to make a church a united community, there most be humility, cominication and trust between the members. if we really want to be an example there most be a real sacrifice. selfishness is one of the biggest reasons why theres a thousand people dying everyday all around the world. if we could just stop thinking about ourselves, and think about others then we're been humble, and when we do that, we can have an open heart to communicate and trust others, and thats the only way people can work together.
most of the times, when i go to a new place, i act in a different way, n when i say different way, i mean that people might not be used to things im used to so that makes me different. and most of the times thoses ways can be misundestand. people have different perceptions and so it is very importan not to act in a way that can hurt someone or that implies a special treat for us. we're not goin to this trip to be admired and look like the coolest... but we're goin there to share with them and admire them for all that they've passed over which might be a lot harder than we can imagine.
it is just amazing to me how the people that suffer the most are usually the bravest and the ones that are more wiling to submit their lives to God and surrender their all to him. i really like it when it talks about this Grace girl, who despite her condition, was trying so hard to open a peanut shell.
sábado, 30 de mayo de 2009
domingo, 24 de mayo de 2009
Aligning with God's 21 century moves
the message was based on missions. basically God's been working in the hearts of the people in places "in need", and those places are raising higher amounts of followers and missioners. he also said thats we are supposed to share and live the kingdom of God and by doing that we're teaching the gospel. we also need to be united as a team. it is necessary that we all get to know each other so that we know how to work around others. and the last point was a about be willing to suffer and go through pain. been christians isnt easy so it is necessary for us to see the world in a real way which implies going through pain.
Jeff's challenge
We ARE NOT goin to mancora to serve, we're goin there because WE ARE servants...
mmm i guess the difference between serve and been a servants is that serve is just an action, everyone can serve even atheists can serve...i mean, for some people doin good isnt always a christian exclusive action. it is a totally different statement to serve for the love of God, rather than serving to fulfill the selfish human ego. when we choose to follow God's statement and to live for'im, when we accept we cannot be without him and humble ourselves, we are choosing to serve God so we're servants by personal choice, which means we do it with love and so we're serving not for compliments, nor money but because we love God.
i still think we can truly serve others we do not know or love. thats one of my personal challenges. God calls us to love those who do not loves us, luke 6:32...(i think that also applies to the ones we dont know) i liked the whole thing: luke 27-36. im not saying it is easy to serve someone you dont know, i mean itll be hard sometimes, but thats part of the challenge, it is there we're the glory of God is reflected.
"to get closer to God"...thats what we are supposed to do every single day... i believe following and obeying God is a daily choice. everyday is different than the last one, and so it means new situations to deal with, new conflicts to face and new challenges to accomplish. it is our choice to deal with all of that by ourselves or to put God first in everything we do and when we choose to place God at first in our top ten priority things-to-accomplish list, then we're allowing him to get closer to us. it is not necessary to go on a short-term trip to experience him and get closer to him. our focus should be showing others how to get closer to God.
mmm i guess the difference between serve and been a servants is that serve is just an action, everyone can serve even atheists can serve...i mean, for some people doin good isnt always a christian exclusive action. it is a totally different statement to serve for the love of God, rather than serving to fulfill the selfish human ego. when we choose to follow God's statement and to live for'im, when we accept we cannot be without him and humble ourselves, we are choosing to serve God so we're servants by personal choice, which means we do it with love and so we're serving not for compliments, nor money but because we love God.
i still think we can truly serve others we do not know or love. thats one of my personal challenges. God calls us to love those who do not loves us, luke 6:32...(i think that also applies to the ones we dont know) i liked the whole thing: luke 27-36. im not saying it is easy to serve someone you dont know, i mean itll be hard sometimes, but thats part of the challenge, it is there we're the glory of God is reflected.
