This post will be a little bit shorter as I've found that I haven't blogged that much because sometimes I find that I try to make each post a brief master's thesis. And I definitely want to blog more. That being said, let's get crackin'.
The Fiesta Patria holiday was a week long endurance race of festivities. It definitely was awesome. When you combine food, lots of people, dancing, music, and good weather for 10 days, you can't really go wrong. Time with the chilean family was very special, as I was able to meet many extended family members. However, entering into the conversation when 10 or 15 close family members are talking rapidly in Spanish can prove to be quite difficult. Nevertheless, the vacation was certainly a highlight of the semester so far.
Getting more to the theme of this post, I guess that there's a lot I need to clarify before I really begin to unveil what I've been learning recently. Ok. So, before coming to Chile about 85% of the people whom I talked to about my trip would always mention to be at some point and in some way or another that "That trip is going to change your life!" And I definitely shared in this hope and aspiration. However, now, I've realized how much unfair pressure I put on myself because of those expectations. Basically, when I thought about Chile and how it would "change my life," I expected SO much. Therefore, while being here the past 2 and a half months, I've constantly thought, "Man, I really need to put forth this effort or do that thing or go on that trip in order for my life to change." Also, I've even felt other things in regards to my future. For example, I've thought, "I need to figure out what I'm going to do for the rest of my life while I'm here." Or, perhaps, "Man, I better become fluent in Spanish by the time I leave if I want to be successful in life." All these thoughts and MORE! So, needless to say, but that's a lot of stuff to have to deal with amidst being immersed in a completely different culture away from almost everything that I know that is familiar.
So, what have I learned recently these past 2 weeks? Well, this might sound lazy, but, "Stop!" Let me explain that a bit more, because this thought most certainly reaches to a spiritual level for my life. This example may help: Have you ever been so tired and busy that you realized you need to set aside some time in your schedule for rest? Then, when you think about having to rest it stresses you out because you know that rest period can possibly put you even more behind. Thus, the time of rest comes and you can't even rest at all. You actually leave the situation more uneasy and even more stressed out. For me, that's how I've approached my time with God lately (time with God being anything such as praying, reading the Bible, listening to/singing worship songs, etc.). This attempt to meet with God and find rest has actually looked more like me having this make it or break it moment with Him. In those times I've been looking for immediate satisfaction, answers, solutions, and life changes. Needless to say, I've begun to put this high pressure on any meeting with God. Not necessarily great times resulted with this method. Why? Well, when one approaches God and says, "Here's my life, here's everything I want answered, here's all the things I want to do and need to get done. Please sort all of these things for me, and the deadline is the end of this trip in Chile." Man, who am I to even assume that I know what I need? Who am I to be so worried about the results of this trip, to where I can't even enjoy the trip itself? Who am I to believe that I can bring true changes in my life my meticulously and constantly thinking, "I need to experience life change."? Foolish.
So why is stopping so beautiful? No more pressure. I no longer worry about the results of the trip, and who I become, because I know that that's something God is going to do as I simply exist in these moments being obedient to him, day by day, moment by moment. Also, there's no more high expectations that bring stress. Man, as of now, all I'm expecting is that God is going to do something great. So how does that change my stress level, exactly? Essentially, that takes all of the thoughts like "Josh, you need to do this" and they instead become "God is already and constantly doing this, so CHILL." My "life change" no longer relies on my abilities, my attempts, my persistency, or even my good intentions. My "life change" is in the hands of God. Whereas, I understand that this may be an incredibly strange concept for some readers, nevertheless, I am truly experiencing so much freedom, rest, and peace. Why? It's not because I've given up, but rather because I've given up the control to someone capable of directing and aligning all of the things far too grand or great for me to even begin to manage them well.
In other news, we're beginning our visit to a children's hospital this friday, and each friday from here on out. Additionally, a mission team from Texas will be here from Friday to next Tuesday, where we'll have opportunities to work alongside them serving in roles such as interpreters and other things. Finally, there's a girl's orphanage with 13 girls that we're going to begin visiting weekly starting next Wednesday. All of these things are really exciting for me. Our Veritas group unity is growing each and every day. It's so cool to look back now and see how much God has worked in our relationships with one another, bearing in mind that when we first arrived, we were all complete strangers to one another. I'll do my best to update this blog more, hopefully being able to share some stories from these upcoming opportunities.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
Persistency
I'm having trouble believing this, but I've now been in Chile for 2 months--halfway done with my trip. Man, there is just so much I need to catch everyone up on! So, here we go.
Spanish. You know, the funny thing is that even as I'm writing this blog post, before I begin to type, my mind processes what I'm going to say in Spanish. Then, I have to tell myself, "No. Turn on the English switch." So, I'd definitely say that my Spanish is improving when it comes to conversation, both speaking and understanding (which is probably the most difficult part of learning a language). However, I'm still by no means fluent, which is an ambiguous term anyways. And, the sad thing is, I completely butcher my words sometimes when I speak in English. That, or I say English words with my Chilean accent.
Family. I'm really starting to feel more and more like a member of my Chilean family. The truth is, when I meet people for the first time, I tend to be overly polite and conservative. The hardest part for me is being able to make jokes with the family and be myself, without feeling like I'm offending them in some way. By the way, jokes can be extremely hard to make in a new language and culture. When one cannot laugh at situations, or make puns, or simply act goofy in one's own home, that can wear on you a bit. The tendency for me in the past has been to feel like a house guest who's overstayed their welcome and is doing everything they can to make up for it. However, now I'm adjusting more by relaxing and smiling more at situations rather than sweating over them. Side note: My Chilean family has been hosting students since 2000. In total they've had probably 40-50 international students throughout the years. This blew my mind, but just yesterday my Chilean mother told me that I am the first gringo (American) to make their bed and keep a tidy room, male or female. I guess the pressure's on to keep that up now.
