Home Sweet Home

 Jon Foreman singing "Southbound Train"

"I'm headed home

But I'm not so sure

That home is a place

You can still get to by train"

 My first week back in San Francisco was blessed, overwhelming, peace-filled, refreshing, exhausting, joy-filled, nostalgic.. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

I got to visit the YWAM San Francisco base yesterday with Heather, one my friends from my DTS, rarara! It's smaller than the base in Herrnhut, but very cool and social justice focused. I worshiped with them in the morning and then joined for the Monday "nail day." I painted nails for women in the Tenderloin- it was a sweet way to get to really invest in the women and hear their stories, too. 

Visiting YWAM SF with Heather

Magazine Dropping at Phil's Coffee downtown, yah!

ATOM Magazine

 Check out the link below to magazine our DTS (Discipleship Training School) made! It's a compilation some of the artwork and stories from the last six months. Everything inside was created and designed by members of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Herrnhut. Take a look, share with friends and family, and most of all, get involved. See how good God is!

click here: January ATOM Magazine

Birthday Blessings

Birthday Dinner

Indian curry with brownies and ice cream for dessert. Did the flight attendants know it was my birthday??!

God is personal.

The year of travel has come full circle- it began with curry on the ride to India, and it ends the same. It felt celebratory with the birthday brownies and ice cream, too.

Truly, it was a grace-filled journey home.. After arriving safely in San Francisco, I proceeded to customs, where I met a woman from Addis (yeah!) and we got to discuss all things Ethiopian. Not only that, but I have been searching for an Amharic-speaker since I got back from Ethiopia because I was given a letter in Amharic from one of the kids in Jaja. I've been praying that I could get the letter translated, and I especially prayed yesterday that I could get it translated before I got home. Literally the last person I talked to before reuniting with my family was the woman at customs. And she was Ethiopian. She translated the letter!!! yeah! She also invited me to eat injira with her sometime. hoorahhoorah! God is faithful. After befriending the woman at customs, my family welcomed me by singing happy birthday and holding a big welcome back sign. It was the best welcome home.

Faith Weekend 2012

Me, David, Rachel

Often, we spend our lives working for extra things to create the comfort of a safety net. We want freedom from worrying about money. We work unsatisfying jobs in order to have savings accounts, spare cars, extra clothes, overflowing refrigerators... And yet the paradox is that what is meant to make us more free actually locks us in further. Jobs take time away from family and friends, low savings accounts cause us stress, cars break down, insurance needs to be paid, we can't decide what to wear or what to eat for lunch- or we eat too much. It turns into MY car, MY home, MY food, and so on, separating us from the need for anyone to help us and our ability to really help anyone. In the process, we eliminate our need for God. 

True freedom, it seems, comes through having less. 

Last weekend, Fina, David, Rachel, and I embarked on a journey that tested this theory. Does true freedom come through having less?

Packing List:

Two euros.
Two Bibles.

One guitar. 

One camera. 

One journal.

Four friends.

Cardboard and pen

  (for hitchhiking purposes).

No food.

No shelter.

Plan:

Pray.

Destination:

Unknown.

Purpose:

To be entirely dependent on God.

  

 Timeline (as it unfolded):

9:30 am. Departure. Walk for 30 minutes, then hitch a ride to Lobau!

10:00. Play worship music on corner in Lobau.

10:45. Ride #2- to Dresden!

11:30. Arrive on outskirts of Dresden. Along the walk into the main city, we found blackberry bushes and apple trees. Food! Some picnic-ers also gave us leftover donuts. hoozah!

Picking blackberries on the way to Dresden.

Feast

 1:00pm. We have arrived in Dresden- and so has the rain. It's chilly and wet out, so we eventually take shelter in a tunnel where I play music for the passing pedestrians and make 5 euros! We decided we should use the money to bless someone in town, so we bought hot chocolate for a woman on the street.

3:00pm. Mid-day was the most challenging- cold, wet, tired, and hungry, we took some prayer and worship time... and then decided to try hitching a ride to a nearby (ish) town called Boutzen.

Hitch Hiking.

5:00pm. Walked through the streets of Dresden. 

7:00pm. We got a ride part way to Boutzen- we were dropped off at a rest stop on the side of the autobahn and after hearing what we were doing, the guy who drove us decided to give us 30 euros. We were shocked and overjoyed.

30 euros and prayer cards!

