Encouragement in the face of... stuff.

  A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle was on my shortlist of favorite books for my sophomore and junior years of high school (if you read it, you will understand the appeal it holds for an awkward teenage girl). In the story there was a poem that captured the attention of the heroine and myself. It wasn't "The World", by Henry Vaughan, although that would be a good guess considering the book's title. The poem was actually a short and odd-sounding snippet (to my modern ears) by Sir Thomas Browne, and it helped our moody protagonist as she dealt with the immanent death of her grandfather.

CYIA Committee Starting in Western Wisconsin

As a matter fact, they've already had two meetings!

I'm tremendously excited about this opportunity to get Christian Youth in Action® peeps involved in decisions for this area. It gives them the chance to exercise leadership with their peers, disciple other teens, plan and take part in recruitment for CYIA, plan get-togethers for fellowship and find ways to encourage their fellow workers in ministry.

It also makes my job much easier, hearing what they want to see in the future for ministry opportunities and get-togethers. This is how I know we're on the same page in our aims for Western Wisconsin's CYIA.

Habakkuk 2:13, 14 (NIV)

"Has not the LORD Almighty determined that the people's labor is only fuel for the fire,

that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing?

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,

as the waters cover the sea."

Bethel's thoughts: No matter how hard I work (or how lazy I am), no matter how good I am or how full of mistakes, God says he'll still fill the world with knowledge of him. I just need to stand back and watch. :)

Five days at headquarters

Driving through Iowa is more fun than most people realize. There's a great deal of sky that you don't see when you live in a river valley, and if you drive over half the state in one day, you get to see the sky a variety of colors. I passed an Amish event (the farmyard looked like a sale lot for carriages), I got stuck behind the slowest Missouri driver I've ever seen, and I saw a set of crosses with an empty, open tomb below; a statue of Jesus standing in front of it with his hands raised to heaven. This was in southern Iowa, arguably the top of the Bible belt.

I feel blessed to drive through Iowa on my way to and from Missouri this week, and not just for the beautiful sunlight and scenery. I got to visit my grandmother on the way down, and she seems to be doing well, despite the health difficulties and chemotherapy treatments. My grandfather I didn't get to see. He's back in the hospital and I don't know if he'll be out for Thanksgiving. It's starting to hit home for me that their days on earth are not long, and what they have left is going to be difficult for them and all the family around them. I cried much of the way to headquarters after that visit, which means that (yay for pale skin!) my eyelids are STILL puffy and darkly circular three days later.

Admittedly, it wasn't the best way to start my week at missionary candidate school, but the first official day was still excellent. I met a couple of my fellow candidates at breakfast, and we got to chat during prayer card photos. I've seen our former state director at meals (she now works at headquarters), and a couple of friends who are working here now have stopped to talk with me in the halls.

Thoughts on "The Indomitable Mr. O", by Norman Rohrer

    Life is hard when a person denies love; when they can't accept grace and insist on being enough by themselves. This seems to be a theme in the story of J. Irvin Overholtzer; he refused his parents' help and love (even when he desperately needed it), he doubted his salvation was “perfect” enough since it relied on his deeds, and he doubted whether he should even seek converts since “the best I had to offer them was to... start working for their salvation as I was doing” (The Indomitable Mr. O, pg. 57). I think that to begin (and continue) a relationship with Christ means admitting brokenness and a personal inability to face life's challenges. But even more painful is knowing that love is just around the corner, and still choosing to stay right where you are. Mr. O learned that the hard way.

My new catchprase?

Next month I'm heading down to CEF headquarters in Warrenton, Missouri, to start some support-raising training!

But before I can do that, I need a new catchphrase uh, vision statement, in 20 words or less.

September

 I didn't complete this and post it last month because it felt a little personal, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to edit a lot of this out. Now that I'm looking at this at the end of October, this post is a perfect reminder to me of how far God has taken me in the last two months, as far as my financial situation is concerned. I never expected Him to take care of me during a financial crunch, and I certainly never expected His generous outpouring the last few weeks, thanks to my local CEF committee. But enough of now; here's my life from last month:

 Hudson Taylor was the "missionary of the summer" for 5-day club this year. He is also, in a Protestant sense if there is such a thing, the patron saint of having no money.

   I used to say to my friends with great jocularity, "Guys, I don't have any money." Then I'd, on occasion, take a sister to the movies or buy treats for a group of summer missionaries, because well, I had a little non-designated cash. Now, I can honestly say "I have no money." My bank account is almost empty.

