That's how I roll.

A while ago, I had another one of my 'Sydney Moments'.  For those of you that don't know, my daughter Sydney is a walking miracle. Diagnosed with an extremely rare syndrome called Noonan's, Sydney has undergone heart and eye surgery as well as being told as parents that her chances to walk, talk and play were extremely unlikely. Well, no one told her that so today she walks, talks, laughs, torments her brother, doesn't wear glasses and the chances of another heart surgery are practically non-existent.

So during jiu-jitsu one day, my training partner, John, asked me what Sydney's favorite color was. Because you can't spend ten minutes with Sydney and not know the answer to that question, I immediately responded, "pink". I wasn't sure why at that moment...and then a couple days later, I got this picture:

I was overwhelmed. I had, at one point, I had remembered that John shared a similar eye problem earlier in life. Seen by countless doctors, he was one if those guys who upon entering the office, everyone comes to see his condition. So the weekend of Sydney's eye surgery, he knew. He got it - and that weekend, his rolls on the mat - we're for Sydney. It drew some attention - people at Good Fight (www.thegoodfight.tv) were asking and he came home with a medal - just for Sydney.

That just got me thinking about how the mundane, average and even normal, fun things we do in life can be transformed into acts of love and memory, dedication and hope. So who do you roll for? Today, what task, job, hobby or activity can be transformed into something bigger...something that causes us, as a world of spectators to get involved. Look for it - it's probably right in front of you. I promise it will change you.

I know it changed me.

You coming or going? Peru - Day 7

So it's now day 7 and I hadn't really slept for about 24 hours.  In my last blog we reviewed cancelled flights and God's sovereignty.  Flashback to a couple days before and our guide, Adam, was telling us his story and his calling to Peru.  As he told us about how an Atlanta native ended up in Lima, Peru, the theme of his calling became clear: simply ask God what He wants you do - and do it.  Even the smallest step of obedience in our eyes, opens up huge doors for God to work.  Taking it all in, I mentally assented that perhaps sitting next to a total stranger and striking up a conversation, on an airplane, might be ok - under certain circumstances, weather conditions and specific days of the year.  See, it's like this:  I always had this picture of 'Airline Evangelism' as a sales call - one of those Amway deals where it all starts out pleasant enough...small talk, kids' pictures and then WHAM!  You're staring at a catalog trying to find the cheapest option in there (replacement press-on nails are high on the list of the CTTB scale - cheapest things to buy).  But in other times past, God has opened up doors of conversation in my life that have just come so naturally and flowing that it felt like there was no effort involved - and certainly no awkward mental maneuvering.

So there I was, one empty seat between the next passenger over and myself (everyone knows the 'chasm of aisle' deflects all conversation) and as I heard Adam's story linger in my spirit, I looked over and simply asked, "Are you coming or going?"  I could fill three blogs with all the information I learned.  An ambassador to the country of Brazil, my neighbor was in the states sightseeing, hanging with some other Brazilian Ambassador friends before taking his next station in Jamaica.  The flight was two and half hours and we talked the whole time.  We spoke of family and life, politics and sports and helping the poor.  He truly was a joy to speak to and as we parted ways, information was exchanged and it is my prayer that we will continue to correspond.  As he sees the work of God in my life, and the church, perhaps he will be reconsider his announcement early in our conversation, "There is no God." That's my prayer anyway.  For now, it's good to be home.  To understand most of the bulletin boards and store signs around here and feel fairly comfortable that I'm not going to get another Peruvian Americano at Starbucks.  So as you go on your way today, perhaps you will find yourself sitting next to a total stranger. Swallow, breathe and don't be afraid to ask:  You coming or going?

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10

Plan Vs Purpose - Peru Day 6

Today was the day that we had been leading up to all week.  With 2 days of planning, assembling and prayer behind us, we prepared to distribute wheelchairs today.  We drove over to our new favorite coffee joint, Cafe Verde and enjoyed our last taste of cafe posado, or as we Americans call it - 'drip'  (for the record, cafe posado sounds much more exotic...).  Arriving at the site of the distribution, I really didn't know what to expect.  We were there early enough to beat 95% of the volunteers and all of the participants, families and guests.  The next few hours became a blur of physical effort, the frustration of not knowing any conversational spanish and being emotionally touched by seeing children and adults being fitted for chairs - and even more importantly, given the Gospel in "church" as we began to call it.  For more on the day's events, please read Fred's blog:  (http://boyradd.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/peru-day-6/)