Fiesta Patria. For all those out there who don't know what Fiesta Patria is, no worries, I didn't either before I began my adventure to Chile. Literally meaning Native/home land party, Fiesta Patria is September 18 when they celebrate Chile's independence from Spain. But it's so much more than just that. I really lucked out, because the way the date falls this year, we celebrate this bad boy all week long. When's the last time we got 11 days off from school for July 4th? Never! America, you should consider adopting this cultural idea. Basically, there's food, drinks, people, dancing, and fun (generally a recipe that all cultures use to celebrate). Specifically, they grill out or have "asado," which is somewhat similar to a cookout in the States. Besides that, they have an awesome traditional dance called "la cueca," which is danced a lot during the week. Finally, I'm really excited for "las fondas" which are basically big tents or street festivals that take place during the week, where one can find food of all sorts, music, dancing, and of course plenty of alcohol. Hence, these may be a little out of hand, I'm not sure yet.
Jesus. Man, this is where the title of this post comes from. So, this past month has certainly had it's fair share of low points spiritually to say the least. However, in the midst of all of it, I had some great people who were persistently pursuing me with love. I've been doing life with a good friend of mine who I met while in Chile for a while now. Essentially, we've been meeting up maybe once every week or so to chat about our lives, struggles, and whatever else may come to the table. Even amidst being in some low points recently, this friend continued to pursue me and to encourage me to talk with God about these things. Additionally, I communicated with some good friends from back home who took time out of their days to pursue me as well. Finally, our program director here in Chile took an hour and a half out of their day to meet with me and talk, pray, and listen to all of my struggles. To sum all of this up, it has been evident to me that God has been persistent in pursuing me, trying to get my attention, and desiring that I simply be with him and converse with him. So, I finally did. After being in a place that would be best described as being apathetic, I began to pursue Jesus persistently. Man, and the coolest thing is that I wasn't doing anything incredibly difficult or impossible. My prayers in the past week or so have been, "God, I want to fall in love with you. God I want to be with you. God I want to know you." Or maybe, at other points, I recognize some of my struggles and I'll simply ask God, "God, help me overcome my unbelief. God change my heart. God rid me of myself. Jesus fill me." After no more than a few days of pursuing God and asking for him to fill me, to change me, to draw me to him, wow, it sort of got answered all at once this past Friday night. We were at youth group at the church in Viña that I've been to countless times. After the sermon, I really don't know what to say, we were singing songs and it kinda just hit me really hard. It's like my prayers and desires to be with God, to love him in a natural way, not something forced, to trust him, and to experience him all got answered. My experience really can't be adequately recounted with words. However, what took place was me, being caught up in the truest realization of God's presence, his power, his love, his eternal qualities, and his mission for us as his children, having so much peace and joy and satisfaction that I simply began to respond physically with tears, with laughter, with smiling, with words of praise and thanks. It's kinda funny. My friends' first reactions were to think that something was wrong with me, due to me being bent over praying and crying. But, as I would soon explain to them, it was quite the opposite. It's so good. That's one phrase that I couldn't seem to stop saying that night. It's so good, God's love is so good, it feels so good.
So, why is the title of this post persistency? As I've had the privilege to discover firsthand, God is persistent in pursuing us. Whether we want to receive him and his love or not, he's constantly pursuing us. Why? Put simply, he wants to us to know him. It's like this: A loving father wants his children to be with him, because he knows that he can provide for them and care for them. He knows that no one else is going to be able to love them rightly and adequately. So, that father is going to persistently pursue his children with his love in hopes that they might be with him and get to know him. For then, they will enjoy him, learn from him, and grow to be more like him. However, I want to be sensitive and say that I know not all earthly fathers are quite like that. However, God is like that, and he's even more than all of that. Also, here's the second part of persistency. When we respond to God's persistent pursuit of us by persistently pursuing him, it's really only a matter of time before awesome things of God start happening. That's not to say pursuing God is always easy. In fact, most times it can feel quite difficult or frustrating. But man, he is so faithful. I hadn't been praying but for only 5 or 6 days before he responded in a big way friday night. So good.
What's next? Well, can I just say, when you know you're constantly and consistently loved by your creator, your dad, the one who created all existence, that may change how you go about your days. In fact, I'm incredibly hopeful for what's to come. There's a missionary team from Texas coming in 2 weeks that I'll get to meet, work alongside, and be an interpreter for. Also, after the holidays, the Veritas group will begin to visit children in the local hospital with cancer and other illnesses once every week. Additionally, I'm getting the opportunity to meet with another friend regularly and talk about our lives, kinda similar to how my other close friend has been meeting with me a lot. Plus, there's like 50 students that I encounter frequently from all parts of the US that I can hopefully be able to simply love and care for, as Jesus guides and enables me. Essentially, from here on out, I'm incredibly pumped about what God's going to do.
Spanish. You know, the funny thing is that even as I'm writing this blog post, before I begin to type, my mind processes what I'm going to say in Spanish. Then, I have to tell myself, "No. Turn on the English switch." So, I'd definitely say that my Spanish is improving when it comes to conversation, both speaking and understanding (which is probably the most difficult part of learning a language). However, I'm still by no means fluent, which is an ambiguous term anyways. And, the sad thing is, I completely butcher my words sometimes when I speak in English. That, or I say English words with my Chilean accent.
Family. I'm really starting to feel more and more like a member of my Chilean family. The truth is, when I meet people for the first time, I tend to be overly polite and conservative. The hardest part for me is being able to make jokes with the family and be myself, without feeling like I'm offending them in some way. By the way, jokes can be extremely hard to make in a new language and culture. When one cannot laugh at situations, or make puns, or simply act goofy in one's own home, that can wear on you a bit. The tendency for me in the past has been to feel like a house guest who's overstayed their welcome and is doing everything they can to make up for it. However, now I'm adjusting more by relaxing and smiling more at situations rather than sweating over them. Side note: My Chilean family has been hosting students since 2000. In total they've had probably 40-50 international students throughout the years. This blew my mind, but just yesterday my Chilean mother told me that I am the first gringo (American) to make their bed and keep a tidy room, male or female. I guess the pressure's on to keep that up now.
