday night thoughts...
Something that's been impacting me is just looking at how Jesus did his ministry. Half the time he was healing people and the other half he was talking to them. I am personally quite excited about the talking aspect of missions and I've honestly been wondering why God has lead me to a Global Justice minor; and then I think he gave me a little clue in lesson 12 of Perspectives. We learned that social action is intertwined with evangelism and that evangelism isn't with mere words. It's like our words explain why we have compassion, why we would love our enemies, and all the other things that boggle the minds of unbelievers. I think witnessing is less about how many converts we 'get' and more about how God is transforming lives and us carrying the message he wants to convey to every people group on earth. Jesus was God's ultimate message, he was the Word and he was made flesh. I think God is teaching me to be not just a person of words ( eve though I really really love words!), but a person of action. "The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). God's Word is living and active--in me--and I am also his word made flesh when I live a life in reflection of God's heart and view love as a powerful verb and practice it!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Who is Jesus?
Before you do anything else, watch this video. I dont' think you'll regret it. http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=152b5103d741aca61093
Here's a paraphrase of what this guy qoutes. Paul, the former persecuter of Jesus' followers writes this about Jesus:
15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20 Message)
Paul speaks with authority. He traveled the world putting His life in risk, living through being stoned and imprisoned and shipwrecked and starvation and ridicule. He left his home country, his people, his familiar friends, his great job to follow this Jesus. He knew Jesus on a personal level and everything he accomplished he poured back into praise to God. Wow. Paul was an incredible person and in my opinion it is because he followed so close to an incredible God.
Here's a paraphrase of what this guy qoutes. Paul, the former persecuter of Jesus' followers writes this about Jesus:
15-18We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
18-20He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20 Message)
Paul speaks with authority. He traveled the world putting His life in risk, living through being stoned and imprisoned and shipwrecked and starvation and ridicule. He left his home country, his people, his familiar friends, his great job to follow this Jesus. He knew Jesus on a personal level and everything he accomplished he poured back into praise to God. Wow. Paul was an incredible person and in my opinion it is because he followed so close to an incredible God.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
NEW YORK, NY!!!
The Big Apple. (Yum! Haha, just kidding, late night humor, lol) One of the top 3 largest cities in the world...it's where you'll find all sorts of unexpected surprises. I mean, people from every country of the world flock there to see the sites. The streets are bustling with people speaking all sorts of languages, wearing all sorts of fashions, and honking cars on every street intersection. It's great fun! I think it was love at first step off the train for me.
I went to New York with my IT project small group and we attacked New York in a day and a half. That city didn't know what hit it! The first thing the four of us girls did Friday night was hop on a subway and ride to dinner in the heart of a quaint part of town. The place was called Cafe Mingala (which means Cafe Hello--haha, very friendly) and the waitor's name was Sidd. We shared a rice pasta and duck dish and a vegetable and rice dish along with some tasty naan bread. When the first course was done Sidd brought us a plate of fresh orange slices. Then we strolled around and saw central park and the metropolitan art museum from the outside and Times Square at night, which was a gorgeous display of lights and digital moving billboards and flashing colors.
The next morning we arrived by subway again at the South side of town. We saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from a distance and walked through a pretty flower garden to a little bakery where we bought lunch and sat under a tree to enjoy it. Then we walked and took the subway over to Ground Zero. It wasn't as much of a mess as I thought, it was basically a huge construction job with a big construction fence around it. But nontheless, seeing it for real was kind of breathtaking. I can't believe its been almost 7 years since the day I sat in my class as a high school freshman staring in shock at the TV screen as the twin towers collapsed and sent dust and rubble flying for blocks. There were construction tunnels you could walk through to see over and around the fence and there was a plaque with an immense list of names of the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks and some billboards on the rubble site to commemmorate the events.
It was hot and sticky in New York by that time and we headed into a huge Financial something or other building to escape the heat and while trying to find restrooms we found a huge indoor amphitheater with marble steps, huge victorian windows that took up the whole back wall, palm trees--and a huge crowd cheering and yelling at the latin ballroom dance competition going on. It was crazy, I never would have expected to find all that inside that building, lol. Then in the same building we found an Italian Gelato shop and satisfied our sweet tooths. MMM, my chocolate and dulce de leche gelato was amazing! Walking out of the building 3 young ladies from Israel stopped and asked for help with directions and we talked with them for a while. Haha, I asked if I could say "Shalom!" when they said they were Jewish and they were excited, so that was fun. Next we headed towards ChinaTown! Holla! Haha, it was a blast, but it was CRAZY!! There were so many people on the sidewalks and in the shops, I could barely move, or breath. If you so much as glanced at a bracelet or scarf, a chinese shopkeeper would come invade your personal space and say, "which color you like? you like bracret? 15 dolla." I learned that if you liked something you looked at, you ask the nearest shopkeeper how much and when they say "20 dolla", you immediately put the item back and say, thank you, and start walking away. Haha, and then a moment later, they shout, "for you, 15 dolla!" Then you go back and say, "I'll pay 10 dolla" and then they say, "okay, okay, 10 dolla fo you". And that's how that's done! Haha, it was fun, I got some good stuff.