"to get closer to God"...thats what we are supposed to do every single day... i believe following and obeying God is a daily choice. everyday is different than the last one, and so it means new situations to deal with, new conflicts to face and new challenges to accomplish. it is our choice to deal with all of that by ourselves or to put God first in everything we do and when we choose to place God at first in our top ten priority things-to-accomplish list, then we're allowing him to get closer to us. it is not necessary to go on a short-term trip to experience him and get closer to him. our focus should be showing others how to get closer to God.
sábado, 16 de mayo de 2009
Experiencing life at the margins
I liked the "go n make" or "go.n.fix" people. at first, i was kind of confused because christians are supposed to "serve" rite? so how was i supposed to serve but not make...? and then, i read this "come, follow me, i will make you fishers of men" (i was still confused), so how did that fit?
serving is about following Gods statements, so in that way we can please him and by serving him we're serving and loving others. so that means if we "make" something (serve) to please someone else (even if we think it is good for the church, or ourselves, but its not what God tells us to do which is follow him) then we're just trying to be the center. (this made a lot of sense in my head XD)
i think we should know we're not the center, because even thou crossroads is a big church, we dont know everything, because we're not the ones who decide who leads who and there may be several things that might be revealed to small churches such as the mancora's for the glory of this kingdom.
we're not going there to make crossfire prototypes, we're going to peru to follow God by serving.
i dont think racism would apply on this trip. we live in a multi-cultural country, so im used to live arround different pleople, with different cultures and traditions. its nothing new for me hang with people with different cultures, denominations or colors. as i said before, we're all God's inspiration.
serving is about following Gods statements, so in that way we can please him and by serving him we're serving and loving others. so that means if we "make" something (serve) to please someone else (even if we think it is good for the church, or ourselves, but its not what God tells us to do which is follow him) then we're just trying to be the center. (this made a lot of sense in my head XD)
i think we should know we're not the center, because even thou crossroads is a big church, we dont know everything, because we're not the ones who decide who leads who and there may be several things that might be revealed to small churches such as the mancora's for the glory of this kingdom.
we're not going there to make crossfire prototypes, we're going to peru to follow God by serving.
i dont think racism would apply on this trip. we live in a multi-cultural country, so im used to live arround different pleople, with different cultures and traditions. its nothing new for me hang with people with different cultures, denominations or colors. as i said before, we're all God's inspiration.
viernes, 15 de mayo de 2009
COMMITMENTS
agree with:
"WE WILL be honest about what we accomplish on the trip by not exaggerating or overspiritualizing the experience in our report back. A short-term missions trip is one of many experiences in life that shape us, and one trip is only part of a much longer narrative that will continue to be written after our experience."
theres no need to exaggerate Gods job because he is already awesome. its like adding more water to a glass thats already full. God takes care of every single detail so even if we dont think what we do for God anywhere isnt good enough or exciting enough to share with someone else, then there is something missing in our spiritual lives, it means we're not sure God can impact people by sharing "little" testimonies.
"WE WILL humble ourselves before God as His servants, and humble ourselves towards those we are serving as their servants, too."
i love to watch documentals where missionaries are wiling to leave everything behind and be like the people they're serving to.
trying to not leave room for the people we'll be serving to compare themselves with us like "oh they hav money and we dont" or "they're so lucky to have this and that", and replace it with something like "its awesome we can meet people like us who love Jesus" because actually we are all the same, is what been humble for others is about. God created each of us in a certain way for his glory regardless of what we "own". and evon thou Jesus is the son of God and he owns every single thing on earth, when he came to earth, he humbled himself.
i dont really desagree with any, they're all based on true experiences.
"WE WILL be honest about what we accomplish on the trip by not exaggerating or overspiritualizing the experience in our report back. A short-term missions trip is one of many experiences in life that shape us, and one trip is only part of a much longer narrative that will continue to be written after our experience."
theres no need to exaggerate Gods job because he is already awesome. its like adding more water to a glass thats already full. God takes care of every single detail so even if we dont think what we do for God anywhere isnt good enough or exciting enough to share with someone else, then there is something missing in our spiritual lives, it means we're not sure God can impact people by sharing "little" testimonies.
