Changing Vistas

Christmas Past and Present

2011-12-22T10:03:00.000-08:00

Part of the Wall in Bethlehem ...Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All Men

Sodangi and his Diploma...great Christmas Celebration

Thank you friends for all that you have taught me.

Zany creativity..the market in St. Albans

Christmas Past...last year, this wonderful group gathered at my house to celebrate the birth of Jesus far from their homes. It was snowing outside and we were cozy inside. All of us remembering family and friends far away.

Nanzip and Christmas joy

Noel dreaming of a new film or maybe his home in Rwanda

Yan Yan and Olivier being creative

And now Christmas Present...with Etienne and Remaliah and their two little twin girls in their Home in Switzerland...the view from the balcony.

On the right, Remaliah and Etienne in Greece in 2008 while we were sailing with the Next Wave from England to Turkey

When I was a little girl, I used to sit by the Christmas tree at night daydreaming about distant lands as I looked at all the ornaments. I would never have imagined being able to visit and to work with so many people from different nations.

Last year I was home in Harpenden with my friends from China, Rwanda and Nigeria and what a party we had. This year Remaliah and Etienne invited me to spend the holidays with them here in Switzerland, one of my favorite places.
They have adorable twin girls who were born prematurely and are now doing so well. Remaliah writes a wonderful blog at: www.lilygeorgie.blogspot.com with delightful stories about the girls.

After travels in Rwanda and Burundi this year as well as life in Texas and England, I have been thinking a lot of the Christmas message of the Angels on the night of Jesus' birth. God chose the lowly shepherds to proclaim the miracle of Jesus' birth and they listened in wonder to the angels proclaiming: "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All Men"

Their world was full of conflict and injustice, and not the quiet world of so many Christmas cards. God's answer to all of this was the Hope of His Son showing us how to live in hope. So in our uncertain world with all the ups and downs of life, tune your ears this Christmas to listen to the voices of the angels proclaiming that God wants to give us His peace and charity to share with all.

I pray that whether your life is rolling smoothly or going through ups and downs that you will feel the love of God giving your heart peace in the midst of this holiday. Then find someone to pass that love on to and bring a bit more hope into our world.

Journey to Burundi

2011-12-04T08:00:00.001-08:00

We came through these mountains from Rwanda into the capital city, Bujumbura which sits on the edge of Lake Tankayika with Congo on the other side

We went to the Christian Policeman's Noon Day Prayer time to deliver a bible study for them.
After the time with the group, the president of the association shared the work that has been done with the police to help them with reconciliation issues from the past conflicts and their commitment to integrity.

Our Host Family's home where we stayed

One of the sessions of our Seminar on Reconciliation and Justice

Ashlee and Antoniette teaching

Discussing issues with one of the lawyers who attended the seminar

Our group who attended the seminar minus a few who had already left.

Talking with Charles who has a Ministry of Reconciliation operating in Burundi. Charles was inspirational and very encouraging to us.

Olivier teaching

Participants discussing issues

Innocent (waving), his sister Clemence, and Olivier with a Pastor from Kigali.
Clemence organized the event for us and tirelessly worked to make our stay a success.

Aline, Ashlee, Clemence, and me
Aline runs a minstry for women and the bottom floor of her home is the minsitry center. She gave us the gift of the lecture room for the conference as well as drove us every day to and from the seminar as well as around the city to see its beauty. Clemence and she are friends and both have such a heart for serving others.

Lake Tanganyika with Burjumbura in the background

Innocent and Antoniette

Olivier with camera and Innocent

Are there Crocodiles in there?

The Fantastic Team
Clemence, Antoniette, Me, Ashlee, Innocent and Olivier

Relaxing at the House with the family

Pastor and his wife Clemence have started a new church in their area
and this is the worship band led by two of their children.

After church, we drove into the largest slum area in Bujumbura to visit another church
which was started to minister to the poor of the area. Our welcome was very warm and every child asked for "bonbons" ..seems most visitors bring sweets. Inside the church was packed with wonderful people from the area and it was a joyful time.

Bicycles and motorcycles are everywhere carrying just about anyone or anything you can imagine. This cargo is on the back of a bicycle!

We took off after church and visited a local zoo and open air museum. There were several crocodiles and scary snakes. He may look asleep but he isn't...when anyone moved, his eyes followed!

This lovely chimpanzee, Tina, loved Innocent tickling her ear....I shook her hand and it was remarkable.

These are the traditional Burundian drums. We were able to see the National Burundian Dance Team perform one evening and they carry these drums on their heads as they enter to begin dancing.

The larger house in this picture is the traditional hut where the daughters in a family lived. There was also a large hut for the parents and a hut for the boys. The small hut was for their family god.

Olivier, Clemence and Anto are waiting with myself at the Christian TV station. I had the honour of having them tape me teaching on reconciliation and justice to be aired sometime this month. Antoinette was the translator and without her I won't have much to say! Olivier filmed the program as well while Clemence gave encouragement.

Saying our goodbyes

Travelling home.....a little like sardines for a 6 hour trip but we all arrived safe and sound and smiling back in Kigali.

Last Spring this group from the School of Reconciliation and Justice (SORJ) sat and dreamed about us going as a team to Burundi as a part of our time in Rwanda. Innocent grew up in Burundi where his family were refugees from the conflicts in his home country of Rwanda. And so it was a privilege to be able to spend 10 days with him and his extended family in this beautiful country. Innocent, his sister, Clemence and a friend of hers, Aline helped organize and invite our participants as well as contacting the radio and TV to be able to teach on air as well as in the seminar.

We came south from Kigali winding through the mountains and six hours later, dropped onto the plain where the capital city is located. From the moment, we crossed the border it was evident that Burundi is a much poorer country. It is in fact one the five poorest countries in the world, but the welcome and the hospitality of the people was just as warm as Rwanda.