Fiesta Patria. For all those out there who don't know what Fiesta Patria is, no worries, I didn't either before I began my adventure to Chile. Literally meaning Native/home land party, Fiesta Patria is September 18 when they celebrate Chile's independence from Spain. But it's so much more than just that. I really lucked out, because the way the date falls this year, we celebrate this bad boy all week long. When's the last time we got 11 days off from school for July 4th? Never! America, you should consider adopting this cultural idea. Basically, there's food, drinks, people, dancing, and fun (generally a recipe that all cultures use to celebrate). Specifically, they grill out or have "asado," which is somewhat similar to a cookout in the States. Besides that, they have an awesome traditional dance called "la cueca," which is danced a lot during the week. Finally, I'm really excited for "las fondas" which are basically big tents or street festivals that take place during the week, where one can find food of all sorts, music, dancing, and of course plenty of alcohol. Hence, these may be a little out of hand, I'm not sure yet.
Jesus. Man, this is where the title of this post comes from. So, this past month has certainly had it's fair share of low points spiritually to say the least. However, in the midst of all of it, I had some great people who were persistently pursuing me with love. I've been doing life with a good friend of mine who I met while in Chile for a while now. Essentially, we've been meeting up maybe once every week or so to chat about our lives, struggles, and whatever else may come to the table. Even amidst being in some low points recently, this friend continued to pursue me and to encourage me to talk with God about these things. Additionally, I communicated with some good friends from back home who took time out of their days to pursue me as well. Finally, our program director here in Chile took an hour and a half out of their day to meet with me and talk, pray, and listen to all of my struggles. To sum all of this up, it has been evident to me that God has been persistent in pursuing me, trying to get my attention, and desiring that I simply be with him and converse with him. So, I finally did. After being in a place that would be best described as being apathetic, I began to pursue Jesus persistently. Man, and the coolest thing is that I wasn't doing anything incredibly difficult or impossible. My prayers in the past week or so have been, "God, I want to fall in love with you. God I want to be with you. God I want to know you." Or maybe, at other points, I recognize some of my struggles and I'll simply ask God, "God, help me overcome my unbelief. God change my heart. God rid me of myself. Jesus fill me." After no more than a few days of pursuing God and asking for him to fill me, to change me, to draw me to him, wow, it sort of got answered all at once this past Friday night. We were at youth group at the church in Viña that I've been to countless times. After the sermon, I really don't know what to say, we were singing songs and it kinda just hit me really hard. It's like my prayers and desires to be with God, to love him in a natural way, not something forced, to trust him, and to experience him all got answered. My experience really can't be adequately recounted with words. However, what took place was me, being caught up in the truest realization of God's presence, his power, his love, his eternal qualities, and his mission for us as his children, having so much peace and joy and satisfaction that I simply began to respond physically with tears, with laughter, with smiling, with words of praise and thanks. It's kinda funny. My friends' first reactions were to think that something was wrong with me, due to me being bent over praying and crying. But, as I would soon explain to them, it was quite the opposite. It's so good. That's one phrase that I couldn't seem to stop saying that night. It's so good, God's love is so good, it feels so good.
So, why is the title of this post persistency? As I've had the privilege to discover firsthand, God is persistent in pursuing us. Whether we want to receive him and his love or not, he's constantly pursuing us. Why? Put simply, he wants to us to know him. It's like this: A loving father wants his children to be with him, because he knows that he can provide for them and care for them. He knows that no one else is going to be able to love them rightly and adequately. So, that father is going to persistently pursue his children with his love in hopes that they might be with him and get to know him. For then, they will enjoy him, learn from him, and grow to be more like him. However, I want to be sensitive and say that I know not all earthly fathers are quite like that. However, God is like that, and he's even more than all of that. Also, here's the second part of persistency. When we respond to God's persistent pursuit of us by persistently pursuing him, it's really only a matter of time before awesome things of God start happening. That's not to say pursuing God is always easy. In fact, most times it can feel quite difficult or frustrating. But man, he is so faithful. I hadn't been praying but for only 5 or 6 days before he responded in a big way friday night. So good.
What's next? Well, can I just say, when you know you're constantly and consistently loved by your creator, your dad, the one who created all existence, that may change how you go about your days. In fact, I'm incredibly hopeful for what's to come. There's a missionary team from Texas coming in 2 weeks that I'll get to meet, work alongside, and be an interpreter for. Also, after the holidays, the Veritas group will begin to visit children in the local hospital with cancer and other illnesses once every week. Additionally, I'm getting the opportunity to meet with another friend regularly and talk about our lives, kinda similar to how my other close friend has been meeting with me a lot. Plus, there's like 50 students that I encounter frequently from all parts of the US that I can hopefully be able to simply love and care for, as Jesus guides and enables me. Essentially, from here on out, I'm incredibly pumped about what God's going to do.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Getting Thrown Into the Water
Believe it or not, tomorrow marks one month of being in Chile. It's quite weird. Earlier, after only being here for a week, it felt as if I had been here for a month. Now, after being here a month, it feels like I've only been here for a week. Strange. That being said, I do feel much more comfortable doing things and going places now. At times during the first month I certainly felt my fair share of culture shock. You know, I guess I'm just a defiant, stubborn person at times. Throughout all of my "pre-departure orientations" and "handbooks on how to survive," each and every one of them mentioned that I was going to experience culture shock. Me, being the skeptic, assumed that this thing they called culture shock was only something that applied to those 'other' individuals, but certainly not to myself.
So, why is this post entitled, "Getting Thrown Into the Water."? Well, assuming you know how to swim, then perhaps you've heard that sometimes people learn how to swim best when you just throw them into the water. The concept (I'm not explicitly advocating this) is that you really cannot truly experience the water or gain a true understanding of what it's like to swim until you just take that plunge. Sure, people can describe it to you, show you videos of people swimming, or squirt you with a water gun. But, to get that full experience, the real thing, I'm not sure there's a method that can exactly replicate that sensation. This doesn't just apply to swimming. Riding a bike, driving a car, letting go of the sippy-cup, a baby's first steps, going off to college, starting a first job, having kids, losing a loved one. All are experiential things. Sure, other people might have experienced them. And, Yes! they might be able to offer remarkable advice and knowledge. But, none of these experiences truly seem real or make sense or are fully understood until we ourselves go through them.