The rest of my blog will be dedicated to one of the things I feel I learned in Lima...but I really didn't catch until we started our last night in Lima and into the USA.  As we approached the restaurant, my phone began to ring.  It was the airlines.  Our flight was cancelled.  I did a quick survey of our team and realized that these now seasoned veterans weren't going to start crying and moaning.  I called the airlines, got us rebooked in the same timeframe (actually an hour earlier) and instead of heading to Ft. Worth, Texas, we started our journey at 1:05am for Miami, Florida.  Waking up about 45 minutes before we landed (and falling asleep about 3 hours before that...) I was immediately on the phone as our next flight was booked for 4:30pm in the afternoon.  As we cleared customs, dragged suitcases and ran around Miami International, we booked two other flights which we subsequently missed, finding ourselves headed to DC/Reagan at 12pm.  I sat down and watched the line of travelers file past me.  Just to be clear, at 6'1" and 200lbs, the dream of having an empty seat next to me is more than I like to imagine, but the hope always remains.  A small man in his 50's took the window seat to my aisle and I was watched the last of our passengers come aboard, I knew I was in for a treat.  A seat between us, I proceeded to talk to the stranger at the window for the whole flight (more on that in my blog post tomorrow).  Landing in DC, I realized the fulfillment of Proverbs 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."  Throughout our trip, although we had an agenda, schedule and idea of what we were doing, it was clear in retrospect, time and time again, that God had us right where He wanted us every moment.  Whether it was a bus trip to the mountains, an early turn-in at the hotel (once) or a cancelled flight, it occurs to me that God's sovereign plan encompasses ALL of life, not just the mission to Peru.  So with eyes tinged with a bit more wisdom, I need to remember that although I plan my way, the ultimate in GPS is still God's plan - and His plans for me. 

Proverbs 16:9 - "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."  

Snap Crackle Pop - Peru Day 5

We started off Day 5 back in the center of town, assembling wheelchairs for the morning.  It was fun to watch the team's personalities emerge as some of them were obviously not as comfortable building, while others were right where they wanted to be.  The huge group effort put forth of volunteers from Camino de Vida and another missions group from Staten Island, NY made the work go back quickly and efficiently with our task being accomplished right after lunch.  We went and visited a family in the Ate District and after a quick trip to the market, we headed up to the mountain village home.  Fred, in his blog post about Claudia and her family, our adventure in the market and our emotional visit to the family can be found here: http://boyradd.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/peru-day-5/

I am convinced that although our lives are counted and quantified by seconds and minutes, hours and days, weeks, months and years, I think our lives are defined by moments.  They are the indescribable experiences of life when we realize that this isn't all we there is.  When the reality of The Holy Spirit, Scripture, theology and life come crashing into one another and there is a quiet reverence that not only is God standing in our midst but that everything is going to be Ok.  That moment occurred as we stood in a prayer circle in a small shanty home in the middle of the Ate Distract of Lima, Peru.  Tears were shed, not so much for sadness, but the recognition of the emptiness of so much of the life we chase when we come face to face with God.  I am reminded of Isaiah standing in the temple, crying out in the recognition of his sinfulness, selfishness and wickedness.  And yet, God is there, willing to remove our sin and send us to the next destination he has for us, "as we go". 

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Pequeno things

It's Peru and we are in traffic. We roll past a semi-organized protest (there's quite a few of these) and arrive at the warehouse where the wheelchairs we are supposed to pick up are stored. The team is happy to put forth physical effort and the work is quick and joyful. As we wander around for a few minutes as final preparations are made, I find a  raisin/peanut/m&m snack mix from the flight that was in my backpack, having gone uneaten on our flight down. Throwing the snack to one of our team, I simply said, "go make some friends."

We arrive at the drop-off site for the wheelchairs and start to unload. Now we are in the center of the city and you can feel the pulse and sheer population increase as walkers walk and drivers honk and honk and honk (endlessly). We unload and end up at Camino de Vida's outreach offices and prepare blankets to be handed out to the needy.

Lots of details. Lots of seemingly insignificant things. Little things. But lately, I've been finding God there. I mean of course He's in the huge food distributions, wheelchair campaigns and worship services but if 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us to glorify God in EVERYTHING we do, there's a reason. How many times did a random act of kindness, gentle word, divinely-timed meeting or simply being in the "right place at the right time" yield amazing results. Little things. Truck loading, snack sharing, blanket cutting...and yet God is in all of it, walking us through the "good works He planned in advance".  As we return, we won't be in a huge mission everyday. We won't be standing on the platform of declaration every moment, but there's always little things to be done. There's always another piece to place into the mosaic of God's sovereign plan for us...and the world. So look around this week- maybe you're going to hit a huge milestone in ministry or a breakthrough in prayer or a glimpse of light in Scripture. But maybe you're going to help someone through a door or grab someone's grocery cart from them as they finish loading their car or share a cup of coffee with someone. Either way, "walk worthy of the calling you received."