We ran a five day Seminar on Reconciliation and Justice and found that each day our participants came eager to learn more in order to help their country heal from the past. As we talked about reconciliation, the issues of justice often took over the question time and we were honoured to have a judge and two men where were lawyers who talked about the way the law is being shaped to help in governing the country well.

Burundi has suffered from a series of serious civil wars between Hutu and Tutsi factions over the last 50 years that has kept the country unstable and struggling to progress. But today there is hope that life is improving, and we heard it from our participants as they shared their hopes and dreams during our time.

The government is stable and trying to curb corruption in order to attract business investment. They are also looking for a way to handle the injustices of their past wars that helps heal and reconcile the country. Unlike Rwanda, there have been cycles of violence where Tutsi killed Hutu and then Hutu killed Tutsi, and today people want to move on as a united people.

Like other conflict areas, I just marvel at the fortitude of people who have come through tremendously difficult times and yet they have not given up wanting to see life improve for the next generation. The hope at the end of each morning of our teaching was that we love a God who wants to teach us how to relate with one another in a ways that respect and build up others and heal the injustices that life brings. To see this truth touching people's lives is a privilege.

The week also showed me how much Antoinette, Ashlee, Innocent and Olivier learned in the SORJ. Each one was able to teach out of their own personal life stories an aspect of peace building and justice and they deeply effected our participants. They are well equipped to help others take new steps along this road of overcoming the past.

It is impossible for me to put into words the range of emotions I have felt at what I have seen and experienced through this time. What will stay with me is the awareness that God loves this nation and its people and that out of the most painful circumstances, God can make a way. My heart has been deeply stirred to feel that this is Burundi's time to move forward, and as God's people pray and work steadily for progress, change will come. The friends we made are not daunted by their circumstances, but are putting their trust in a God whose kingdom they want to help build to bring healing to their nation.

.

Are you ready to help change our World?

2011-11-01T05:08:00.000-07:00

What are you doing in January 2012?

SORJ 2011 and guests

Take a moment and consider the upcoming School of Reconciliation and Justice in Harpenden, UK.

Over the last month, the SORJ team have been working in Rwanda with friends here who want to see Rwanda continue to be rebuilt with strong ties of restoration and justice that helps heal their country.

As the weeks, have unfolded we have explored some of the themes you see below. If you want to learn more about the upcoming SORJ, check this out and then contact us.
My other posts give you glimpses into the Seminar we just held here in Kigali and the 2011 school.

Ouraim is to train individuals or teams to work in many different areas of societythat need God’s work of reconciliation and restoration.

If You want to beinvolved in peace building in an area of conflict;
or if You want to be anadvocate for the voiceless;
or if You want to develop a restorative justiceteam in an inner-city;
or to work in the political arena;
this school will helpyou in developing your plans and your heart to serve God in these areas.

Duringthis three month school, we will be training with international practitioners,researching current issues of conflict or injustice issues, and taking time toseek God’s heart for reconciliation and justice around the world. Then, you havethe option of a 2-3 month internship program.

The 12 week course willcover these and other related subjects:

CharacterDevelopment of the Peacemaker or Advocate

Biblicalfoundations of Reconciliation and Justice Ministries

Principlesof Forgiveness

Originsof Conflict

Issuesof Conflict: Faith, Geopolitics, Nationalism and Tribalism in today’s Conflicts

EffectivePeace building models for transforming communities

ConflictMediation Training

InternationalRelations and the UN

RestorativeJustice Training

AdvocacyTraining

ProgramDevelopment models to help you develop your vision for implementation

Lecture Phase: 17th January - April9th 2011
Course Fees: £1750 – Lecture Phase
Perquisite: Discipleship TrainingSchool or Crossroads Discipleship Training graduate
Credits: Twelve (12)semester-equivalent credits will be earned upon successful completion of theSchool of Reconciliation and Justice (HIS 372). These credits may be applied toa UofN degree program or in some cases, transferred to another college oruniversity.
Contact: registrar@oval.com; www.ywamharpenden.orgor call +44 1582 46 3344 Internship:4 - 12 weeks It is hoped that eachstudent will participate in a school outreach for 6 weeks. This may then beextended into an internship of various lengths.

SORJ FAIRTRADE Chocolate Football Tournament
Facebook: Chocolate: "Threat or Treat"

The Journey from Harpenden to Rwanda

2011-10-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Journey from Harpenden to Rwanda

...."Reconciliation is God's gift to the world. Healing of the world's deep brokenness does not begin with us and our action, but with God and God's gift of new creation." Reconciling All Things, by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice

Our Journey of beginning the School of Reconciliation and Justice in Kigali, Rwanda at YWAM Rwanda

Setting the foundations of reconciliation literally means cleaning the floor to set the stage

Antoniette and Ashlee organizing the classroom

SORJ 2011 wrote personal declarations about what God had done for them and so we have used them to inspired a new group of friends.....next we teach the SORJ song of 2010

Part of the campus...our classroom is on the right side in the back...with an avocado trree outside our window.

The wonderful staff....Michael, Anto, Ashlee, and Olivier...wise and also very fun people !

During this first week, I taught on the Journey of Reconciliation and its focus on restoring broken lives and broken societies. We wrestled with the issues of truth, mercy, love, and justice and asked a lot of "big questions"
Each day the participants shared a bit of their journey with the class.
Claire shared about her life and how God has restored her, and we all stood in awe of what God can do
to rebuilt our lives and restore hope to us.

Olivier and Joshua sharing about life here in Rwanda

The group discussing the issue of justice involved in peace-building

Ashlee in the kitchen learning how to cook on a stove powered by charcoal...it was delicious banana bread and the next day it was a green cake ...good, but funny color.

The offices for the facility which also runs a pre-school and primary schools
...amazing work with the neighbourhood children.

Olivier cooking dinner...the food here is fantastic!