So, we walked around China town with all its craziness and cheap clothes and strange smells and then meandered around little Italy which smelled AMAZING of course and the majority comprised of quaint little outdoor cafes and restaurants. We stopped at the nearest pizza joint complete with graffitied one person bathroom and all. The pizza was great. New York style HUGE slices with pretty much anything you wanted for toppings.
We stopped in a little Tibetan store and bought some sweet sandals and started talking to the store owner and he told us an incredible story. He's from a higher class Tibetan family who were imprisoned for no reason really other than communism in a Chinese prison when he was 10. He was there for 10 years until he escaped and walked over the mountains into India where he stayed for a while before coming to the city. Then we talked about all kinds of stuff like happiness and forgiveness, I wish we had had more time to talk with him. He said we were'nt like other people because we were actually interested in him and what he was saying. He said people just don't listen to each other anymore. I enjoyed listening to him, we all did.
Later we hit up the big stores and did some classic New York style shopping. New York is the home of the largest Macy's on earth, which is 6 stories. It was ridiculous. And every other big chain store is at least 2 or 3 stories, like H & M and Forever 21. By that time it was 9pm and we had to be back at the train station to meet the other small groups and ride back to the vans and drive the 2 and a half hours back to Philly. I was so exhausted I slept on the ride home. And this morning got to sleep in. It was glorious. This afternoon just our small group did some exploring around Philly looking at Independance hall and other fun historical stuff and waiting in a very long line at one of the best Philly Cheesesteak hookups in town and plopping down on some sidewalk sitting against a building since there was no seating at the place, which is called Pat's by the way. It was probably one of my favorite memories with my small group so far.
The rest of today was spent studying for our perspectives midterm and taking it online and then finishing up the readings and workbook and quiz for tomorrow. So now I am spent and going to go to bed since I have to go to class in the morning--which by the way is getting better and better. I thought the first lesson blew me away, but Friday's lesson REALLY blew me away. I'm looking forward to the rest of the lessons.
I went to New York with my IT project small group and we attacked New York in a day and a half. That city didn't know what hit it! The first thing the four of us girls did Friday night was hop on a subway and ride to dinner in the heart of a quaint part of town. The place was called Cafe Mingala (which means Cafe Hello--haha, very friendly) and the waitor's name was Sidd. We shared a rice pasta and duck dish and a vegetable and rice dish along with some tasty naan bread. When the first course was done Sidd brought us a plate of fresh orange slices. Then we strolled around and saw central park and the metropolitan art museum from the outside and Times Square at night, which was a gorgeous display of lights and digital moving billboards and flashing colors.
The next morning we arrived by subway again at the South side of town. We saw the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island from a distance and walked through a pretty flower garden to a little bakery where we bought lunch and sat under a tree to enjoy it. Then we walked and took the subway over to Ground Zero. It wasn't as much of a mess as I thought, it was basically a huge construction job with a big construction fence around it. But nontheless, seeing it for real was kind of breathtaking. I can't believe its been almost 7 years since the day I sat in my class as a high school freshman staring in shock at the TV screen as the twin towers collapsed and sent dust and rubble flying for blocks. There were construction tunnels you could walk through to see over and around the fence and there was a plaque with an immense list of names of the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks and some billboards on the rubble site to commemmorate the events.
It was hot and sticky in New York by that time and we headed into a huge Financial something or other building to escape the heat and while trying to find restrooms we found a huge indoor amphitheater with marble steps, huge victorian windows that took up the whole back wall, palm trees--and a huge crowd cheering and yelling at the latin ballroom dance competition going on. It was crazy, I never would have expected to find all that inside that building, lol. Then in the same building we found an Italian Gelato shop and satisfied our sweet tooths. MMM, my chocolate and dulce de leche gelato was amazing! Walking out of the building 3 young ladies from Israel stopped and asked for help with directions and we talked with them for a while. Haha, I asked if I could say "Shalom!" when they said they were Jewish and they were excited, so that was fun. Next we headed towards ChinaTown! Holla! Haha, it was a blast, but it was CRAZY!! There were so many people on the sidewalks and in the shops, I could barely move, or breath. If you so much as glanced at a bracelet or scarf, a chinese shopkeeper would come invade your personal space and say, "which color you like? you like bracret? 15 dolla." I learned that if you liked something you looked at, you ask the nearest shopkeeper how much and when they say "20 dolla", you immediately put the item back and say, thank you, and start walking away. Haha, and then a moment later, they shout, "for you, 15 dolla!" Then you go back and say, "I'll pay 10 dolla" and then they say, "okay, okay, 10 dolla fo you". And that's how that's done! Haha, it was fun, I got some good stuff.