 9:00pm. Still no ride to Bautzen, so we called it a night and decided to set up camp in a bathroom at the rest stop. It was a tight squeeze with all four of us in a 5 feet by five feet room..

A true rest room.

6:00am. Wake up. We held our own church service at the rest stop- prayer, music, and Bible reading.

7:00. We decided to forgo stopping in Bautzen when someone offered us a ride all the way back to Lobau, where we used some of the 30 euros to buy a decent meal at the only open cafe in town.

Croissants, latte, fruit.

Fina, me, Rachel, David.

 10:10. Used more of the 30 euros for a bus ride back to Herrnhut.

11:00. Back at the castle! Weekend success.

Closing Thoughts
 

Full dependence on God seems only possible when there is room for God to provide for us. With so little provided already, the weekend brought more than the occasional conversation with God. And when we were provided food and transportation, we praised God for it and couldn't help but ask, "How can we share this with someone else?"

The weekend was challenging, though, for sure- we were hungry, cold, tired, and wet at points. Sleeping in a public restroom on the side of the autobahn was interesting, too. On the other hand, we actually felt blessed to have somewhere safe (a locked door) and warm(er) to stay for the night.

Another thought that struck me was this: it was a struggle for us to go without food, transportation, and shelter at our fingertips for a mere two days, but the women I worked with in Jaja for the last two months live every day that way. What does this imply about us? Or perhaps them? Are we so apathetic as to let our days pass mindlessly while we turn a blind eye to the daily struggle of so many people?

As for whether or not having less allows more freedom, my answer is yes. When you have nothing, there's nothing to lose. Life becomes eager anticipation of the future, while simultaneously, you cannot take your focus off the present.

Here's to The Crazy Ones

Here's to the Crazy Ones

Taken from an Apple ad.

Here’s to the crazy ones.

The misfits.

The rebels.

The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.

They’re not fond of rules.

And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as the crazy ones,

We see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think

they can change the world,

Are the ones who do.

Radical

It's half past nine and an orange haze soaks the sky above the fields. The change in scenery in the last twelve hours is notable: taken from the showering acid rain and multitudes of noisy taxis in Addis, Germany's quaint villages and rolling hills have welcomes me. I'm grateful to be back in clean air, though I admit that the silent solitude, cleanliness, and political correct-ness feels almost stuffy in comparison to the hustle and bustle of Addis. Though as I ride the train back to Herrnhut, more pressing are thoughts of how my life will change after three months in Ethiopia...

My mind races alongside the stone-steepled churches and farm-fields that speed by the window. What does it mean to radically obey Jesus' commands to love and serve? After spending these last months with the Jaja families, my life cannot go back to normal. I won't let it. But what does it mean to put aside lukewarm notions of following Jesus in order to radically obey what he commands? How do I really leave everything behind and choose to follow him? How do I love radically?

When Jesus sends out the twelve disciples, he tells them to take "no bag for the journey, or no extra tunic, or staff; for the worker is worth his keep" (Matt 10:9-10). Would if I arrived at college with nothing but the clothes on my back? Do I trust that G-d will provide if I "seek first his kingdom"? (Matt 6:33)

"Give! Give the love we have all received to those around you. Give until it hurts, because real love hurts. That is why you must love until it hurts." -Mother Theresa

Betam Betam Amaseganalo

We stood on either side of the freshly painted teal gate- twenty or so kids on the outside, many in tears, others simply standing silently; Raquel, Fina, and I on the inside, crying as we realized that saying goodbye might mean forever. We had just hugged and kissed the kids goodbye and, finally, had to shut the gate. But it was harder than we might have imagined. It had been a quieter walk than usual back to the compound, and it hurt thinking of leaving the kids.

The past two days, we spent some time winding down outside of Addis at a place called Lake Longano. The lake itself was stunning- it felt almost dream-like standing waist deep in the water looking out at the mountains beyond. The looming storm clouds seemed to blanket the lake, pelicans floated on in front of me, and in the distance, a hippo hid beneath the water. Swimming and having time to relax brought time to reflect on the past three months...


I don't think I can ever fully express my gratitude for the families in Jaja. Through them, G-d has shown me more of His love than I could have imagined.. And the last days here have been unreal. I've felt perhaps more at peace than ever. More reflections to come, but please keep us in your prayers as we travel back to Germany tomorrow. Cool Runnings.