Downtown Kigali....we are on our way to have a delicious Rwandan coffee
at a local coffee shop

These are local taxis if you want a thrilling ride.....not helmets and if you want to ride, you get a helmet too
.actually the traffic is very organized with great buses
and everyone drives in the right lanes..this is a miracle

The view from the city...it is a beautiful place

In 1994, when the genocide began here in Rwanda, I was living in Switzerland and remember vividly watching the news for the reports of what was happening. In less than 100 days, over 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus who sympathized with their Tutsi neighbours were killed by their Hutu neighbours in a government sponsored slaughter. If you want to read more on the Rwanda Genocide...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Genocide

Since those dark days the leader of the Tutsi group that freed the country, President Kigame has led the country into rebuilding a society that is economically growing and on many levels is working at the healing of the nation. Through both the use of the International Criminal Tribune for Rwanda and then the local work of Gacaca trials in the local communities, Rwanda has wrestled with both trials for the organizers of Genocide and then sought to help through the Gacaca trials in the communities to restore offenders to their communities where appropriate.

Over the last three years of running the School of Reconciliation and Justice (SORJ) in Harpenden UK, we have had a group of Rwandan students involved in being trained and in helping to lead the school. Out of their prayers, this time in Rwanda has grown. We are running 4 weeks of the 3 month school here this fall and then hope to run the whole school here next year about this same time.

Next week: The Journey of Forgiveness....we will be walking everyone through a process of forgiveness that helps us deal with life and its ups and downs ...please pray for us.

It is a privilege and a responsibility to be here. I am so grateful for those from this country that have taught me through their lives while we were in Harpenden together. But also I am so grateful for the journey of life from Texas to the Middle East...thank you to each of you because your struggles to live the gospel through the challenges of normal life and through dealing with conflict has deeply affected this pilgrim!

May the grace and peace of Jesus overflow in your life today and may each of seek to serve God with a reverent love for Him, and each of our fellow human beings.

Dancing to think about what We are Learning...the best processing I know of.

2011-07-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

SORJ 2011 in pictures

2011-07-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Memories of the

School of Reconciliation and Justice 2011 Harpenden UK

Browse through a few pictures of life in the school from January to April as we studied and lived together and sought to understand how to bring change to our areas of the world.

In London enjoying an amazing city

Studying hard and enjoying our time celebrating together

Nanzip and the Drum....Music and teaching...stirs our hearts to change.

Excellent Teachers lead each week during the school....and they challenge each one of us to learn new principles and to apply these truths to our lives.

Salim Munayer explaining principles of identity....
He leads the ministry called Musalaha in Israel and Palestine

Welcoming students to the University of Bedfordshire in Luton.

Getting ready to dance and make a joyful sound!

SORJ STAFF: Nanzip, Sodangi, Ineta, Olivier with Scott Tjernagel
Thank you, Scott, for your teaching that inspires us
to learn more about our Father's Kingdom.

more eating together

Michael, Innocent, Godfrey all from Rwanda.....
How does one change a nation? Work with men like these three!

Our brains are aching and our hearts are being stretched to have new vision for the future.

Sodangi leading the group

The name plates show our national flags and our joined hands symbolize that peace comes as we work together.

Encouraging one another

Ineta has so much wisdom to share from her work in Thailand and in Latvia

We were looking at power structures and trying to figure out how to make a difference in changing the dynamics

Nathan, UK, enjoying a time of fun celebrating a birthday

Lovely Ladies ....and world changers
Sarah, UK, Ashlee, USA, Zefanya, Indonesia, Zipporah, Papua New Guinea, Antoniette, Rwanda
and Ineta and Cathy

Sarah thinking and dreaming about God's justice for his hurting world

Zipporah and the Journey of Reconciliation...how can one small book have so much impact in our lives?

Thank you Dr. Jazz for inspiring us when you teach on Conflict and Reconcilation

Take one Desmond Tutu and one young man, Godfrey, and it is a recipe for new vision to develop on how to help his country

All serious study goes better with dancing and none does it better than Innocent

My favority place to be....
in a classroom with interesting students and lots to discuss

You can hear their brains thinking and thinking!
Henry is excited and ready to discuss the subject.
and...Ashlee is thinking, thinking, thinking.

Thank you Matthew for challenging Nanzip,
and each of us with your wisdom and experience

Henry is going to remember these days of learning from you
when he is leading his sports ministry in Nigeria

Part of the process of learning is being able to lead others.....Nanzip and Olivier leading the joint worship time for the schools.

Ashlee and Antoniette ....
What are you planning as you talk about the future?

After 3 Months of lectures and work, it is time for Graduation. Each student designs a reconciliation project for their country or an advocacy project that could help change an issue of injustice.
The faces below show the relief of working hard and encouraging each other to give life their best.

Happy Staff pleased with the projects and the success of their students!

Nathaniel, Ghana, explaining his project. Well Done!

And finishing the school, means it is time to take what has been learned and to fly home! We will miss each one of you who made this year's school very special...thank you for the hard work and how you inspired us.

Saying Goodbye to Olivier who was leaving for Rwanda.....hopefully the SORJ will be following him to Rwanda Fall, 2011

Gather in the Nations and Let's Learn God's Heart for Reconciliation

2011-01-24T13:04:00.000-08:00

When I was a child, I could hardly wait until the first day of a new school year, and I never lost that excitement when I was teaching middle school students, and it was just the same as I approached the opening days of the School of Reconciliation and Justice. We are now into our second week of the three month course, and it is pure joy getting to know this group.

Zipporah arrived first and travelled the furthest...Papua New Guinea. And then there is Zefanya from Indonesia but works in Lebanon, and coming closer to Europe, we have two Brits, Sarah and Nathan, and one lovely American, Ashlee and then three Rwandans, Antoniette, Godfrey, and Innocent, and finally one Nigerian, Henry. Add in five marvelous staff from last year's school and a couple of other Oval staff, Jon and Leah, taking the course part-time makes us a community of around 16 - 18 plus baby Caitlin.