How does this all apply to where I'm at now? People have been telling me for 8 months what my trip to Chile was going to be like. Or maybe, how much I'm going to enjoy it. Or maybe, everything I'll learn or experience. My hopes, expectations, and dreams were thought of in my mind, and I had a picture of what everything was going to be like. Can I just be honest for a second and say that my experience in Chile is not really anything like I thought it might be? That's not to say it's been bad or a let-down. All I'm saying is, things are certainly best described by enduring them yourself. Life's situations really aren't understood or grasped until we are in them. Don't quite believe me? Tell me what's more effective in communicating the understanding of an apple: Drawing a picture, Writing a journal article, or Handing someone an apple to eat and enjoy themselves?
Now, here's the cool thing about all of this when it comes to Jesus. It's pretty much the same concept. Who would you consider to be the nicest person you know? Think about that. Maybe a family member, loved one, friend, teacher, co-worker. Or for some of us, maybe we're struggling to think of someone who sticks out to us as being really nice. Now, if you've got that person in your mind, here's the follow up question: Why do you consider them to be the nicest person you know? Or in other words, how did you find out that they're the nicest person you know? Did you read about them in the news? Did you see them on TV? Did somebody else tell you about them? Or, perhaps someone introduced that person to you. And, if they're incredibly awesome, then you've probably had some key experiences or memories with that person. Maybe some great conversations and laughs. Perhaps moments of great grief together and heartfelt connections between each other.
Pause. Let's say you want me to know how nice this person is. How are you going to convey that idea or concept to me best? Are you going to read me their tweets or show me their profile picture on Facebook? Perhaps you'll tell me about all of the good times you've had together. Or maybe you'll even go as far as telling me all of the deep, intimate times you've had with that person in an effort to reveal their stunning character. If you're thinking about this, perhaps you're already at the point of saying, "No, I'd just introduce you to that person, so that you can see and experience for yourself how nice that person is."
I think this area is the number one reason why people are turned off by even hearing the name Jesus. They don't know him. They haven't met him. They haven't encountered him. They haven't been introduced to him. They haven't experienced his character. They haven't felt loved by him. Instead, they're been handed information about him, or seen him on billboards, or in fancy paintings, or on television, or they've heard about him in sermons weekly, and that's been they're extent of encountering the character of Jesus. Now, I'm not saying that giving information about Jesus in order for people to meet him is necessarily wrong. However, the problem occurs when we replace experiencing one-on-one intimacy with Jesus for a simple picture, idea, or description of what intimacy with or knowing Jesus is really like. When you truly and really encounter Jesus, you'll find that those experiences really don't get described fully by words or really by any means of expression.
Let me give you a practical example. Have you ever had a really funny moment with friends? I mean one of those just hilarious moments that you can laugh about even years after it has happened. If you're like me, then there has come a time where you remember this funny moment and just start busting out laughing with your friends again. However, this time, some unfortunate person is in the group who has no idea what everyone else is finding so funny. Then, someone proceeds to try to explain that previously hilarious situation from weeks or years past to that individual. What typically happens is the individuals sort of gets the idea, but honestly, they don't really think it's quite funny at all. At that point, that poor guy lets out a forced, pitiful, little chuckle so as not to belittle what everyone else finds so hilarious. The conclusion usually ends with this phrase, "Well, you just really had to be there, I guess."
Whether you consider yourself a believer or not, my challenge to you this week (I'm challenging myself in this as well) is to experience Jesus. What does that mean? How do you encounter or experience Jesus? How do you get to know him? How do you "be there" with Jesus? Well, I believe that an encounter with Jesus is gonna start with Jesus. I know this might sound over simplified, but consider just telling Jesus that you want to experience him. Nothing that earth-shattering. However simple it might sound, asking Jesus to let us be with him may be something we've never done before. But, maybe you don't want to experience him for a whole score of different justifiable reasons. Possibly you're angry at him. Or you just flat out don't trust him or don't believe he's real. Tell him that. I think if you and I just begin to have conversations with him, regardless of where we're at, we'll begin to experience him. And once we experience him, well, it might be like getting thrown into the water, but that just might change everything.
So, why is this post entitled, "Getting Thrown Into the Water."? Well, assuming you know how to swim, then perhaps you've heard that sometimes people learn how to swim best when you just throw them into the water. The concept (I'm not explicitly advocating this) is that you really cannot truly experience the water or gain a true understanding of what it's like to swim until you just take that plunge. Sure, people can describe it to you, show you videos of people swimming, or squirt you with a water gun. But, to get that full experience, the real thing, I'm not sure there's a method that can exactly replicate that sensation. This doesn't just apply to swimming. Riding a bike, driving a car, letting go of the sippy-cup, a baby's first steps, going off to college, starting a first job, having kids, losing a loved one. All are experiential things. Sure, other people might have experienced them. And, Yes! they might be able to offer remarkable advice and knowledge. But, none of these experiences truly seem real or make sense or are fully understood until we ourselves go through them.
How does this all apply to where I'm at now? People have been telling me for 8 months what my trip to Chile was going to be like. Or maybe, how much I'm going to enjoy it. Or maybe, everything I'll learn or experience. My hopes, expectations, and dreams were thought of in my mind, and I had a picture of what everything was going to be like. Can I just be honest for a second and say that my experience in Chile is not really anything like I thought it might be? That's not to say it's been bad or a let-down. All I'm saying is, things are certainly best described by enduring them yourself. Life's situations really aren't understood or grasped until we are in them. Don't quite believe me? Tell me what's more effective in communicating the understanding of an apple: Drawing a picture, Writing a journal article, or Handing someone an apple to eat and enjoy themselves?