The Invitation

by Oriah Mountaindreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

by
Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Christ Has No Body but Yours

Micheas bent over and poured water over my feet, attempting to wipe off the mud.
"No, no, no problem!" I said, but the boys insisted.

A few minutes earlier, I'd accidentally stuck my foot ankle-deep in a huge pile of mud while attempting to put in Tippy Tap number two. As the boys washed my shoes until they were sparkling and wiped the dirt off my feet, I couldn't help but think of Jesus washing the disciples feet.

Truly, spending time with the families in Jaja has transformed my trip. They've shown me the most selfless love: they've welcomed me into their homes and offered bread and coffee; they've told me their stories.. they have little, but what they have, they share.

It's hard to believe that in three days I'll be leaving Addis for the last few days of team debrief. It seems that through these women, G-d has been showing me His own love. Last night I remembered St. Teresa of Avila's poem:

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

As I was praying, it came to mind that "Christ has no body but THEIRS." Jaja has shown me a bit of G-d's love.

Tippy Tap!

Fina and I at the Tippy Tap! check out www.tippytap.org

A month or so ago, I was trying to think of ways to help teach hygiene to the Jaja women and stumbled upon the idea of putting a "Tippy Tap" in the village. Essentially, it's a hand-washing device used in places where access to soap and water is limited. Last week, we successfully put in Tippy Tap number one (hoorah, hoorah!).

We've been focusing a lot on emphasizing the importance of hand washing with soap (something so simple, yet so effective in preventing disease.. check out www.tippytap.org). The kids now wash their hands before the feeding every day and also can use soap and water in the village.

Come Alive

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

-Howard Thurman 

Women at Risk

At Women at Risk

Tears ran down Nalashet's face as she explained how Woman At Risk has changed her life. She used to live night after night in prostitution... until she came to Women At Risk. Now, she's out of prostitution, and she explained, her relationship with G-d is everything to her. 

It was our last day volunteering at Women at Risk and it was also the women's last day in the first part of the program. After three months of morning devotionals, introductions to a variety of skills and crafts, discussion, counseling, and classes, they will now move into focusing either cooking or weaving. 

That last day was the most profound of all for me- the women debriefed about the last few months and said how Women at Risk has changed their lives. "Before," one woman explained, "I worked all night and slept all day. I didn't know anyone. Now I know G-d." It was then, after a month of spending time with these women, that I deeply considered where they've come from and how profound of an impact Women at Risk has had on them. The whole program is incredible. It gives women a chance to leave prostitution, gain education and skill training, and receive job offerings at the end of six months. It's shown me what it looks like to effectively "help people to help themselves."

More importantly, though, I loved simply getting to invest time in the women- painting nails, making necklaces, singing, talking with them about G-d... Some are nearly the same age as me and they come from such difficult backgrounds... still, they have such joy. They have this joy that is so simple- it's a joy that's been fought for. They are quick to laugh, quick to smile, and it isn't taken for granted. It reminds me of the stanza in Oriah Mountaindreamer's line in the poem, "The Invitation," that says this:

I want to know

if you can be with joy

mine or your own

if you can dance with wildness

and let the ecstasy fill you 

to the tips of your fingers and toes

without cautioning us

to be careful

to be realistic

to remember the limitations

of being human.

Photos!

At women at Risk

Taking portraits in the Jaja

With Loubaba

Injira making!

Picking up garbage with the kids in the Jaja village

Egzabier Mesken

Egzabier mesken!! That's "Praise G-d," a common greeting in Amharic. I'm still working at Women at Risk and spending lots of time in the village. (most of the photos: by Raquel Sandoval)

View of Addis Ababa

Kids at the daily injira feeding!

At the wedding (see last post)

Wedding again!

More wedding photos

At Meetu's house

Becoming Ethiopian! Learning how to do the coffee ceremony

Small Things with Great Love

"We can do no great things; only small things with great love."

St. Therese of Lisieux

The bride looked elegant in her white gown and pink decorations colored the walls. Around me people swayed and danced to the blaring music. In some ways, the ceremony itself was not so different from weddings back in the states- vows, kind words about the couple, songs.. but what struck me was the focus. 75% of the service was praying and worshiping. The focus was not really on the couple, but on G-d. And worship in Ethiopia is not just singing, but dancing and shouting and really finding joy in standing in G-d's presence. It was the ceremony and the party all in one. So I danced, sang, prayed, laughed... in awe of finding myself at an Ethiopian wedding.