Last week each one shared their life story with the group, and I marveled at how God had shaped each person: Some have lived very normal life experiences, and others have lived through difficult circumstances, but in both cases, this is a group wanting to learn how to live out God's heart for justice and reconciliation in their countries.

Strategy session - Ineta, Sodangi, Simplice, Olivier and Nanzip

On our first day as I welcomed everyone, Jon and Leah's little girl, Caitlin started smiling at me and then came to me asking to be picked up. This was a first, and she was insistent that she was going to open the class with me. As I stood there with this precious child in my arms, I thought about how secure and loved each of us is in the arms of our God. And in this security, we can trust Him to teach us how to overcome evil with good.

Some want to understand more about peacebuilding; some want to enter politics and make changes in their governments, others want to tackle social problems through advocacy. In each case, my prayer is that we will let God strength us with his love for this world and to be able to see beyond the corruption to the beauty that God originally designed for this planet.

Opening dinner at my house

Sodangi teaching us from his life story

Welcome to SORJ and taking notes...lots of thinking going on!

Final tip: Learning how to be the change you want to see in the world has to include music!

2010: What a Year!

2010-12-30T10:13:00.000-08:00

A Year of Blessings and more to come....

As I look back on this year, there is no way to give thanks for all the blessings I have seen. If you have a moment, travel with me through some of my favorite blessings from this year:

Harpenden and The School of Reconciliation and Justice How does one sum up what incredible blessings flow when we learn how to build a community that seeks to work together with a heart for moving out to train others to solve community problems.

For part of the group, we went to Belfast to work in area of the city where YWAM NI has been working in the midst of various other organizations that are helping to make a difference in this war-torn area. There are still walls that separate Protestants and Catholics, but often those walls are in the minds and attitudes of people that live in the inner city. But gradually the Church and agencies are making a difference. The team started a sports club and worked with neighborhood kids. Sports and reconciliation issues go hand in hand. As the youth of that neighborhood gathered together, we learned a lot about the issues that need to be changed in the lives of this youth. In an area where each family is defined as Catholic or Protestant, we found most of these young people had no concepts about who God is.

One draws a crowd with the team is from Rwanda, Nigeria and India...and they have lots to share about how to live together peacefully. More than football was being learned. As we sat together and started talking about life, hopefully hearts were also learning new values that will bring change.

Another blessing of this year: Our Journey of Understanding group that went to Israel/Palestine in July. A mix of Americans, Irish and Brits makes for a lively trip of learning about each other's views on the world at the same time tackling learning about the people of Israel and Palestine. The trip is designed for each participant to meet people who live in the midst of this conflict and to ask more questions about how can we pray and how can we help to see transformation happening. Always challenging to one's own journey of forgiveness and concepts of what this conflict is all about. Lots to learn from the people of the Middle East. If you have time, come with us on one of these trips.

The posts below have also been a part of the blessings as I so enjoyed seeing Yan Yan lead her first School of Intercultural Studies. You can see more on that story in the last post.

The Fall saw me heading home and the blessings of the fall have been the friends and family who have seen me through this crazy career. Living with so many different cultures this year, it was also a blessing to go home to Texas and to soak up a bit of my "Texas" flavor. It was a blessing to see my Father and to have time with him after many years as well as to meet my first "great niece". I could keep going on this blessing list.

So finally I ended 2010 with two wonderful Christmas celebrations. One ranged from a party for Chinese students in Luton to celebrating with my friends here at the Oval and watching Facebook for new pictures and events at home.

celebrate, celebrate, celebrate

So a new year is coming and new friends will join us for the next School of Reconciliation and Justice very soon. As I have worked this year in areas of conflict both here and with my friends from around the world, there have been days when I have seen more of the sorrow of living with the challenges of this life, but there has always been a way forward with God's mercy and grace leading the way. And so I've also experienced so much more joy seeing what our God can accomplish through us. So be encouraged in these days, God is able to teach us how to live with hope.

I wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for you love and concern through the years. I am so grateful for you as well. May your days be filled with new revelations of God's love for you and for this incredible world we have been given. Keep praying!

And to all a peaceful new year

Life at the Oval in Pictures

2010-10-28T05:24:00.001-07:00

Documentary Filmmaking School

Noel and Olivier finished the School of Reconciliation and Justice last January. Coming from Rwanda and living through the genocide, they have stories in their hearts to tell in order to facilitate healing in their nation. Noel is already known in Rwanda for two documentaries he produced, and so he staffed the school under the leadership of Janice Entee from Ghana who started the school here. Media is such a powerful tool in our media driven world, and we hope to see many stories being filmed by the students of this school.

Noel, Nanzip, Olivier filming Fidel knocking at my house

Noel instructing Fidel

Filming in my house....a star for the day!

From London to the Classroom to a "Happy Birthday

Dreaming

too much studying

All for One and One for All

A Quiet Moment

Life here has many rainy days but also lots of days filled with joy as we learn together. There are lots of personal dreams being pursued in these pictures. Each one of these dear friends is looking to God's dreams in their lives to be realized as they study, work and play here far from their homes.

2010-10-28T04:54:00.000-07:00

Learning to Live with Others...in love!

Do you sometimes wonder why don’t those people see the world the same as I do? If you have ever lived or worked cross-culturally, you will probably have lots of funny stories about not quite understanding what was happening in various conversations. I do and often I just didn’t get what was happening and just smiled! Globalization is everywhere and living and understanding one another is a challenge.

For the last few months, I have been staffing the School of Foundations of Inter-cultural Studies , a University of the Nations course designed to train international students to be able to work effectively in multi-ethnic / cross-cultural teams. One of the members of my Reconciliation Walk team, YanYan has a passion for this course and so during this season, she led her first FIS here at the Oval. YanYan is from Hong Kong and brilliant and very funny. With her leading the school, I served as a member of the school staff. The school was small but also because everyone has been working together in other schools this year; we were able to talk about some of the thorny issues that confront us living in international communities and to search for the biblical values that guide us living together as followers of Christ.