So, we walked around China town with all its craziness and cheap clothes and strange smells and then meandered around little Italy which smelled AMAZING of course and the majority comprised of quaint little outdoor cafes and restaurants. We stopped at the nearest pizza joint complete with graffitied one person bathroom and all. The pizza was great. New York style HUGE slices with pretty much anything you wanted for toppings.
We stopped in a little Tibetan store and bought some sweet sandals and started talking to the store owner and he told us an incredible story. He's from a higher class Tibetan family who were imprisoned for no reason really other than communism in a Chinese prison when he was 10. He was there for 10 years until he escaped and walked over the mountains into India where he stayed for a while before coming to the city. Then we talked about all kinds of stuff like happiness and forgiveness, I wish we had had more time to talk with him. He said we were'nt like other people because we were actually interested in him and what he was saying. He said people just don't listen to each other anymore. I enjoyed listening to him, we all did.
Later we hit up the big stores and did some classic New York style shopping. New York is the home of the largest Macy's on earth, which is 6 stories. It was ridiculous. And every other big chain store is at least 2 or 3 stories, like H & M and Forever 21. By that time it was 9pm and we had to be back at the train station to meet the other small groups and ride back to the vans and drive the 2 and a half hours back to Philly. I was so exhausted I slept on the ride home. And this morning got to sleep in. It was glorious. This afternoon just our small group did some exploring around Philly looking at Independance hall and other fun historical stuff and waiting in a very long line at one of the best Philly Cheesesteak hookups in town and plopping down on some sidewalk sitting against a building since there was no seating at the place, which is called Pat's by the way. It was probably one of my favorite memories with my small group so far.
The rest of today was spent studying for our perspectives midterm and taking it online and then finishing up the readings and workbook and quiz for tomorrow. So now I am spent and going to go to bed since I have to go to class in the morning--which by the way is getting better and better. I thought the first lesson blew me away, but Friday's lesson REALLY blew me away. I'm looking forward to the rest of the lessons.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Just do it
What made an impact on me most from hearing the history of what God did in the world to fulfill His purposes in the world was hearing about the women victims of the Viking conquests! The Vikings at the time were the most ruthless pagan peoples of the world and they seemed unstoppable in their conquests. Everywhere they went they slaughtered men and children, but raped and eslaved the women. What amazes me is the witness of those women. They had seen the Vikings shed the blood of their families and afterwards had been violated and degraded. But instead of vengfully fighting back, they chose the way of Christ. Instead of fighting back, they whispered the gospel into the ears of the Viking men as they were raped. I don't know about you, but that is amazing to me.
These women chose love, even though it required all kinds of difficult personal sacrifice and trust in God as they gave their lives to serve the Vikings in the midst of their grief and loss. What started happening is the Vikings were effected by the power of the gospel in the lives of these women! These women trusted God in their cicumstances, doing everything for God's glory and because of this the gospel spread in the entire Viking world!
This has made such an impact on me because I dream of going and bringing the good news of the gospel blessing of God to unreached people, but if God wanted me to stay, or put me into circumstances like those women, I don't know if I could withstand it. It inspires me so much and so does Paul as I read of the numerous accounts of suffering for God's glory in his life. I think of his words in Colossians 1, "to this end I labor with his energy which so powerfully works within me". Paul had hard circumstance after hard circumstance in his life, but he knew what he was about. He knew that no matter where he was, what he did, or who he was with, he was supposed to glorify God. He didn't always see what God was doing, but he trusted God. His purpose was to glorify God. He didn't let circumstances get him down, he just did it. Looking at these stories I aspire to just do it too!
These women chose love, even though it required all kinds of difficult personal sacrifice and trust in God as they gave their lives to serve the Vikings in the midst of their grief and loss. What started happening is the Vikings were effected by the power of the gospel in the lives of these women! These women trusted God in their cicumstances, doing everything for God's glory and because of this the gospel spread in the entire Viking world!
This has made such an impact on me because I dream of going and bringing the good news of the gospel blessing of God to unreached people, but if God wanted me to stay, or put me into circumstances like those women, I don't know if I could withstand it. It inspires me so much and so does Paul as I read of the numerous accounts of suffering for God's glory in his life. I think of his words in Colossians 1, "to this end I labor with his energy which so powerfully works within me". Paul had hard circumstance after hard circumstance in his life, but he knew what he was about. He knew that no matter where he was, what he did, or who he was with, he was supposed to glorify God. He didn't always see what God was doing, but he trusted God. His purpose was to glorify God. He didn't let circumstances get him down, he just did it. Looking at these stories I aspire to just do it too!
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