   Why am I OK with this? I'll say one thing; I'm more than OK. I'm taken care of, I'm even satisfied. That sounds ridiculous; I'm even laughing at myself tonight; but it's true. Maybe it's selfish. I don't even know.

Things continue

My two comrades-in-arms, Faith and Kyla.
We got to work together at training, and since
then we've been running three different directions!

Now that summer is nearly over, I'm struggling to keep my eyes ahead.

All I really want to do is look back on the last few months and say, "Whew! I'm done!" But I need to plan and prepare for what's ahead, or else what's ahead will jump out at me like so many things this summer. I don't want that.

Three weeks of fair - over 300 kids!

Good News Club house sign shows the fun inside!

We had a variety of weather... cold
 and soaking wet to sweltering

Face painting (we were given some new
high quality paints by a woman at one of the fairs,
which was a blessing; it looks fantastic)

The Wordless Book Gospel story with the "magic bag"

Fair at night (post-rain)

Story in progress: please wait!

What we've been up to the last two weeks!

Here's a few testimonies from your friendly neighborhood Christian Youth in Action!

Building Our Lives on Jesus: Our first two weeks of club are over, and boy did we have some funny kids! One teacher asked for a review question, "What did...

There'll be stories like these all summer long!

Building Our Lives on Jesus: The Western Wisconsin blog

Here's the link to the Western Wisconsin team blog... we're starting it up again this year.

Building Our Lives on Jesus: The Western Wisconsin team: 2013: This year, eleven teens from our area will attend training camp in June and teach 5-day clubs throughout the summer! ...

What Bethel is thinking at the end of spring semester

"I am so thirsty, I'm gonna walk out in the hall and attempt mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on that low-water-pressure drinking fountain."

"That flagpole sounds just like a railroad crossing."

"I'm pretty sure I can make the Warsaw Pact have something to do with the Hitler-Stalin pact. Just sayin'."

"That orange juice looks just like spring... I needed that."

"Wow, my document writer automatically fills in 'proletariat.' I just want to write 'professor'!"

"'User name or password is incorrect'? They're the same thing!"

"I should look back at that building fondly as I walk away, since I may never be there again. What am I saying, I still have finals!"

"Pregnancy brain. Except, I'm not pregnant."

The treasure I've always had, but still missed.

   Last Wednesday I had a chance to go to a Good News Club where I had been the missionary of the year. It was their last day before school let out, so prizes were awarded and parents invited for supper and a presentation from their children afterward. The amazing woman who runs the club invited me to tell the story for the evening, and she said, “the kids would like to give you their missionary offering in person.” I thought alright, she must want to hand me a check for the money the kids raised. But, this lady being who she is, she had a very different idea.

CEF in Russia

For the last year now, Child Evangelism Fellowship has been working with the Russia Baptist Union to help train teachers in presenting the Gospel!

 I'm always interested in how God is working in the former Soviet Union (particularly Russia); it seems the Protestant church there has flourished, despite the changing political climate which is becoming hostile towards non-Orthodox religion. Maybe the church rifts go too deep for Protestant-Orthodox partnerships, but hopefully they can retain a peaceful coexistence, whatever the state does. According to this article from CEF's website, CEF of Russia has worked with "Orthodox, Baptist, Lutheran, Pentecostal and Charismatic" church groups, reaching over 150,000 children in 2011.

For God's Global Mission

   Over Christmas break last year (2013 already -- I know right?), I was privileged to go to St. Louis for Intervarsity Christian Fellowship's mission conference, URBANA '12.   It was similar to being a drop of paint, fallen into a bucket of swirled colors: a little overwhelming and incredibly bright, but invigorating, inspiring... and humbling.

   One of the first things Calisto Odede, the keynote speaker, spoke on, was Jesus' mission statement in Luke 4. Jesus had come to zoom in on the real problems of individuals, and to change their lives completely. It made people upset, however, that he addressed problems other than the ones they brought to him. They didn't recognize him for who he was, but instead of changing their view, they blamed him for not being what they expected. 

   This wonderful sermon gave me a goal for the conference: to not expect God to be what I wanted him to be, but expect him to do his work his way for his glory. I didn't meet the goal with any sort of ease, however; nor did I meet it with a large measure of success...but that you shall see later on. 

   The first morning we spent in St. Louis, I wrote in my notebook: God has things for me here that aren't what I came for. I had told myself I was willing to follow him whatever he asked, but I assumed (in big things and small, hardly significant decisions) that I knew already what he wanted from me. Urbana has God's word has shaken me up quite a bit. 

The stadium, filling with IV students and future missionaries

Myself and my bff Hannah, fresh off a 6+ hour car ride