What is so beautiful and so challenging is by living and talking together, one realizes that my own “ethnocentrism” needs to give way to listening to others and seeking to understand the way they do things. …not that one way is better, but often it is just different. When Jesus prayed that we would be one, he knew that this world of diversity and living in harmony was going to need “godly love” binding us together. No wonder the world has conflict because truly we don’t all see the world the same. Challenging but good!

If you want to read an excellent book on this subject, I recommend Dr. Duane Elmer’s book, Cross-Cultural Servanthood. Dr. Elmer starts with the premise that every marriage is a cross-cultural adventure so the book is very helpful in teaching good communication skills especially for moving from one culture to another to work. We are living in a very pluralistic world and learning how to engage with others is vital if we are going to be a part of God’s redeeming work. Enjoy the journey!

Looking at Coins

2010-07-29T05:20:00.000-07:00

“Has God’s face ever been on a coin? We are the coin that bears the living image of God. Giving of ourselves with whatever that might include, is the only legal currency of the kingdom of heaven.” --Gordon and Gladis DePree

Over the last two weeks, I 've absorbed a wonderful rest finding my feet for the next half of 2010 which seems to be running at a fast pace. Friends loaned me their home in the country while they went away on retreat themselves. It has been rather a resting/work time that has enriched my soul and quieted my heart because the beauty of God’s creation surrounds me here and that always revives me.

The last time I used this blog was in 2007 aboard the Next Wave on an adventure of a lifetime, and then as these things go, I fell away, but I want to return to it in this season. My birthday this year reminded me that I am getting older(the number is a bit scary), but I hope the fruitfulness of being an image bearer of God is getting clearer year by year as I continue working with training others and learning from all I meet.

This next week, I’m teaching in our Foundations of Inter-Cultural Studies School on Cross-Cultural Servanthood. Walking through the fields, musing over what examples to share, I have been reminded of so many friends at home in the US, here in England or in the nations who have taught me to see life from another’s person’s shoes. It has been a privilege to meet so many unsung friends who in their lives are coin bearers who bear that living image of God. Some of the clearest examples have come from friends who live in the midst of conflict and yet bring hope to the hopeless. What I know more than anything is that I need more of God’s love, mercy, and diligence in my heart daily to be able to live the kingdom of God in a way that honors those around me, wherever I am. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail, but I know ultimately God’s grace does abound when I spend time reminding myself that He is alive and “the heavens declare His glory.”

Crete..This is a place to return and explore its wonders

2007-12-19T08:17:00.000-08:00

Crete…we arrived into this beautiful island full of anticipation. As we had been praying for Crete a few weeks ago, we had felt that this would be a week of abundance and that doors of opportunity were to going to open to us all.

Being close to the end of the lecture phase, abundance often means that the students and staff are praying in their finances for the outreach and we have continued to see our resources multiplying. It is always amazing to watch as we pray together for God’s provision that miracles begin to happen.

In the midst of the old city of Heraklion, there is the ancient Orthodox Church of St. Titus. As one walks into this church, there is a small relic room that contains the head of the apostle Titus. One feels the difference between the casual way that so many of us Westerners approach God to the way that the Orthodox young people came in the church quietly reverent. It is helpful to see how another part of the world is worshipping God in the mist of their traditions and know how much God loves the diversity of styles.

This has been our final teaching week with an outside speaker flying in to join our merry band. Emmanuel came bearing the mail from the Oval and so was warmly welcomed! His subject was on the Character and Nature of God and how we are all being challenged to be wonderful reflections of the Father. On the third day, we stuck on the aspect of Knowing God intimately and how God is always yearning to draw his children closer to Him. The challenge is so often how much space I will give to God to be in charge of my life and ultimately how much of His love do I pass on to my neighbors.

As we prepared to sail for Cesme, Turkey, a winter storm came blowing in, and so we are staying here in this safe harbor until the 20th. Then on to our last port, hopefully on a calm sea.

Sailing into the Greek Islands

2007-12-19T08:03:00.000-08:00

Kalamata lies at the southern end of Greece in the province of Peloponnese…home to the ancient culture of Sparta. Arriving in December, it is a lovely town quietly awaiting the influx of next summer’s tourists. It is our first port of call in an Orthodox community. On the first day off, Lidia and Elias arrived back at the ship carrying a huge, round loaf of bread that they had been given at the local church. They had arrived at the church towards the end of the service as people were being given the bread. So the whole ship feasted on the bread of this ancient church.
On our first day off, Remaliah and Erika were approached by a man on the street asking about their visit to Kalamata. It turned out that he was a reporter and he came to visit the ship and encouraged us to visit the mayor’s office which we did. As the week unfolded, many of the students made friends with local people. It just seemed that doors of friendship opened up as we went about our daily lives. Dan and John Paul went to buy a morning snack at a local grocery store, and this lead to Dan being invited at the end of the week to have dinner with the shop owner and his son.
The teaching this week focused on looking at Gods heart for reconciliation and justice. Working in Belfast and seeing young people trained to work as peacemakers. He challenged us to begin to engage with the gospel at the level of Jesus’ concern for the injustices of our world. We looked at the issues of the church’s lack of response to apartheid in South Africa or the unfortunate tendency that often we back one side of a conflict as if God is for one side and not for the suffering people on both sides. As we discussed these issues, God impressed on all of us how important it is that we understand how to walk out the truth of what Jesus taught. The world has seen the gospel often controlled by our nationalisms and power but perhaps in this generation, we will see more followers of Jesus arising who want to live out the challenges that Jesus presented us to bring his kingdom values to help the oppressed, poor, and needy of this world.
Now on to Crete and the ancient world of the Minoans……..

Malta...the adventure moves on

2007-11-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

Malta....It stirs the imagination to visit this gem of an island. From the St. Paul's shipwreck adventure in the Book of Acts to pirates and knights of the Crusades, this is a place of loads of history. I also found these two young men looking like Greek gods near the entrance to the Old City.