The bride was a staff member at Women at Risk, the organization I've been working with the past few weeks. Simply the fact that I was at the wedding shows just how welcoming and generous the community there is. And truly, being here in Ethiopia has been about getting to know people and investing in community.

Aside from working at Women At Risk, I've been spending time in a local village where a lot of the women are single moms affected by HIV. They have barely enough food and almost no money, and yet I've found myself in many of their one room homes partaking in coffee ceremonies. They have almost nothing, but what they have, they are quick to give. Thus, the past couple weeks have been filled with drinking coffee and hearing stories. Though so many of the stories are heartbreaking. Through tears, they've talked about living on the streets, prostitution, constant hunger... And again, I find myself asking, what can I personally do? Long term, I'm not sure. But right now, I will continue to spend time with them and show them love in whatever small ways I can- drinking coffee with the women, picking up garbage with them in the village, playing soccer with the kids... doing "small things with great love."

Last week, Kate gave a talk on our identity in G-d. She said that in the Genesis story, after Adam and Eve eat the fruit and find themselves naked, G-d asks Adam, "Who told you that you were naked?" (Because it wasn't G-d.) G-d has given them all they need and a perfect home, but suddenly they find themselves hiding. Kate shared this with some of the women in the village. These women are powerful, they are beautiful, and they were made in the image of G-d. But there is such desperation that it's hard to see any of that. The world has made them believe that they are hopeless. But where does the loss of hope begin? Who says that someone is unworthy or worthless? Kate asked, "Who told you that you were naked?" 

Hope

Spending time with Meetu

How do I help people help themselves? How can I actually be effective rather than deepening a mindset of dependency? How do I give people HOPE?

Hope Enterprise, the Koshe Project, All 4 Christ, Women at Risk... the list of organizations seems endless. The many service opportunities here are keeping me busy, and between serving enjira (the local food) at Hope Enterprise and playing games with the girls at the Koshe Project, spare time is spent with friends: drinking cups of sweet coffee with Meetu, playing soccer with Hermela, discussing politics with Adonai... It's a blessing getting to spend time really investing in relationships and getting to work with some of the volunteer organizations...

But the more I hear stories of locals, the more I question what seems to be a mindset of dependency. It seems like there are a million and six organizations helping people to get food, to get education... but how can we stop the problems at the root? The issues are so complex that it's dizzying trying to consider what might be a solution.

Yet there is hope. Organizations like one I visited yesterday, called Women at Risk, helps empower women to help themselves. It gives former prostitutes education a means of providing for themselves through learning how to weave. For the next month, I'll be spending some time working with Women at Risk and attempting to learn more about the issues particularly surrounding women's rights. Because the question gnaws at me: How do I give hope?

Common Ground

Dieting tips, calorie counts, and health advice become white noise as Rumana dumps spoonfulls of sugar into the coffee cups... The irony of Western television in the midst of the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Rumana tells us about her family, about her religion, and about local politics. Most of her friends, she explains, are back home in Eritrea. She pulls her headscarf over her forehead and fans the coffee pot as she speaks. "Studied Psychology," she says. We find common ground and laugh as we mention Piaget and Freud. She says she's read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This 21-year old friend I've made is so relatable, so intelligent, and yet the hope of finding of job seems dire for her at the moment. She's done with school and hopes to get her masters degree, but needs to save up money to do so. In the mean time, it's a waiting game.

The story seems so common- what is the solution for the women who so often seem to be stuck in this waiting game? No work, little money.. what to do?

View of Addis Ababa

Making friends

Three Cups of Coffee

As we stand up, the elderly woman's brow furls and she motions towards the clay pot. A man sitting across from me translates- "Ethiopian ceremony-more coffee.." He holds up three fingers. I glance at the empty cup in front of me- "I'm sorry.." Amanda, Glen, and I shake the hands of the men sitting across from us, attempting to compensate for our rudeness. "So sorry- late. Need to go.." I pull my guitar onto my back and step onto the street, grateful that the rain has paused. We hurry around the puddles, hoping that the team won't mind our tardiness to the usual 8pm meeting. After all, 40 minutes is not so late here..

Still, I consider the events of the last 2 hours: Being invited into the grinning girl's home, noticing shot glasses beneath the Jesus posters that covered the metal, realizing that the home was also a local bar... The sound of the monsoon pouring down.. Pulling out my guitar and beginning to play worship songs.. Did they realize worship had begun during their usual night cap? Watching the roasting and grinding of the beans... the adding of sugar, stirring, waving the smoke, clipping herbs.. and finally sipping coffee.