Now, here's the cool thing about all of this when it comes to Jesus. It's pretty much the same concept. Who would you consider to be the nicest person you know? Think about that. Maybe a family member, loved one, friend, teacher, co-worker. Or for some of us, maybe we're struggling to think of someone who sticks out to us as being really nice. Now, if you've got that person in your mind, here's the follow up question: Why do you consider them to be the nicest person you know? Or in other words, how did you find out that they're the nicest person you know? Did you read about them in the news? Did you see them on TV? Did somebody else tell you about them? Or, perhaps someone introduced that person to you. And, if they're incredibly awesome, then you've probably had some key experiences or memories with that person. Maybe some great conversations and laughs. Perhaps moments of great grief together and heartfelt connections between each other.
Pause. Let's say you want me to know how nice this person is. How are you going to convey that idea or concept to me best? Are you going to read me their tweets or show me their profile picture on Facebook? Perhaps you'll tell me about all of the good times you've had together. Or maybe you'll even go as far as telling me all of the deep, intimate times you've had with that person in an effort to reveal their stunning character. If you're thinking about this, perhaps you're already at the point of saying, "No, I'd just introduce you to that person, so that you can see and experience for yourself how nice that person is."
I think this area is the number one reason why people are turned off by even hearing the name Jesus. They don't know him. They haven't met him. They haven't encountered him. They haven't been introduced to him. They haven't experienced his character. They haven't felt loved by him. Instead, they're been handed information about him, or seen him on billboards, or in fancy paintings, or on television, or they've heard about him in sermons weekly, and that's been they're extent of encountering the character of Jesus. Now, I'm not saying that giving information about Jesus in order for people to meet him is necessarily wrong. However, the problem occurs when we replace experiencing one-on-one intimacy with Jesus for a simple picture, idea, or description of what intimacy with or knowing Jesus is really like. When you truly and really encounter Jesus, you'll find that those experiences really don't get described fully by words or really by any means of expression.
Let me give you a practical example. Have you ever had a really funny moment with friends? I mean one of those just hilarious moments that you can laugh about even years after it has happened. If you're like me, then there has come a time where you remember this funny moment and just start busting out laughing with your friends again. However, this time, some unfortunate person is in the group who has no idea what everyone else is finding so funny. Then, someone proceeds to try to explain that previously hilarious situation from weeks or years past to that individual. What typically happens is the individuals sort of gets the idea, but honestly, they don't really think it's quite funny at all. At that point, that poor guy lets out a forced, pitiful, little chuckle so as not to belittle what everyone else finds so hilarious. The conclusion usually ends with this phrase, "Well, you just really had to be there, I guess."
Whether you consider yourself a believer or not, my challenge to you this week (I'm challenging myself in this as well) is to experience Jesus. What does that mean? How do you encounter or experience Jesus? How do you get to know him? How do you "be there" with Jesus? Well, I believe that an encounter with Jesus is gonna start with Jesus. I know this might sound over simplified, but consider just telling Jesus that you want to experience him. Nothing that earth-shattering. However simple it might sound, asking Jesus to let us be with him may be something we've never done before. But, maybe you don't want to experience him for a whole score of different justifiable reasons. Possibly you're angry at him. Or you just flat out don't trust him or don't believe he's real. Tell him that. I think if you and I just begin to have conversations with him, regardless of where we're at, we'll begin to experience him. And once we experience him, well, it might be like getting thrown into the water, but that just might change everything.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Some Photos!
 |
| Outside "La Moneda" the President's Palace in Santiago, Chile |
 |
| Dramatic Band Photo Shoot |
 |
| View of Santiago, Chile |
 |
| Winter Sunset in Valparaíso, Chile |
 |
| El Guatón (the fatty) eaten in Viña del Mar, Chile |
 |
| Nighttime view of Viña and Valparaíso from atop a cerro (hill) |
Sunday, August 4, 2013
The Importance of Community
It's hard to believe, but I've now been in Chile for 18 days. Wow. I haven't updated in a while, so I apologize. But, there's essentially one main theme that I wanted to share with everyone that God's been teaching me over the past 2 weeks, and that is the importance of community.
As I mentioned in previous posts, the culture, daily routine, food, climate, and much more is very different here in Chile. There are certainly the similarities as well. For instance, hearing Celine Dion's "I Will Always Love You" being played on the radio in a café (American pop music is extremely common and holds great influence in Chile). But, despite all of the similar things and reminders of home, Chile, just isn't quite home. So, it can be quite hard at times to adapt and get accustomed with things. However, God has been teaching me recently something that sounds easy or simple, but is really quite deep and cuts to the heart. Circumstances don't provide comfort, Christ provides comfort. So, in regards to my situation, I've seen this through a few things: being involved with the local church, fellowship with a brother in Christ, and a recent "retiro de hombres" (men's retreat).
The coolest thing about coming to Chile and being a Christian has been being able to immediately be loved and cared for by the local Church. No matter the cultural differences or slightly different style or brand or flavor of the worship setting or gathering, if the local Church is following Jesus, I immediately feel at home, loved, a part of the family. Even when I don't understand everything going on or being said simply due to the language barrier, I'm able to recognize the fruit of the Spirit in the people of the Church. It's such a cool thing. Immediately and still constantly I'm being welcomed, loved, invited to different things, and cared for in a special way. Because there's frequent study abroad students in the area, this local church has assembled a group of young people at the church to specifically outreach and welcome us. My first visit I can remember being such a breath of fresh air. After being in Santiago living in a hotel for 4 days, then touring around Valparaíso and registering for classes all week long, getting rest in Christ by being connected with the body of Christ was and still is phenomenal.
Additionally, it can be very hard to make new friends sometimes. If you've ever moved or been in a place where you literally don't know anyone, that can sometimes be overwhelming or at the very least, a little bit intimidating. First, I was thrown into a group of 50 gringos (Americans). Then, thrown into a town of about 1.5 million Chileans. But fortunately, I was able to meet a fellow brother in Christ within the first few moments after arriving into the Santiago airport. Since then, we've shared our stories with each other, prayed for one another, and continued to meet up together to talk about weeks, our struggles, and our lives.