"WE WILL humble ourselves before God as His servants, and humble ourselves towards those we are serving as their servants, too."
i love to watch documentals where missionaries are wiling to leave everything behind and be like the people they're serving to.
trying to not leave room for the people we'll be serving to compare themselves with us like "oh they hav money and we dont" or "they're so lucky to have this and that", and replace it with something like "its awesome we can meet people like us who love Jesus" because actually we are all the same, is what been humble for others is about. God created each of us in a certain way for his glory regardless of what we "own". and evon thou Jesus is the son of God and he owns every single thing on earth, when he came to earth, he humbled himself.
i dont really desagree with any, they're all based on true experiences.
sábado, 9 de mayo de 2009
h/w may 10
1. Outcomes:
"The world is hungry for Jesus, and there are many ways we can be Jesus to the world."
Theres a lot of christian people in the world, but theres a lot more people out there needing the love that only Christ can provide. They’re walking through a dark path and we can be a light for them. Thats what God tells us to do. By being kind with people we can be Jesus for them.
2. Objetives:
-"Provide participants with many opportunities to share their faith in Christ through word and deed and develop and exercise their unique gifts and abilities"
It is just exciting for me to share my faith with someone thats passionate about Jesus too. I really enjoy watching God’s mightiness and mercy in the lives of those who are wiling to follow him.
-"The hopelessness of humankind’s spiritual condition apart from God and the uniqueness of Christ as the only Savior of the world"
one of the things i will never ever doubt is that without God there is no porpoise in life, we would just exist...
so by undestanding that God sent his one and only son for us to hav an open relationship with him, it is clear that we need him, he proved that that we are what he loves the most, because we're his creation. He created us, then he saved us and we are because of his grace.
-"How God motivates/calls Christians to be involved in the Christian world mission"
God does not choose specific people to go round the world evangelizing as missioners. God calls us all to share the gospel with the people of all over the world. so basically thats our mission. Jesus traveled to several places spreding the gospel and sharing love, and because we are called to be like Jesus, we should do the same.
3. summarizing:
when i look back at what i used to be, i realize im not the same anymor. the world is still the same but i dont feel like i used to. God had moved me so in a way that i never expected. but stiil theres a lot more about him i dont know or understand which makes it so exciting for me. i want to know him every day, so im expecting to know him more in this trip.
been involved in this whole trip thing hav shown me that what God is doin in my life is just a little part of the beginning.
"The world is hungry for Jesus, and there are many ways we can be Jesus to the world."
Theres a lot of christian people in the world, but theres a lot more people out there needing the love that only Christ can provide. They’re walking through a dark path and we can be a light for them. Thats what God tells us to do. By being kind with people we can be Jesus for them.
2. Objetives:
-"Provide participants with many opportunities to share their faith in Christ through word and deed and develop and exercise their unique gifts and abilities"
It is just exciting for me to share my faith with someone thats passionate about Jesus too. I really enjoy watching God’s mightiness and mercy in the lives of those who are wiling to follow him.
-"The hopelessness of humankind’s spiritual condition apart from God and the uniqueness of Christ as the only Savior of the world"
one of the things i will never ever doubt is that without God there is no porpoise in life, we would just exist...
so by undestanding that God sent his one and only son for us to hav an open relationship with him, it is clear that we need him, he proved that that we are what he loves the most, because we're his creation. He created us, then he saved us and we are because of his grace.
-"How God motivates/calls Christians to be involved in the Christian world mission"
God does not choose specific people to go round the world evangelizing as missioners. God calls us all to share the gospel with the people of all over the world. so basically thats our mission. Jesus traveled to several places spreding the gospel and sharing love, and because we are called to be like Jesus, we should do the same.
3. summarizing:
when i look back at what i used to be, i realize im not the same anymor. the world is still the same but i dont feel like i used to. God had moved me so in a way that i never expected. but stiil theres a lot more about him i dont know or understand which makes it so exciting for me. i want to know him every day, so im expecting to know him more in this trip.
been involved in this whole trip thing hav shown me that what God is doin in my life is just a little part of the beginning.
jueves, 7 de mayo de 2009
TaReA 3
Assumptions:
los 3 assumptions que mas me llamaron la atencion fueron:
1. "Most short-term participants report having life-changing experiences, including identifying their own culture’s consumerist values, and being challenged to a life of missions, but revert to their old ways within 6-8 weeks. This is primarily a result of 1)poor pre-field preparation, 2) lack of time to process and journal on-field, 3) inadequate post-field debriefing."
