Monday, March 30, 2009

Nicaragua Part 2: A better life?


Our first full day in Nicaragua was kicked off with an amazing breakfast consisting of gallo pinto, coffee, Nicaraguan orange juice (a diluted version of tang), and toast with gava jelly prepared by our two lovely cooks at “The Project” (i.e. Vision Nicaragua’s property which has a sleeping facility, cafe, medical facility, welding shop, tienda, and block company). After a quick meal, all 8 of us Gringos (what the Nicas liked to refer to white people), piled into the back of a flat bed truck complete with old rusty white metal railings as a means to keep us from falling off of or out of the truck. During the 30 minute drive I was exposed to many interesting scenic views… I got a great glimpse of a volcano that allegedly has been emitting smoke since since the 40s, I saw lots of open field with those random little African looking trees that made me be on the lookout for Simba look alikes, and even saw some open grassy areas with rolling hills that reminded me of Charlottesville.

Kevin, the leader of our trip whose 11th trip this was with Vision Nicaragua, explained to us that we would be spending the entire day at Campuzano. The main purpose for going was to witness the baptisms that were taking place in the lake, and also just show some love to the kids by spending time with them. As soon as we got to Campuzano we joined about 150 people that just arrived from impoverished village of Bethel and I proceeded to 1.) hear a sermon and sing worship songs, 2.) actively watch 20ish people get baptized 3.) play futbol, 4.) swim/play in the “lake” with the kids and 5.) eat “pappas fritas con ensalada’ which had the flavor of baked lays, but was tough like a dog’s raw hide, and topped with some type of white cabbage with some delicious vinegar/salsa sauce. The part I remember most distinctly about this particular day was during the sermon. Even though I haven’t taken Spanish since 10th grade and thus didn’t understand 99% of the sermon (except for when they said HOSH-UA UNO: NUEVE), I learned so much from just observing what was going on around me. Here were a bunch of people worshiping God, some with hands in the air, others slapping their knees or clapping to the beat of the current worship song, but all doing so cheerfully, with passion, and with joy.

I couldn’t help but think to myself, are these young adults better off than my peers in the U.S that don't know Jesus? I mean from a WORLDLY perspective, the answer would be an OBVIOUS no... after-all T
he Nica’s aren’t as educated as my friends—schools are highly disorganized and teachers struggle to keep the kids attention and have little to no consequences for disruptive or misbehaved kids, the Nica’s aren’t required by law to go to school so many will simply not go when they don’t ‘feel like it’, while others don’t go to school because they can’t afford the uniforms. The Nica’s don’t have as many material possessions as my friends---maybe they have 2-3 outfits total, 1 pair of shoes, no tv, no ipod, no ‘summer house’, no iphone, bedroom of their own, maybe if they are lucky they have access to a bike which they share amongst 10 of their friends. The Nica’s health care is dismal compared to US health care--- most don’t have access to a toothbrush and toothpaste, it’s considered a luxury to eat 3 meals a day (and the majority of the time each meal is the same, gallo pinto), most young male adults are destined, as their fathers were, due to lack of education and lack of alternative opportunities, to work in the sugar cane fields which are sprayed with a harmful pesticide that causes kidney failure and ultimately death.

But wait... the Nicas all come across as being genuinely content... always smiling, never complaining, and ready with unlimited amounts of hugs... but how can that be when from a worldly perspective they have none of the ingredients necessary for contentment? Maybe it's because they are like Paul... 'I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.' Philipians 4:13. Or maybe it's because they have been disciplined to be strong and courageous, because they know the Lord God is with them wherever they go
(Joshua 1:9). Or maybe it's because they were about to publically announce via a baptism that they loooooove Jesus, recognize Him as their Lord and savior. Or maybe it's because they are 100% confident they have an eternal address waiting for them in heaven when they die because they have a personal relationship with the God of this universe and there is nothing they can do to lose their salvation (Eph. 1:13-14, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1 Peter 3:18).

So I'm curious.... what is your measuring stick to assess whether or not you have a 'good life' ? and what makes you content/joyful and is it lasting?

Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Real World: Nicaragua


This is the true story...of 10 strangers...called by God to go to Nicaragua...work together and have their lives changed...to find out what happens...when people stop being materialistic... and start getting humbled...THEREALWORLD:Nicaragua.