There Goes the Neighborhood

Today was officially day 3 of our mission trip and our first day full day of manual labor type work (for other events, see Fred Noble's riveting and exciting call of the soccer game we played on Saturday. http://boyradd.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/peru-day-1/

We were told as we headed into a rough part of Lima that a woman, former addict, had started a mission church there for other addicts in that neighborhood. I saw her coming and she was everything I expected. She walked upright, straight at us and in my Limited spanish speaking terms, with no words I could tell she didn't take crap from nobody.

Her church was a joy. As people from her fellowship came in, they immediately started cleaning up behind us (one of our painters was messy - his ID will remain anonymous), taking great pride in their church home. Major construction was going on as a contractor had hosed them and they had to redo everything and as the story unfolded, they had church IN THE STREET when they couldn't use the building. I'm in a neighborhood that is obviously drug-run and beat down and they are having church in the street.

From the cool and safe confines of our church back home, I must consider not only how good we have it, but where the focus of church is in our country sometimes. I spend a lot of time creating environments that allow people the freedom to be void of distraction and really get some time in on that whole creator/creation relationship. By the fact that I hold that title, maybe that's a product of our culture that was so apparently different in Lima. The pace was slower. The time was not accounted for in seconds (except for us Americans chomping at that bit, thinking about how much more we could be "getting done") and maybe a proper adjudication of Psalm 45:10 is in order, "Be still and know I am God."

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42

Vamos Muchachos!

Day 2 - Peru Mission - it's Sunday and as we gathered together for our devotions and journey, I wasn't sure what to expect from the church services of Camino de Vida (CDV) as we visited their Mira Flores satellite in Lima, Peru.  Front and center in a Casino meeting room(I love church plants that defy the suggestion of geographic sacred space, instead they make whatever space they are in, Sacred) we sang songs that were, musically, very familiar, but in spanish.  Pastor Manuel was the lead teacher and gave a great message that drove and led our week and my thoughts inward as we prepared for the work ahead:  In order to be used by God, you have to GO.  Now before the eye rolling and glazed look of many come, thinking I'm about to tell all of you that you need to put your life in a 55 gallon drum and move to Zambia, hear me out.  We, as a race, people and culture, like to be comfortable.  It could be said that over 50% of traveling is trying to find that balance of accessing another culture from the base of our own.  I found myself time and time again, asking one of our guides, "What is this?  What does that mean?  Is this like my_________ back home?"  Familiarity breeds comfort.

In life, like on a mission trip, the "GO" automatically forces us out of the familiar and the comfort and into a new experience.  It's been said you can't step into the same river twice - and if that's true, then even going to the grocery store is a new adventure every day.  So here's the challenge.  GO.  Stop staying where you are, trying to make the most out of what you have, trying to get cooler, warmer or happier.  God can't do anything with us if we don't live a lifestyle of GO.  But if we GO and we open our eyes, we will see a life unfolding in front of us to take us to places, people and missions that we could have never imagined. 

"But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel."  Acts 9:15

 

I K.I.S.S.ed Missions Goodbye

I just finished day 1 of our mission trip in Peru. We went and visited an orphanage today of about 20 children who, through sickness, addiction, finances and/or death, were sent to live in the Camino Del Vida home for boys and girls. Now to set the stage, faith and its' surface and depth have been front and center in my thoughts and prayers lately. Hearing the man with the demon possessed son cry out to Jesus, "Lord, increase my faith!" I thought of all the ups and downs of my faith walk and life experiences. The pain of lost dreams, lost family and lost opportunities ring out. The guilt some days of a life that I consider far too comfortable (thank you, Psalm 16:5-6 for an answer to that) feels overwhelming.

Walking off the bus, into a real mission field was easier than you'd think. For a player (in my opinion) that spends far too long practicing and not enough time in the game, the invitation was immediate. A small girl, with a quick smile and wicked right kick, beckoned me to catch a volleyball, that became a soccer ball and as the missions team disappeared to tour the facility, I was introduced to the Peruvian game of vente uno, with rules and words that I couldn't comprehend, but one thing I understood: sometimes our best bet, after exhausting our resources, beating ourselves to a pulp and living outside our center is to just 'keep it simple stupid'. Remembering two things: God is much better at determining our worth and we are called only to respond to Him, believing that He believes more in us than we ever will.

"...what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you that you care for him?" Ps 8:4