Finally, just yesterday I went on an all day long men's retreat with the local church. There was about 100 men there I would say, plus 2 gringos, me and my fellow brother that I just mentioned. It was awesome. Just a full day of worship, word, quite time, group time, prayer, food, and a brief soccer game. I really feel like a part of the church and that I know people that care about me.
So, why do I mention all of these things? Well, at times, being in Chile has been certainly harder than I had anticipated. Maybe I made the mistake of thinking that simply being in a different place would all of a sudden magically boost my spirituality and I would become this awesome "super christian," if that even exists. There's certainly been awesome moments as well. But, all of these things: the church, a brother in Christ, the retreat are all wonderful. Community is definitely important. However, the thing God is showing me though is not to just simply adapt and find a new comfort zone. Because that would be the easy thing to do. Go from the US and my way of doing things there, then get thrown into a new, unfamiliar place. Sniff around for the familiar things that I know I can trust, then settle in, and get comfortable. Even as I write, I know I might be sounding a bit confusing. I'm not saying that these things are inherently bad, they're not. They're actually wonderful. But, the core of these things is Jesus. I think I'd be making a big mistake if I found my comfort and sense of peace in the people of the local church, or the personality of my new close friend, or in the hype of a retreat or event. These are all good. But, the question is, why are these things good? Jesus, yes the typical Sunday School answer. The most important community that I could ever have is with Jesus.
To sum things up, I'm praying that Jesus would be what I find my hope, my peace, my life in. And in Him alone. The church, brothers and sisters in Christ, and retreats are all great. But, that's only because they're hopefully directing me more towards Jesus. One thing God spoke to me last night was this: "Jesus is all I'll ever truly have, and Jesus is all I'll ever truly need." When we think about things that are permanent and last forever, what do we truly have that doesn't pass away? If we're human, then the only permanent thing we have that doesn't fade is our sin. If we've trusted in Jesus, then the only permanent thing we have is Jesus. And He is enough. That's hard to see or to understand or to truly believe and feel in our hearts. If I were to pose a challenge to anyone reading, it'd be just that: Is Jesus enough for you? If everything you trusted in, loved, found comfort and security in were gone, would Jesus still be good enough? Would He still completely satisfy you?
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Arrival
So, it´s now officially been one week that I´ve been in Chile. Last time I wrote, I was touring around the capital of Chile, Santiago. However, this past Sunday, I finally arrived in Valparaiso, the city where my university is located. Sooo beautiful! When we arrived, the sun was setting over the ocean as we descended from atop one of the many hills in the area down into the city to meet our host families. I´ll do my best to put pictures up soon.
There´s so much that I´ve already learned about this culture and way of life that it might take me a good chunk of a book to explain it all thoroughly. Rather than do that, I´ll give you a little taste of the highlights.
Pan (bread) is bought fresh from the market every day! Chileans pride themselves in being one of the top bread consuming countries in the world. It is literally served with every meal just about. Talking about food, their way of eating is vastly different than ours. Breakfast, is incredibly light, if eaten at all, and usually consists of bread, tea, and maybe some oatmeal. On the contrary, lunch is a big meal, the biggest of the day (more like our dinner). Dinner is more like a tea time called "once," which is eaten about 8 or 9 pm at night.
In regards to the house, things are definitely different here too. Have you ever ignited a "calefont" before taking a shower? Me neither. Basically, a calefont is a heating unit for the water that is lit only when needed. Also, since central heating does not exist, or is terribly expensive, most houses have one or two "estufas" that are essentially portable heating units to warm the house, but these are turned off when people go to bed to conserve energy. So, how does one stay warm at night? Blankets, clothes, and "guateros." A "guatero" is basically like a thermos, which is filled with hot water and placed in your bed to keep you warm at night. I´ve yet to use a guatero because my host mother says that typically girls use them and guys don´t ask for them.
Transportation is the last thing I´ll highlight. Oh boy, there´s some much to be said about using public transportation in Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. Here´s the different types of transportation: "a pie," "metro," "micro," "collectivo," "funicular," and "taxi." A pie is simple, just walk. I like that one the best, because I know where my feet are going and it´s free to walk. However, going uphill, a very big hill in fact, is quite a workout. I´m expecting an increase in calf muscle by the end of my trip. Metro is fairly simple to use. In fact, it´s now my go to mode of transportation because I just obtained my student metro card which gives me a great student discount on fares. The problem with metro is, it´s not actually that fast of a train, and the trains come like every 10 minutes. So, don´t use it if you´re pressed for time. But for leisure travel, or if you´re ahead of schedule, metro is the best way to go. Okay, here´s the toughest but most interesting one of them all, "micro." The micro is the term the Chileans use for the city bus. Buses are everwhere. They are the most popular method of transportation, and they´re also the most confusing method of transportation. The buses each have a different number, a different color, and a different list of 3 or 4 destinations displayed on it´s side and front window. I don´t yet completely understand all of the different prices or routes of these buses, but I know how to get around on the one I need to use to go to and from school. The coolest thing about these micros is the driver. Micro drivers are champs. First off, driving a manual transmission bus in the heart of a congested city is hard enough as is. Combine that with picking up people and dropping people off constantly, and he also has to accept your fares, give you correct change and a receipt, all while putting the micro into gear and merging into traffic. If you don´t find a seat, you better use both hands to hold on, because, the driver doesn´t necessarily wait until everyone is ready before he guns it back into traffic. Taxis are simple and much like the ones in the US. Collectivos, on the other hand, are basically shared taxis that have typical routes that they run. Essentially, they´re like a combo between a taxi and a micro. Finally, there´s the oldest and most unique mode of transportation, the "funicular." These things are basically inclined railcars that take passengers up and down the hills. Some hills only have funiculars because the hills are too steep. These aren´t necessarily very convenient due to their small passenger capacity, but they´re differently worth the experience and view.
Like I said, I´ll upload some of these photos soon. I register for classes today, and they´ll begin starting next week. Please continue to pray for me and for energy and strength specifically as I´ve been battling a cold due to the temperature and climate change. Look forward to updating everyone more soon!