How did you end up on that trip?
This was originally supposed to be the "Money Money Money" blog from True Life, but I've decided to combine it into this post. Bear with me because its a long story. It all started when I went to a Super Bowl party with some intense Steelers fans. I was keeping a low profile at the party and not socializing/yelling much because I was secretly cheering for the Cardinals, when in reality I was only invited bc I solemnly swore to fling around a terrible towel at any and all given opportunites. So despite not interacting with the Steelers fans who were visiting the DC area, one Steelers fan, Jonathan, to be exact, decided to friend me on f book. Note: apparently he loves f book and will friend anyone that comes within a 15 foot radius of himself, LOL love you J! Since we were now officially friends haha J and I began to chat, asking the usual questions you do to someone you barely know. When asked about where I worked, I told him how I was considering leaving my job and taking some time to travel to possibly Nicaragua, and other places before grad school. J told me his friend Kristen loves Nicaragua, has been multiple times, was going to be going in March, and that he would connect me with her. I remember thinking how sweet it was of J to help me, but didn't actually think it would turn into anything as I was already planning on applying for a trip to Nicaragua through Frontline (my home church).

Welp, I was completely wrong. Kristen and I began exchanging emails and she told me when the trip was, how much it cost, and who was going (not like i knew anyone on the list haha). I later talked to her on the phone for 45 minutes to get more details. At this point and time there was about 3 weeks before the actual trip. After a lot of prayer, (yes I know I should have read the bible as well to help me with my decision, but I was being lazy LOL ) and getting excited from talking to Kristen, I decided I was going to go. Since there wasn't much time remaining before the trip, I figured I wouldn't have time to fund raise money, so I made the executive decision to pay for it out of my own pocket. I remember calling my Dad on President's Day to tell him of the great news and he totally squashed my excitement for the trip by saying "A foreign country?! You're going to get shot" , " This is not a smart financial decision" , " There is plenty of need in DC, why can't you just serve people there". After the phone call I remember deciding that because I would soon have no job yet be paying rent through the summer, and have to be forking over $120K for grad school over the next two years, I should only go if I could somehow get this $1500 by either investing in the stock market, or some other type of miracle.

PUNCHLINE OF THE STORY: I prayed to God asking for wisdom if I should go on the trip and if I was supposed to go that he would provide the financial means for me to do so. Welp, God is incredible! Later in the afternoon I went home to do my taxes via Turbo Tax (which is amazing by the way and everyone should use it!!!! ) and within the hour I was finished. The last step was finding out that I was to receive a federal/state tax return in the amount of $1567 DUN DUN DUN! Just barely over the exact amount I needed to go to Nicaragua. HALLELUJIAH PRAISE JESUS! So yes, I called up my Dad, told him I found the money, and was going on the trip!


Where exactly were you?
Two hours north of Managua (see star on map above). Went to small villages including Bethel, Santa Maria, and Chonco (sp)

Who did you go with?
Vision Nicaragua. And no, we didn't work with any orphanages contrary to popular belief. Mission is to provide for the spiritual (i.e tell about Jesus), emotional (show Gods love), physical (food, houses, medical help), financial (teach skills and trades for self-support and alternatives to working in sugar cane plantation) needs of the people of Nicaragua.

What did you do there?
Ate lots of gallo pinto, took cold showers (only option), taught the Nicos how to do the robot dance, gave lots of hugs, smiled all the time, spoke spanglish, played soccer with the Nicos, watched kids annihilate a star pinata we brought to Bethel and Santa Maria, went to a local water hole for baptisms, handed out gift boxes to the children of Bethel and Santa Maria, assembled and delivered rice, beans, and Bible traks door-to-door to families of Bethel and Chonco, did daily devotionals with the other Gringos (aka other white people from Vision Nicaragua), attended youth group night/sermon night/dance night with the youth of Bethel, learned some dance from Bethel's Church Dance Team, spent a night in the village of Bethel at la casa di Connie, saw a pig and rooster for the first time in real life, held a parrot on my finger, experienced the awesomeness that is chocolate and strawberry flavored Chicky, contracted strep throat and went to the doctor only to be given medicine one of which I refused to take because the translator was unable to tell me the english equivalent, received a sweet pink bracelet and a heart felt letter from my new BFF that lived in Bethel aka 13 year old Irene, realized that roosters are incredibly dumb animals that don't just crow once when the sun comes up but instead crow sporatically with the intention to annoy, always rode in the back of an open flat bed truck with an assortment of nicas/gringos ranging from 15-25 total people, saw a volcano smoke daily, cried when I learned that most of the young men I met have a death sentence from kidney disease as a result of working in the sugar cane field which uses harmful agrochemicals such as aldrin, chlorothalonil, maneb, copper sulfate, endrin, and Nemagon, watched Carmen do some awesome evangelizing with the use of the evangecube, came within 1 foot of a gecko, sang Hillsong United songs in espanol, and got a tour of all of the mini businesses (the block company, the welding shop, the tienda, the medical clinic) that Vision Nicaragua has set up to provide an alternative to working in sugar cane plantations.

