First team meeting!

Last night, we had our first official Idaho team meeting! I hope to post pictures soon of our team and what we are up to. For now, here's the team:

Josh and Claudia Vazquez along with their son Moises
Christy Egbert
Amy Getchel (Leader) along with her son Ian
Yoonjin Stovall along with her son Sammy
Me!

I have never been on a mission trip with kids on my actual team, but I'm excited to experience service through their eyes and learn as I watch them openly love the refugees with such childlike innocence. It reminds me of Jesus' love for the children in Matthew 19:14, "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'"

We have not yet set the budget as we are waiting on feedback from the organization. It will be between $500-1000.

As usual, specifics of the trip are up in the air, in "true missions style," but I know we will be providing for (financially) and assisting with a Community Festival in Boise on September 18th. The purpose of the event is 4-fold: to connect with the community, introduce the organization (Create Common Good), build partnerships, and allow the community to meet and hear from the refugees.

Can I tell you how excited I am!?!?!

Some of you have asked how to donate (Thank you!!) so I included a bar on the side with instructions. For some reason, it cut off the first letter of every word on the left side so it'll be a little like a puzzle to solve but I trust you all can conquer the challenge!

I also added a place (on the right side) where you can subscribe. That way, you'll get an email every time I post a new entry so please please follow so you won't miss a thing!

More Than Potatoes.....

It has been a while since last posting. I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster ride for the past 8 months. I’m glad to be off and have my equilibrium back (somewhat).

Many have already asked me “Are you going back to South Africa this year?” as that has been my summer plans for the past 4 years. Overseas did not feel right this year, no matter the location. I have been thinking about and have been questioned about my missions experiences lately. What have I learned? What has God been teaching me in South Africa through so many visits? I think the answers have started to form the past few months.

Overseas missions has taught me invaluable lessons for serving my neighbors state side. I believe that we often have to travel around the world to figure out how to see needs and serve here. We have to put ourselves in a state of discomfort and remove ourselves from our ethnocentric worlds to truly see the value in other opinions, cultures, and views on relationships. We have to be reliant on others “on their turf” to look deep within ourselves to be ready to serve on ours.

The biggest lessons I’ve learned that still permeate my daily routines and are ever present in my thoughts and habits have been these:

• · Do not waste food – it’s scarce for so many. For me as a “foodie,” it is a fun past time and is always in plenty. For so many others, it is a necessity that doesn’t come often enough.

• · Appreciate the little things. When I go to the gas station and see the fresh water in the bin for us to use for our dirty windshields, I think of so many in the world who don’t have clean water. Even the water that has been dirtied by the windshield cleaner is cleaner than a majority of the water people in other countries are relying upon for health. My heart aches a bit every time I pass a sprinkler, free flowing, just to make our grass greener and lawn prettier. I’m thankful that this still hurts and reminds me of how blessed we are here to be able to use water as needed for a variety of reasons.

• · Live in the moment. One of my favorite memories in South Africa was in 2007 when we served soup at an elementary school on a cold and rainy day. By the end of the day, I was starving and freezing (I was getting the hungry “angries”—Ladies, you know this feeling), when one of the last boys came through the line. I gave him his 1 slice of white bread (which they lay on top of their cups and head out to eat). He was beaming and said enthusiastically “Can you imagine anything better than this?” At that moment as my own hunger rumbled, I couldn’t. Appreciate each moment for what it is and dwell in it. His image always comes to mind when I nestle in with a bowl of soup on a cold or rainy day.

• · Invest in people and take time for relationship. This is the hardest one to put into practice. We are busy. Others are busy. How do we make this happen? It’s a daily struggle but one I’m committed to.

While investing in neighbors is an ongoing project, another area had taken root in my heart. Since I have overseas experience learning about others and because I’ve been the “outsider” and have so appreciated the kindness and hospitality of those who assisted me, I wanted to return the favor to international students or immigrants in this country. International students are not really in my line of path but I did have a connection that I could pursue for this opportunity. I can’t just approach immigrants to see if they need a happy smiley face welcoming them or a listening compassionate ear. I wasn’t sure what would happen but I had the feeling….I have pretty good intuition (well, really good) so I knew something was coming....

AND THEN IT DID!!

Recently, I went to a short term missions meeting at NewSong because I was helping, not going. I was sitting there listening to the list of usual countries we would be visiting when I heard “Boise” come up on the list. My attention was gained immediately. Seriously, Idaho? What’s there other than potatoes? Well, I found out that it one of the largest resettlement cities for refugees and that in 2010, the US authorized up to 80,000 refugees relocation. Once here, they receive assistance for less than a year and then are expected to be self sufficient. For someone who has never held a pencil and isn't literate, this must be scary. I can't imagine what one must have to process and learn.

Before this moment, I had never given much thought to refugees. I realized that this was my opportunity to return the favor to serve and show kindness to those displaced and struggling to find themselves in a new country. So, in September (13th-19th), in partnership with NewSong Church, a team of us will travel to Boise to partner with Create Common Good – www.createcommongood.org.

Create Common Good provides training and unemployment to refugees to others in need. More specific information regarding this organization will be provided in an upcoming post but you can click the link to take a look for yourselves. I had the honor of meeting the team and hearing their stories a few weeks ago, and I knew this was indeed my opportunity to serve “overseas” on this side in my own backyard.

Details will be coming soon regarding specific prayer requests and donation information should you decide to partner with us. In the meantime, think about and/or pray about how you may join this journey with me?