There´s so much that I´ve already learned about this culture and way of life that it might take me a good chunk of a book to explain it all thoroughly. Rather than do that, I´ll give you a little taste of the highlights.
Pan (bread) is bought fresh from the market every day! Chileans pride themselves in being one of the top bread consuming countries in the world. It is literally served with every meal just about. Talking about food, their way of eating is vastly different than ours. Breakfast, is incredibly light, if eaten at all, and usually consists of bread, tea, and maybe some oatmeal. On the contrary, lunch is a big meal, the biggest of the day (more like our dinner). Dinner is more like a tea time called "once," which is eaten about 8 or 9 pm at night.
In regards to the house, things are definitely different here too. Have you ever ignited a "calefont" before taking a shower? Me neither. Basically, a calefont is a heating unit for the water that is lit only when needed. Also, since central heating does not exist, or is terribly expensive, most houses have one or two "estufas" that are essentially portable heating units to warm the house, but these are turned off when people go to bed to conserve energy. So, how does one stay warm at night? Blankets, clothes, and "guateros." A "guatero" is basically like a thermos, which is filled with hot water and placed in your bed to keep you warm at night. I´ve yet to use a guatero because my host mother says that typically girls use them and guys don´t ask for them.
Transportation is the last thing I´ll highlight. Oh boy, there´s some much to be said about using public transportation in Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. Here´s the different types of transportation: "a pie," "metro," "micro," "collectivo," "funicular," and "taxi." A pie is simple, just walk. I like that one the best, because I know where my feet are going and it´s free to walk. However, going uphill, a very big hill in fact, is quite a workout. I´m expecting an increase in calf muscle by the end of my trip. Metro is fairly simple to use. In fact, it´s now my go to mode of transportation because I just obtained my student metro card which gives me a great student discount on fares. The problem with metro is, it´s not actually that fast of a train, and the trains come like every 10 minutes. So, don´t use it if you´re pressed for time. But for leisure travel, or if you´re ahead of schedule, metro is the best way to go. Okay, here´s the toughest but most interesting one of them all, "micro." The micro is the term the Chileans use for the city bus. Buses are everwhere. They are the most popular method of transportation, and they´re also the most confusing method of transportation. The buses each have a different number, a different color, and a different list of 3 or 4 destinations displayed on it´s side and front window. I don´t yet completely understand all of the different prices or routes of these buses, but I know how to get around on the one I need to use to go to and from school. The coolest thing about these micros is the driver. Micro drivers are champs. First off, driving a manual transmission bus in the heart of a congested city is hard enough as is. Combine that with picking up people and dropping people off constantly, and he also has to accept your fares, give you correct change and a receipt, all while putting the micro into gear and merging into traffic. If you don´t find a seat, you better use both hands to hold on, because, the driver doesn´t necessarily wait until everyone is ready before he guns it back into traffic. Taxis are simple and much like the ones in the US. Collectivos, on the other hand, are basically shared taxis that have typical routes that they run. Essentially, they´re like a combo between a taxi and a micro. Finally, there´s the oldest and most unique mode of transportation, the "funicular." These things are basically inclined railcars that take passengers up and down the hills. Some hills only have funiculars because the hills are too steep. These aren´t necessarily very convenient due to their small passenger capacity, but they´re differently worth the experience and view.
Like I said, I´ll upload some of these photos soon. I register for classes today, and they´ll begin starting next week. Please continue to pray for me and for energy and strength specifically as I´ve been battling a cold due to the temperature and climate change. Look forward to updating everyone more soon!
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Cross Country Paid Off
Thanks for all the prayers everyone! I've had at least 10 or 15 opportunities so far when people ask me, "So what are you studying abroad for? or… What made you decide to study abroad?" The Holy Spirit's been making me increasingly more bold to just proclaim that I'm going to show and tell people about Jesus and hopefully demonstrate His love and reconciliation to them. From the airport to just telling other students I've met already, Jesus is laying foundations and seeds to be watered and grown. So, thanks for praying.
You're probably wondering about this post's title. Well…my flight out of GSP was scheduled to depart at 6:00pm and land in DFW at 7:30pm local, giving me almost 2 hours before my 9:25pm depart to Santiago, Chile. Well…due to delays and t-storms, we didn't leave GSP until about 7:45pm, thus landing in DFW at 9:05pm local. Unfortunately, I also had to wait on a gate check bag. And I had to take the skytrain to another concourse. How did I make it in time? Jesus. And, it also didn't hurt that I ran cross-country some years ago in high school, because, yes, I was THAT guy sprinting through the airport. And I was also THAT guy who was the last one to board the plane. Pretty stellar experience for my first time traveling by myself. But, Jesus was sweet to keep reminding me that He was with me the whole time and that He was in control of everything. Had I missed that flight, I would have had to wait in that airport for another 24 hours before another flight to Chile was possible. Which, that wouldn't have been too bad when I consider Jesus being with me through all of it.
Anyways, I arrived safely and on-time with all of my luggage. I'm currently posting from my pretty cozy hotel room after what has been an amazing day of meeting people in my traveling group as well as just exploring a lot of parts of Santiago. I was able to meet a fellow brother in Christ from amongst our group already, which is such a blessing. I'm excited to see how God brings unity amongst us and grows us to pour out His love continually to others in our group.
Well, that's about all I have time to tell you folks for now. I'm having trouble getting my power adapter to actually work with these outlets; they've been a bit finicky. So, I'm trying to conserve my battery life on my computer.
Here's what I ate for dinner tonight. A "completo" with "papas fritas" "empanadas" and, of course, "coca-cola." Don't be too jealous. Best $2,490 pesos I've ever spent ($5US).