Our teaching subject this week was on relationships. It is interesting to be learning about how to relate to one another with the backdrop of an island full of fortifiications that were built to protect them from their enemies. As individuals, we examined the issues in our personal lives that hinder each of us from being able to form healthy relationships. As we dismantled our strongholds, we examined the injustices that had hurt each of one of us. By the end of this week, we all seem to be carrying a few less heavy stones of unforgiveness and hurt.

On our second day of teaching, a storm had blown in and the ship was moving like a cork in the water...not very helpful if you are trying to listen to teaching. In praying about how to handle the situation, we felt a nudge to ask for a classroom from the port authority. They very graciously gave us the terminal waiting room in which to have our class. It might have echoed but what a blessing to be on solid ground talking about "relationships". A good lesson in seeing how God is watching over us at every point of this journey!

On to Kalamata, Greece...may the seas be calm. Paul might not have minded being shipwrecked on an island but we want to make it to Greece without too many waves!

On to the French Riviera

2007-11-22T08:42:00.000-08:00

As we headed into the French Rivera, our subject of study was the Kingdom of God. What could be more of a backdrop for study then being in the harbor of an ancient port near Nice that is beautiful to the eye. VilleFranche is a lovely harbor near Nice and Monaco.

As our speaker, Scott Tjernagel, turned our minds to understanding the Kingdom of God, we began to talk about the inequality of wealth in our world and how we can be challenged to understand the gospel’s influence on how we use our wealth and power. I thought as I walked around these beautiful places that many who have so much would use their influence to build communities that are caring for those less fortunate around them. Our students will be going from the ship to spend two months working on relief projects. The one group will be going to Guinea Bissau to work on building an orphanage for two months. The other group is going to Bethlehem to work with the poor and so in both cases, the contrast from this wealthy port will be stark.

As the week progressed, the group began to see the need for them to see the teachings of Jesus and the Old Testament as leading them to understand a stewardship of the whole earth. Often we think of our faith as only bringing us personal joy and freedom which it does, but the message of Jesus was revolutionary in its call to bring to earth God’s desire for restoration of the whole earth and every part of society.

For me, it was a wonderful week of having my brother Scott with us as the speaker sharing his passion for building the kingdom of God and for discipling young people. What a privilege to be able to share part of the sea adventure with him and to be able to send him back to New Braunfels, Texas to continue to see our faith community growing in living out the gospel. One of their projects has been for the church to help clean up a local river. New Braunfels is a haven for tourists year round who come to enjoy riding inner tubs through the river and who typically drink a lot while floating. As these cans are thrown into the water, the church has been diving for the cans and trying to clean up a small area in the hopes of awakening the community’s need to take care of creation.

Journey into Forgiveness...Marseilles

2007-11-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

Marseilles…if one has seen the movie The Count of Monte Cristo, then it is impossible to be able to sail into the Marseilles harbor without thinking about the theme of injustice and revenge. In the bay is the famous prison and then one enters the main harbor right in the center of the city which is sheltered behind huge fortress walls, and so we rested there for a couple of nights as we began the week’s teaching.

Our subject for the week was forgiveness. As we engaged in looking at the subject of forgiveness in their own lives and in the lives of communities, the truth of God’s love became clearer to each of us. Our speaker, Padraig Twomey leads a forgiveness project in Belfast that is teaching forgiveness principles in the local schools. Whether the school is Protestant or Catholic there is an awareness of learning principles that could help change the next generation of Northern Irish.

At the end of our harbor was a beautiful Catholic church that I and others attended on Sunday morning. As we walked in, there was such a rich sense of God’s presence. As we left the service, I tried to talk to the priest how deeply I had been touched during the service with the peace of God. As he listened to me, he smiled and replied “go and live the message that you have heard here.” This priest’s face will be for me, the image of a Frenchman from Marseilles that I will remember. Here at the gates of the city was a priest teaching his congregation to live out the life of Jesus through love and forgiveness.

Through the week we also discussed two movies where the two fictional men had reacted to injustice in their lives through using revenge to win the justice their hearts desired. In both movies, the subject was brought up but ignored because forgiving was not the aim of their hearts. Both characters sought vengeance against their enemy and were almost destroyed by their acts of vengeance. When we compared this to the rewards of forgiveness in our lives, we all gave thanks that we have been called to way of living through God’s mercy that brings freedom to our lives and we want to share that good news with others.

On to Nice……..

Ibiza...a spectacular adventure

2007-11-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

Having missed several ports due to lack of time and internet cafes, I don’t want to leave out the adventures that the school has been having as we travelled from Malaga, Spain to Sicily. So sorry to work backwards but the chronicles of our travels wouldn’t be complete without a few of these adventures.

In sailing from Malaga, we sailed for the island of Ibiza. We were dancing on the deck singing a popular song about going to the island. Ibiza is an island of indescribable beauty that captivates the eyes of the visitor. We harbored in En Cana which is a town that caters to family visitors. Our host Roy and Catherine Dixon, Mercy Trucks, welcomed us to the island with a brunch at a local restaurant owned by friends. The local press came out to interview our team, and we were able to tell about our adventures as an international community. The Spanish press also came on board to videotape the school as an example of a multicultural Christian school, and it was broadcasted a few nights later on a popular channel in Spain. It was also a time for Mercy Trucks to be able to explain their relief work.

Roy rented jeeps for the team for the remainder of the day, and we set off to travel around the island which was great fun and ended with us having a feast on the Dixon’s home property in the mountains. As we returned to the ship that evening, the storms clouds that we had seen all day had built into a major storm. As a school, we suddenly found ourselves stranded on the island unable to get out to the ship which was at anchor in the bay. But before we could panic, Roy announced that he thought he knew who would take us in for the night.