I believe that if i really want this experience to be real and lasting i need 3 things: pray, desire and preparation. I cant just go on a mission trip and wait for God to do all, which he can, but what would be the point of us goin on the trip then?. he wants and will use us in a certain way but it is important that we first prepare ourselves to whatever he will do in there. preparing also makes us stronger christians, grow on faith and to deepen our relationship with him. i strongly agree with this assumption and also struggle with it very much. ive never been a dedicated person before, actually i didnt liked to get involved in stuff because i just didnt felt able to acomplish them or i just felt lazy about it, but this year have been like the craziest. i've been gettin involved in so many things and i just saterted realizing how God have been givin the time and the strengh and providing patience to acomplish em all, but at first it was drivin me nutz because i wasnt prepared for the drastic change and im still working on it.
2. "Our mission trips usually assume we have something to offer the churches and communities we visit, but there is much to learn from them as well"
theres a lot that we as a group have to offer the people in mancora. theres a lot we can talk about and teach them and share, but what makes the teaching-learnig process better is the interaction. sharing experiences, points of view, testimonies can also show us new things or even things that we already know but from a different perspective.
3. "Our level of interest in and commitment to connecting with the culture as a whole will directly shape how well we do our work in subtle but profound ways."
this means 2 things to me:
-been humble: by putting our interests aside and listen to others we can love them.
-love: when we love something, we're passionate and committed to it.
i think that connecting with a culture can be easy when having an open heart. when we're willing to humble ourselves and accept others as equal, we can be able to connect and honer them.
i do not agree with this: "we cannot truly serve those we do not know and love."
i can serve people even though i dont know them.
los 3 assumptions que mas me llamaron la atencion fueron:
1. "Most short-term participants report having life-changing experiences, including identifying their own culture’s consumerist values, and being challenged to a life of missions, but revert to their old ways within 6-8 weeks. This is primarily a result of 1)poor pre-field preparation, 2) lack of time to process and journal on-field, 3) inadequate post-field debriefing."
I believe that if i really want this experience to be real and lasting i need 3 things: pray, desire and preparation. I cant just go on a mission trip and wait for God to do all, which he can, but what would be the point of us goin on the trip then?. he wants and will use us in a certain way but it is important that we first prepare ourselves to whatever he will do in there. preparing also makes us stronger christians, grow on faith and to deepen our relationship with him. i strongly agree with this assumption and also struggle with it very much. ive never been a dedicated person before, actually i didnt liked to get involved in stuff because i just didnt felt able to acomplish them or i just felt lazy about it, but this year have been like the craziest. i've been gettin involved in so many things and i just saterted realizing how God have been givin the time and the strengh and providing patience to acomplish em all, but at first it was drivin me nutz because i wasnt prepared for the drastic change and im still working on it.
2. "Our mission trips usually assume we have something to offer the churches and communities we visit, but there is much to learn from them as well"
theres a lot that we as a group have to offer the people in mancora. theres a lot we can talk about and teach them and share, but what makes the teaching-learnig process better is the interaction. sharing experiences, points of view, testimonies can also show us new things or even things that we already know but from a different perspective.
3. "Our level of interest in and commitment to connecting with the culture as a whole will directly shape how well we do our work in subtle but profound ways."
this means 2 things to me:
-been humble: by putting our interests aside and listen to others we can love them.
-love: when we love something, we're passionate and committed to it.
i think that connecting with a culture can be easy when having an open heart. when we're willing to humble ourselves and accept others as equal, we can be able to connect and honer them.
i do not agree with this: "we cannot truly serve those we do not know and love."
i can serve people even though i dont know them.
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