Coventry!

it wasn't my first choice, nor my last. but i'm excited! i know little about the town except that the germans did a lot of damage there during WWII, including destroying their cathedral. the effective blitz. now it is an international community as well as a tourist city.

i'm excited about my team: liz (team leader) from australia, liane from germany, ri na from korea and me, assistant team leader. we will be living in a real house/flat! no more dorm! many ministry opportunities include working with prostitutes, homeless, mums and tots, elderly people, and the internationals. challenging! most challenging being that i am probably the designated driver which not only means i have to learn how to drive on the "wrong" side of the road, but it may be in a manual car! working on not stressing about that.

lots to cover until departure day tomorrow...

reflections on outreach

the past few full days of outreach in P* and S* stretched me in ways I never thought I needed.

as we planned for the international night, the group voted me as the program organizer, the one who directed and made sure everything went swimmingly. as a reluctant leader who finds her faults glare all too clearly, I wasn't sure I wanted to have such responsibility. I knew I could do it, but I feared both taking too much control as well as offending people. testing points came right away, as someone confronted me about how i related to them and i calmly explained myself and then went away and cried. but the night went successfully, in spite of all the bumps, and several people sincerely thanked me for my role. being a leader is above all being a servant, and I know that He who modeled true leadership helped me through each step.

another stretching point came on the saturday street outreach to S* when 100 tracts were shoved into my hand with a cheery observation that if we ran out, there were more in the box! i swallowed my american pride that said tracts were annoying and ineffective and was surprised by how many people took them and thanked me. in the end, we passed out over 3000 tracts. all things to all men in order to save some, with this motto I cannot limit God.

in the end, being a servant for a Christian is simply being available whenever, wherever, to do whatever He asks. from politely refuting brainwashing accusations under the shadow of Darwin's statue, to painting a rose on a child's hand, my prayer is that every action and word is a testimony to His love and grace. yes, it is stretching because sin hinders my readiness. and always there will be people with whom, in my own strength, i want nothing to do. but He who promised is faithful. to that I cling.

...swings like a pendulum do...

these are a few of the things i enjoy here...

green, green, GREEN! the way the light plays hide and seek in the clouds with the hillside. learning new words like: keen, whinge, pudding (all desserts), cheers (goodbye and thank you), tea (meaning supper or just tea), proper, pinks, DIY, etc. the accent--even kids have it! the smiles on the people's faces after we serve them. friends from all over the world. scones. european chocolate. proper tea at any time. cobblestone streets only for walking. thousand-year-old buildings still inhabited! rambling through fields and forests on public footpaths.

a few that i struggle with...

plumbing. electricity (where is the light switch?). no personal space (thank God for walks!). traffic (which way do i look again?). missing those i love (that will never change!).

from me to you

during a conversation with an ESL speaker, she thanked me for my consideration in speaking clearly and slowly and in response i mentioned my love of communication, and how important i consider it to be. further elaborating on the thought, i noted--elucidating in a way i never had before--how the Gospel really has communication at its heart. after all, God created us for fellowship with Him--communicating His love. when we chose to break that, He sought to communicate through leaders, prophets, dreams, visions, even audibly until finally, wonderfully, He communicated in the most poignant way: becoming one of us (Jesus), speaking perfectly our language, tempted in the ways we are (heb. 2.14-18) and finally, doing what we had to but couldn't, making the way to communicate again with God.

now, we who bear His name have the privilege to walk in the same way--become communication mediators--translate the love of God culturally, linguistically, personally. what an awesome responsibility and blessing! when i communicate, translate, or facilitate understanding, i am walking in His footsteps. the knowledge chills and excites me, but most of all humbles me.

Soli Deo gloria

the landscape from here

some thoughts on my first full day in England:

had a lovely trek through the countryside. turns out, an English pastime is walking over field and dale, through the neighbour's pasture, an occasional cowpie, and up hills. the pastoral views were lovely, i petted a darling colt and enjoyed the four-hour tromp through the woods. capital!

already facing the "american" challenge when corrected on my use of the word "weird". and i feel as if, by means of my accent, i enter with a deficit--carrying the weight of a country whose culture and politics is by no means welcome here. i am expected to be rude, loud, opinionated, and any minor evidence to the contrary is seized upon.

humility. how i need you more than ever in this place. choosing to read oswald every day for devotional. good stuff. today's thought: "Be entirely His." amen.