Another set of Roy and Catherine’s friends owned holiday homes near the restaurant where we had eaten earlier that day. This Christian family had been praying for us during our stay on Ibiza, and they offered us three apartments where the school was very comfortably housed for the next three days until the sea calmed down.

It was stormy outside but inside we were able to carry on with our teaching with Anne who was our weekly speaker. She took up the challenge of creating a classroom in our living room as well as helping us organize our meals. A real live/learn situation.

We were able to make friends with people around us who had seen us on tv and now knew that our ship had to leave us behind as they sailed to a safer harbor on the other side of the island. For all of us, this was a time of seeing how well God was watching over each of us. Through the goodwill of the Dixon’s friends we were well cared for through this time. For the ship’s crew, they learned how their teamwork saw them through a mighty wind.

The rest of our week was also full of adventure but we all left this time overwhelmed by the graciousness of people who had opened their homes and hearts to us.

Catching Up in Sicily

2007-11-18T05:56:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been so long since my last entry. We have had very few internet connections and a busy school so the mixture has wrecked havoc on my travelogue! So hopefully I can catch up with the journey while we are here in Sicily.

We are in Catonia, Sicily with Mt. Etna in the background. It is gorgeous here although a bit more wintery then we all expected. We are in week 8 of the school lectures and having our teaching on board the ship has been rather exciting and challenging. Thankfully this week we are in a calm port where we have easy access to walking into the city. We had one speaker teaching as the we were moving from one port to the new one with the wind whipping up. Poor Padraig did very well staying in his chair as the ship was rocking!

In a few hours we are off to Church which will be the first cross-cultural church experience for the team. The pastor and a member of his church arrived yesterday at the ship carrying various goodies from a local bakery. Yummy! I don't think any area of the world can probably compare with the delicacies of the Mediterranean countries....it is just all delicious....well most things are great.

Over the weeks, Erica has managed to introduce all of us to delicacies from the region we are in. This week's unusual find was the swordfish...we didn't actually eat the fish...just smelled it. The last fish that Erica brought home is called a devil fish and it was actually despite its looks, rather tasty. It looked like a happy face with loads of teeth!

Well, off to church and more will follow of hurricane force winds and the open doors of welcome in France and Italy!

The Andalusia Adventure

2007-10-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

Are You looking for an incredible vacation spot? A sunny beachfront…..castles in the background…..a short walk to a beautiful town….sunny days Book a ticket for Malaga, gateway to the Andalusia area of Spain. The buildings and culture contain remnants of when the Moors ruled, and Muslims, Jews and Christians lived in peace. It was one of the most productive civilizations in Europe until it slowly declined, and the Moors were driven out of Spain.
One can fly in and then the train or bus is so inexpensive to travel to Granada, Seville. Amazing history, delicious food and warm hearted people.

…What more can one ask for when a school begins to study God’s love for us as a Father. Malaga has been all that I hoped it would be for all of us. After 3 weeks of sailing from Liverpool to this Spanish port, we have now begun our Mediterranean adventure.

There was so much excitement as we sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar. At one point as we sailed close to the Moroccan border, dolphins were leaping everywhere. There were babies that seemed be learning how to jump out of the water but instead of a jump, it seemed to be a side flop. There was an electric feeling in the air as we sailed into the Med with Spain on one side and Morocco on the other. Hard to explain but one wonders about all the sailors through the ages that were celebrating as those pieces of land came into view.

The school has had an amazing week. With the backdrop of the beauty of the city, we were involved in our first full week of classes which was really hectic. I have wondered all week how I was so favored to come on this journey. Early in the week, I was sitting on the keyside with two others praying for one of the students. As we were still listening to God’s promises for this student, my eyes were filled with the glory of this city. Tough job, but someone had to do it.
For one of our evenings, we sat on the beach to discuss the various issues of our community and then just had fun burying one of the students in the sand.

But best of all, I never tire seeing how all of us grew in our understanding of God this week. In a city with many churches, we went out a couple of times to pray for the city. One group met a street person who felt as if his life was over due to a stroke. The group prayed for him and later tried to find him to give him some food.

As we leave tomorrow of Ibiza, I pray that we will all continue to grow more like our Heavenly Father.

Sailing the Spanish-Portugese Coast

2007-09-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

We sailed from Bilboa, Spain with the excitement of knowing we were about to embark on our longest sail of the next 4 months. From Bilboa to Lisbon, Portugal, we were told the sail would take approximately 4 1/2 days. Last night we were sitting at a cafe overlooking our ship in the Lisbon harbor realizing that at 6 knots an hour, we have taken about 3 weeks to travel from Liverpool to Lisbon. If we jumped on EasyJet, we could all be back home in about one hour. The wonder of modern transportation!

But at the moment, I wouldn´t trade an easy plane journey for the lessons that I am learning aboard the Next Wave. Sailing down the Spanish/Portugese coast, we have talked a lot about the conquistadores who sailed to the New World from these shores. How amazingly bold they must have been to set sail across the world in ships that dídn´t have the conveniences of our modern ship. Aboard we have two from South America..one from Argentina and one from Paraguay. Both shared with the group that the conquistadores slaughtered most of the native people of those countries as they stripped the wealth from the region for the glory of their rulers. The Portugese would also bring thousands of Africans to the New World as slaves. Unfortunately their colonies suffered severely from the conquest of those cultures.

They would also have brought Christianity with them but the mixture of state power and religion has not been a blessing to the people who were forced to convert. Throughout this time period of the explorers of the 15th century, the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal enforced a Christianity that would eventually lead to the Jewish community being expelled in 1492. These Jewish communities fled to the Ottoman Empire where they lived safely under Muslim rule.

Thousands of people in Spain and Portugal died as inquisadors investigated the Christian walk of the ordinary and famous alike. None were safe from being sent to prison or to the stake if their observation of the faith was found wanting.

As we have been sailing along the coast, I have found myself praying often for revival in these two countries and for the scars of the past to be healed.