Addis Week One

Salamno!!

That's hello in Amharic, one of the 80 official languages in Ethiopia. We arrived safely here around 6am on Saturday morning and, now, with nearly four days under my belt, have had a sweet introduction to the area. It was a sleepy Easter Sunday, though one of the most awake and lively Chruch services I've ever been to- dancing, loud music, excitement! Monday, we got a feel for the bus and taxi system here and explored the city.. Tuesday I worked with the Koshe project- a program to assist girls who previously worked in a garbage dump here in Addis.. And today we worked at the "Hope" food dispensary, and got to hang out with so many kids. I love it thus far. Another bonus: so much good fruit!! Mangoes, bananas, avocados.. And coffee!!! yeah!

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue the journey here in Ethiopia!

Much love

You Know the Drill

I flip up the tray table and shove my worn leather purse under the seat in front of me before the words ring throughout the A3-30: "As a reminder, please fasten your seatbelts and stow all carry-ons to prepare for takeoff." The flight attendant speaks again, and as per her suggestion, I "sit back and relax" but as I begin to enjoy the sweet solitude of my thoughts, this need to reminisce settles in me... It's all so familiar- I slipped off my shoes at Security, killed time scanning magazings at an airport shop, watched my luggage as I sat in the boxy Gate seats, stood in line to board the plane...

Upon arrival in the plane, I find my seat and oh! Luck! The flight attendants left goodies! As I unwrap my blue blanket (taking care not to get shocked by the static as I toss it over my jeans), anticipation rises... Who'll it be today? Five minutes pass... could it be?? A free seat next to me?! I pray that no straggler will come runnings on, searching for seat 32B. At last, the "click" shut of the aircraft quells my fears and an accented voice overhead waelcomes me. Yes, the greatest of my fears has passed- not even the turbulent take-off can flip my stomach anymore. It's actually comforting to hear the familiar voice overhead, "This is your captain speaking..." Hoorah hoorah! My Captain!! It's good to hear  from you old friend! Indeed, "My captain speaking" has taken me all over the globe in the last 7 months... From the smell of sweat seeping into an India-bound plane in September, to a 3am offer of salty porridge en-route to Hong Kong, to a sleep-filled winter flight to Germany, I never could have imagined that I'd be starting at the "Ethiopian Air" logo on the seatback screen in front of me.

But here I am.

And why is it that I find myself flying to yet another continent? I have but one thing on my mind: I want to know the love of G-d more deeply. It seems that along-side all the familiarity of flying, there's something different in me this time: a renewed conviction that "the kingdom of G-d is within me." I flew to India with hopes to gain spiritual knowledge, and I left for Germany wanting to know G-d more. This year has taken me across the globe, yet one thing is clearer than ever: Truth is within me. The last couple of weeks, the speakers in Herrnhut talked about knowing the power within me and knowing that G-d is individual, and wants a real, personal relationship. Indeed, focusing on constant prayer this past week has reminded me of the peace that comes through Jesus. The G-d of the Universe wants a relationship with me! Thinking back to December, I remember a conversation that challenged me more than ever before...

"Jesus didn't come  to say, 'worship me,'" Thor stated, he came to say, 'seek after this enlightened state that I've found.' It's not about an external G-d. No, it's all in you." Something in the way this dred-clad man in India said it made me question everything- who is Jesus? Is G-d personal? Is there a G-d? For the first time in my life, I let these questions sink deeply and penetrate not just my mind, but my spirit. And I was left, broken. What came out of it though, was priceless. I had the conviction that no one can tell me what truth is but ME. I realized that the answers I was seeking weren't going to come from a conversation with a guru in India, or even from talking to Christian friends back home. No, I wanted an understanding of G-d that is beyond the knowledge that circular theological conversations could bestow.

