Converging it up

A couple of weeks ago the church that I intern with held an event called Converge. Basically the idea was for four different non profits that are based here in the States can come together, get to know each other, and get to share what all they have been doing in the last few years. This included Dry Bones from Denver, Water4 who bring water to countries all over the world, Kibo group a group who works in Uganda to encourage health and prosperity in the villages there, GPS Tulsa, which is the group that I am a part of, where we help students find their way in life. All of these groups are crazy different, so it was incredible to see them all coming together for one common cause. As I sat on the panel of people from each group, I almost felt unworthy. All of these people were doing such incredible work for the Lord. It was an exciting yet humbling experience.
As the night continued, I got to know Abraham and Ronald, the men from Uganda, pretty well. They told us all about their tree planting project, through which they have planted 37,000 trees in the last 7 years. These trees are taken care of by the village people, and will one day restore the deforestation that is happening all over Uganda. While talking to Ronald, I asked him what was the most different about the United States from Uganda. At the question his eyebrows shot up and he smiled a little bit and in his beautiful accent said, "well, not much is the same at all. I think the most different is that when my neighbors hear our babies crying, they will come over to our house and ask us how they can help us. Here, I don't think I've seen neighbors talk to each other at all." To this I just kinda smiled and nodded and told him that in the US most everything is about the individual, and it sounded to me like in Uganda everything was about the whole. He smiled again and said, "yes, I think you are right."
It was amazing to hear the stories of Ronald and Abraham and just build a relationship with them. I loved getting to know them and their stories. And that's what it was all about. Building these relationships with people so very different from myself, yet so much the same. Though we live on opposite sides of the world, we both worship the same Lord and work to bring Him glory through our actions. Our lives are so very different, yet our hearts are the same.
Converge was a blast to be a part of. I am so proud to be a part of something so unique and powerful. I think God is smiling.

Vocational Sweetness

We are just now finishing up our Career and Vocation class, and though it was a lot of work and a lot of writing, I learned a lot about ministry,  myself, and who God has made me to be. During the course of this class we met with camp coordinators and ministry folks to F-16 pilots and FBI agents. The diversity was clear, and it was amazing hanging out with a wide range of people and hearing their stories and advice. Since it's late and I'm exhausted, I'm just going to give you the top five things that I learned:
1. "The truth is fine." Rick Poplin, the F-16 pilot, said this phrase over and over during our time together. He encouraged us to not exaggerate any of our situations, good or bad, because in the end, the truth about us, who we are, who God is, and our lives, is enough. We don't need to lie about little insignificant things to boost our ego. We don't need to make ourselves feel worse, or better, really, about something than it really is, because at the end of the day, our reality is enough to sustain us.
2. You don't have to be a super outgoing, energetic, upbeat person to lead in ministry. Dave Jewitt taught me this one without even trying. I've struggled with this a lot in the past few years because I have known for a fact that God has been calling me to ministry, and I felt like because I didn't like talking to large masses of people, or leading people with a loud voice, that I wasn't going to fit into the mold of what someone in ministry needs to be. Talking with Dave encouraged me to use my strengths, and to not try to be like someone I'm not. I can be my chill, quirky, slightly introverted self, and still be used by God to effect the masses.
3. Kinda like the last one, God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Dr. Kyle Jones was apparently at some point just an average guy. He didn't stand out in the crowd, which is hard for me to believe considering that now he is building bridges between warring tribes in Africa through medicine. Kyle basically has my dream job. He is a doctor of family medicine in a small hospital in Africa. He is amazing. It was incredible for me to just sit across the table from him, so when I was told that this guy is slightly introverted, never top of his class, or the big man on campus, it was a little bit unbelievable for me. It just goes to show that God makes us ordinary people extraordinary, and through us does unbelievable things.
4. Our God is always faithful when we are acting within our calling. When we met with Denise McKinney  she told us what it is like to be a woman in ministry. She told us of her struggles as she went from one church to the other turning in applications with no responses. She said that she knew that God had called her to do this ministry, and though it seemed hopeless, she wasn't going to give up. After months of job searching Denise finally walked into the church that would soon hire her to do exactly what she wanted. God knew what He had planned for her, it just took patience. Patience is one of the things I've always had a hard time learning. I want to know that God is taking care of me right this very minute. I don't like the mystery. I don't want to wait, but at the end of the day, God is still there, faithful as ever, always working for my good. 
5. Gifts turn into passion, and passion turns into calling. Tom taught me to do what I love and to let God take control and guide me toward my calling. He taught me to continue to follow after Christ, and do the things that inspire me and to let God guide me, and push me in ways that nobody else can. Listening to Christ, was a huge factor in this, and he reminded us to continue to listen for His voice and follow our hearts within reason.