Today Portugal is a poor country in comparison to most of Western Europe but from our two days here, there is such a wonderful warmth in the welcome we have received. It is a treasure of a country to be explored and prayed for.

This evening we leave for our next sail to Malagar which lies just inside the Straits of Gibraltor. ...hometown of Antonio Banderas and Picasso. On the last sail, we had huge dolphins jumping out of the water and flipping onto their sides as we worshipped on deck one afternoon, so we all look forward to seeing what new wonder we will see on this next sail. One can't help, but be impressed with the beauty of God's creation and saddened by man's fallen nature in response to God's goodness. But thank goodness for the goodness of God who has redeemed us through His Son.

Donde esta Biblioteca?

2007-09-19T04:07:00.000-07:00

As a new sailor, I had several stories about travelling through the Bay of Bisque. It is renown for its very uncalm seas and so we all prepared for a bumpy ride. Instead we were blessed with 48 hours of calm seas that were so much fun. The 12 to 4 Watch Team saw dolphins swimming around us in the phosphorus algae which was a wonderful treat that helps one be glad that they were the crew awake at that time of night!

The next morning I was sitting with my mp3 player enjoying some quiet time with God when the word "whale" echoed around me, and I climbed as fast as I could to the deck. I managed to see the back of the whale as he took a couple of dips. The team had seen two whales surfacing and diving as they followed us for a short period.

All of this wonder of nature just provides the most amazing backdrop for a group of young people, school staff and the ship´s crew to learn how to live out the teachings of Jesus. Our shool theme is ¨None shall live for himself¨and living on a ship with around 31 other people, there is
plenty of opportunities to see how much grace and mercy we need from God to live our life of faith. Over this sail time, the staff set up deck chairs and we started praying with each student. We asked God for him to show us how He designed each one. As we listened together, we heard amazing descriptions of each one.

At the end of the sail, we arrived in a small village called Castro Urdiales outside of Bilboa on the Northern end of Spain. It is so gorgeous and a fun place for us to spend one day ashore. It has beautiful hills around the village and a cathredral overlooking the harbor. Unfortuntely, I can´t upload photos here the library´s intranet center but I will do that later.

Interestingly, the village is 2000 years old and was started by the Romans. Today is part of the Basque region of Spain...one could spend several weeks here roaming the mountains. But instead, we will head off for Lisbon, Portugal tomorrow evening. The next sail is 4 1-2 days and we hope it is as calm as the last one.

After this short time at sea, I want to let you know that any movie you have seen about sailors and pirates that shows them walking straight on ships is fiction for sure! We are all walking like Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. That funny swerving walk he did in the movies is the real sailor at sea bouncing with the waves!

Our First Port

2007-09-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

After around 85 hours of sailing, we have arrived in L'Orient, France. As we left Liverpool, with friends from the Oval and from Liverpool waving good-bye, it was hard not to think of all the sailing vessels that used to leave the harbor sailing for unknown lands. We just had to give up communications for a few days but when one is connected all the time to the world, those days felt like we had transitioned into another world.

Our first day was supposed to be fairly calm but we had a "baptism by fire" as the sea decided to be a mixture of waves going in all directions. So we had a very bonding experience of all looking green together and discovering how to throwing up over the bow with grace! But after 12 hours, the sea calmed down and the rest of the sail was incredible. On day two, we had dolphins swimming alongside of us all day and night. I will never forget looking out across the water and about 12 dolphins were jumping out of the water as if they were running to catch up with us. Once next to ship, they would dive in and out of the front of the boat. I love Seaworld but this was beyond that experience.

The school was divided into 4 hour watches with the crew and so around the clock each team trimmed sails, kept watch and just generally spent time getting to know each other. I stayed on a day watch and got up each morning at 6 to join the 4 to 8 crew. Who wouldn't jump out of bed to be able to sing and prayer together as the sun comes up over the water! It isn't hard to praise God in the midst of such beauty.

We leave tomorrow to sail to Bilboa, Spain where we will be for a short stop and then on to Lisbon, Portugal. My hope each day is that we will grow in our understanding of God's work in our lives and to experience the richness of his love that we want to share with those we meet on our travels.

I will post pictures later....but I better run to catch my boat!

So long landlubbers...I'm going to sea

2007-09-07T06:51:00.000-07:00

I've been living on the Next Wave now for 7 days and what an adventure it has been. I have bruises on my head, legs and arms from just adjusting to small places. All of the dts staff except for Dan have never lived on a ship before so we have been busy learning about boat life as we prepare to receive the dts students tomorrow.

Part of our training has been to learn to tie a few knots (memories of my girl scout days) and then climbing up on the boom as well as helping pull up the sail. I also climbed almost to the top of the mast but decided to save going all the way to the top for another day! We have just had lots of fun laughing and being stretched by the new experiences.

But against that backdrop, the crew and our school staff have been preparing ourselves to train 11 young people. The slogan for the school is: "None shall live for Himself" with us focusing on teaching from Romans 12 and Colossians 3. Living in such tight quarters for four months will give each of us loads how to live out the gospel from the inside out!

The students arrive Saturday, and we then will commission the ship on Sunday. We are going to give the students one day of getting acquainted before we leave on Monday. At this point, we will be sailors for the next 85 hours of sailing to the coast of France. Keep us in your prayers as we are hoping for outstanding weather. Details to follow!

Starting this Journey

2007-08-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

I'm 12 days away from leaving for Liverpool and boarding the Next Wave sailing vessel with my DTS crew of 6. My emotions as I think about our life aboard our vessel for the next 4 months range from total excitement/eager anticipation to at times thinking I've taken on a bit of a huge challenge!

As this year has unfolded, I felt that it was time to lead a DTS again and return to Turkey via water. Over these weeks, we will stop in France, Spain, Portugal and then enter the Mediterannean. Each week we will be stopping at a new port where our speaker will be flying in to join us for the week of teaching.

I'm hoping that starting this blog will help me keep in much better touch with each of you that follows my journeys.