You're probably wondering about this post's title. Well…my flight out of GSP was scheduled to depart at 6:00pm and land in DFW at 7:30pm local, giving me almost 2 hours before my 9:25pm depart to Santiago, Chile. Well…due to delays and t-storms, we didn't leave GSP until about 7:45pm, thus landing in DFW at 9:05pm local. Unfortunately, I also had to wait on a gate check bag. And I had to take the skytrain to another concourse. How did I make it in time? Jesus. And, it also didn't hurt that I ran cross-country some years ago in high school, because, yes, I was THAT guy sprinting through the airport. And I was also THAT guy who was the last one to board the plane. Pretty stellar experience for my first time traveling by myself. But, Jesus was sweet to keep reminding me that He was with me the whole time and that He was in control of everything. Had I missed that flight, I would have had to wait in that airport for another 24 hours before another flight to Chile was possible. Which, that wouldn't have been too bad when I consider Jesus being with me through all of it.
Anyways, I arrived safely and on-time with all of my luggage. I'm currently posting from my pretty cozy hotel room after what has been an amazing day of meeting people in my traveling group as well as just exploring a lot of parts of Santiago. I was able to meet a fellow brother in Christ from amongst our group already, which is such a blessing. I'm excited to see how God brings unity amongst us and grows us to pour out His love continually to others in our group.
Well, that's about all I have time to tell you folks for now. I'm having trouble getting my power adapter to actually work with these outlets; they've been a bit finicky. So, I'm trying to conserve my battery life on my computer.
Here's what I ate for dinner tonight. A "completo" with "papas fritas" "empanadas" and, of course, "coca-cola." Don't be too jealous. Best $2,490 pesos I've ever spent ($5US).
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
A Few Things...
So, tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow, I will begin my almost 5 month adventure in Chile. As I spend today just reflecting and remembering all that has taken place in the many months of preparation, I am quite amazed at all that God has already done. Let me walk you through a few things…
- For starters, the decision to study abroad all happened as I felt called by God. In fact, after having the privilege to go on mission trips to both the Dominican Republic and Peru multiple times over the past 3 years, I felt in my heart that God wanted me to study and learn more Spanish. I was slow to respond to this, but I eventually took a placement test back in the Fall of 2011. By God's grace I scored very high and was placed into a 3010 level class exempting and receiving credit for 4 classes (12 hours). This is important to remember. Why? Because, at that point, I was only considering doing a Spanish minor. However, I soon realized that in order to complete the minor I would only need to take 3 Spanish classes. Quickly, I saw that, well for one, 3 classes was not enough time for me to really learn the language. And two, I might have enough credit hours and time left before graduation to do a double major. After loving my first college Spanish class in Spring 2012, I would then go on that summer to once again go to Peru on mission. It was there that a couple of people had mentioned to me the idea of doing a study abroad--So I investigated the possibility.
- In my investigation; I began asking around to Hispanic friends that I knew, "What would be a good place to study abroad?" I knew personally that I didn't want to go to where I had already been (Peru and the DR). A few people recommended Argentina, so I looked into the different programs. But, I also looked into Chile as a possibility. Just when I was pretty set on Argentina, a good friend of mine from school, who had just finished a study-abroad herself, mentioned to me how she had received an e-mail about some mission based study abroad program. With my mind about 90% set on Argentina, I looked into this new program for kicks and giggles. It would have to be really awesome for me to switch what I already had in mind. However, the Veritas program (follow the link at the top of the page for more info) had what looked like a super awesome program in Valparaíso, Chile. And, it's set-up around sharing Jesus with people. I was sold.
- A little snag…this program (Veritas) was not pre-approved through my university. Basically, I then had to do a petition process in order to communicate to my home university the validity and details of this new program that they've never heard of before. Just like 5 or 6 documents to turn in…no big deal. Oh, and did I mention that they could reject the program if I messed up on my documents? Praise God that the program got approved! (Side-note: a Veritas employee would later meet with my university's study abroad office to make the Veritas program essentially pre-approved.)
- Let the paperwork commence. Wow. I have an entire color-coded, sub-divided folder on my desktop entitled "STUDY ABROAD STUFF" that is strictly devoted to any and all paperwork for this process. I know, I'm sounding like a big whiny baby. It really wasn't that bad. You just really had to stay on top of all the dates and deadlines. And meet with like 4 advisors that I didn't even knew existed. And I now know how to effectively scan documents with ease. Also searching and reserving the cheapest rate on a flight. Applying for scholarships. Something called a consortium agreement. Attending orientations (they told us that we were superior students and free food was provided, so that one was worth it). Get a student visa. That one was fun. The only want to know your life history and mail it to them. But then, they want to double check that you're real, so you have to go the consulate in person. Ha! I think before you study abroad, you should have to enroll in a 3 hour Study Abroad Prep course. Because I literally had more homework and field trips for my pre-departure than for most of my classes over the 2012-2013 academic year. Praise God that He got me through all of that and my brain still functions somewhat normally.
Those are just a few logistical things that I wanted to share with you guys and gals who may be curious about how I even got to this opportunity in the first place. It's really sweet to look back over the past two or three years of my life and just see step by step the hand of God in everything. Honestly, it begs the question, "God where are you leading me? What are you wanting me to do with this one life you've given me? I know you've commanded me to make disciples, but is there a specific place, people group, or part of the world you want me to devote my life to ushering your lost sheep back into your family?" It can be a bit nerve racking at times, not knowing what my life will look like in 5 years, or even 1 year. But, oh, how exciting and heart-racing and pleasing it is to know that the Creator of all things is orchestrating it all out in accordance with His plan. He wants my whole heart. He's been really just teaching me and trying to gently guide me into fully surrendering every part of my life and trust and allegiance to Him. When trusting God is a mere ideology, most will concur and nod the head of, "Sure, I trust in God." I mean, it makes perfect sense, right? Especially if you believe in God. However, the thought of trusting God with everything and the action of actually trusting God with everything are two completely different things. This is where I keep stumbling. I make up in my mind to trust God, but I have difficulty when it comes to stepping into trust and dependence on Him. I'm excited, curious, and a bit nervous to see how He answers this prayer, but I'm going to start praying that God would show me how trustworthy He is and how untrustworthy I am. How true and strong and faithful He is, and how false and fading and weak I am.
Keep on the lookout for the next post! Your prayers are greatly appreciated.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)