And this is precisely it. As people, we constantly seek knowledge without understanding. It's simply in our nature. Take the story of Adam and Eve: The serpant offers them knowledge, saying, "'G-d knows that when you eat of [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil...' When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was... desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it." And when she took the fruit, indeed, she could see like G-d. She had knowledge like G-d, but lacked the understanding of the knowledge implied. Fast forward to Jesus' time, and as Matthew 13 explains, Jesus talked to many different people about the kingdom of G-d. He bestowed knowledge on so many. But one verse is more confusing. Jesus says to the disciples, "'The knowledge of th secrets of the kindgdom has been given to you, but not to them....'" The passage goes on to say, "Through seeing they do not see, through hearing they do not hear or understand." It seems odd ... but who did Jesus say has the true knowledge? His disciples. The ones who had a relationship with him. So what does this mean? It means that it's not just about an intellectual knowledge of G-d, but a relationship with G-d. As O'Malley put it (paraphrased), so often we try to know about G-d, when we really want to know G-d. This is the conclusion I came to in India: no one telling about G-d can satisfy my need to know G-d. Ultamitely, this seems to be the central point of life: know G-d. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they wanted to know about G-d. But in reality, they were already standing in the Garden of Eden, where they could have known G-d by looking around (this last point is paraphrased from Bill Haardt's!! book, The Virgin Point- check it out)! Signs of G-d's protection and love were all around them. It seems that Jesus is saying this same message: "the kingdom of G-d is within you" (Luke 17:21). What we need is a relationship with G-d! Then we can gain a "peace of G-d that transcends all understanding" (Phil 4:7). Yes, I will still have questions about my faith and about G-d. But as I seek both knowledge AND relationship with G-d, there will be a peace that transcends my mental capacity to know about G-d. The peace at our core that Ignatian theology would describe as consolation- from G-d.

I can keep traveling. I can go to every nation and ask theological questions and hope that someone will give me peace in what I don't understand. But the reality is that every time I get on a plane, someone is going to come over the PA with these words, "This is your captain speaking." Because (apologies in advance for the somewhat cheesy metaphor..) it's in the journey that G-d is with us, wanting us to know Him(/Her) more and drawing me closer. Sure, knowledge might come in the destination, but it's about a constant journey with G-d that will bring the peace that transcends our hearts and minds. May peace be the journey! "This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ" (Sir Francis Drake). Cool runnings!!!

Ethiopia Bound!

Hello! In a mere 10 minutes, I'll be heading for the airport to fly to Ethiopia!! 15 students, 3 staff, 3 months, and so much to be excited for. We're planning to work with Pick a Pocket's Koshe Project, which works with prostitutes and teenagers living at a garbage dump in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. There's a possibility that we'll be going to Uganda and Sudan as well, but more info to come later. Please keep us in your prayers and let the journey be peace-filled!! Much love.

The Christian Life

Dan Baumann, this week's speaker, said that he would rather die while "leaning into the character of G-d" than live without pursuing G-d. Dan said, "The Christian life is not about getting it 100% right. It's about getting to know more of who Jesus is." He talked about feeling lead to go to the Middle East shortly after the Cold War, he talked about being imprisoned in Iran, and he told us numerous times when G-d has lead him to do things that seemed crazy. All the while, he had moments where he thought, "maybe it's not really G-d nudging me to do this after all..." But, he explained, if we never take the chance that it might actually be G-d and jump into the unknown, we will never be able to grow in knowledge of G-d's character. We aren't going to have 100% certainty that what we hear is from G-d, but still, we can trust that even if we choose something that isn't from G-d, G-d will meet us there anyway. Most importantly, we should "lean into G-d" and live out of a relationship with G-d.

From The Shack:

Mack: "Does that mean... that all roads lead to you?"
Jesus: "Not at all... What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you."

Rejoice!

On the Charles Bridge

 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to G-d. And the peace of G-d, which transcends all understanding, will gaurd your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:4-7)

Indeed, it was a joy-filled weekend in Prague! I watched the Hunger Games (ayyyay!), met new friends (what hospitality!), walked the picturesque streets, ate fresh sweet bread, stood in awe of the astounding architecture, and loved reuniting with Anya for 24 hours! Here are some photos:

The Lennon Wall

Reunion at the Prague Airport!

A casual report from Prague.

Here with Anya, czeching in (shout out to the Richkind clan back in San Fran). After a teary reunion at the Praha airport, we made our way to old town and attempted to catch up on the last year... we didn't make it through all the stories.. but we did exchange a few tales.. and some music, too. So, check out these artists!
                                                        

                                                                                              First Aid Kit:

 

Treg and Karissa from the September MOTA (Marriage of the Arts):

Photos from Ukraine

Photos taken by Chloe:

Playing with the kids from the after school program

Team Ukray-kray! (minus Louise and Ryan)

Playing a song for a local Church in Ukraine

Playing with the kids

Towing the van

Snowball fight!!