What did you learn?
Conveniently God taught me something every day I was there, so the next 5 posts will describe each of the 5 days I was there, more in depth about what happened each day, but more importantly what I learned about God's character and how I as a Christian should be living my life.

Thanks for everyone's prayers while I was gone!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Time is a Bicycle Wheel, and Christ is the hub.


This post is a follow up to the "It's Too Late To Apologize.." post summarizing part 2 of Destination Truth sermon series. Someone messaged me saying " You chart thing mentions 2 things 1. that the only way into heaven is through Jesus and 2. God, therefore as a messenger reveals himself and presumably makes an impression on everyone so as to give them the choice to accept or not accept salvation. Factually however, this is inaccurate as there were people in existence before Jesus,". Inherent in this comment is the question,"What about the people before Jesus? How were they saved?"

Todd Philips, the teaching pastor of Fronline, explains it best "Before Jesus came to earth, since the fall of Adam and Eve, basis of salvation has always been the death of Jesus of the cross. All of time permeates out from the centrality of the cross of Christ. Whether you go back in time, or forward from that point of the cross, everything wraps itself around the reality of the cross. " TAKE A MOMENT TO ENJOY THE VISUAL PICTURE I CRAFTED ABOVE AND SAY 'OOOOO..... AHHHHHH' JK. But seriously, the point is that regardless of the time in history, the fall of Adam and Eve, Noah's ark and the flood, Abraham's covenant with God, the birth of Moses, Esther becoming queen, the birth of Christ, the death of Christ, the invention of the printing press which allowed the bible to be mass produced, my relative Christopher Columbus accidentally finding America, the declaration of independence, the great depression, or present day, salvation was/is via faith in Christ alone. Estimated dates for biblical events can be found here.

And finally, for those of you who want a little more back up to my claims about it always being belief that Jesus is the only way even before He came, see the chart below. For more information please see the whole article where I took the information from.


Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Fairy Godmother?!


Story 1- Fairy Godmother?! from True Life of Gospel Girl
It was New Years Day. I drove home to ch'ville to spend some time with the parents. My Mom said they were getting lunch at the neighbors and to pop in when I arrived. haha yeah right! Not only have I only met these neighbors 1 time on the street in their 8 years of living next door to us, but also I was also not in the mood for small talk. So when I arrived in our neighborhood, I parked my car at my parent's house and decided to just slip inside before my mom realized I was home. I went to the frontdoor, jammed the key into the lock, but to my dismay it wasn't working, odd i know. So i then decided to try to McGuiver my way into the house, and by McGuiver I mean walk around back, go to the 'secret location' where we have a key hidden, and try getting in through the deck/porch door. Well, that didn't work either. I then thought to call my Mom and ask her to come let me into the house, but my cell phone had no reception, awesome.

So after my multiple attempts to avoid going to the neighbors, I decided it was the only option that remained, so I went over there. There were about 15 or so people when I got there, and I immedeately noticed my brother. I found out he was leaving to go get Grace so I decided to volunteer myself to go with him so I could just have an excuse to leave and go back to my house, this time with a working key! Well, God definitely squashed that idea when my brother said "Chessy, that's silly, you just got here, I dont' want to take you away from here". BAH! foiled again. So I started munching on some celery and strawberries, cut a slice of cake, and decided I could just shovel food into my mouth to avoid small talk.

I ended up going into the Florida room, where my Mom was talking to Carmen. Note this was the first time my family had ever been invited over to Carmen/Dirks house, you could say they were total strangers to us. So Carmen began asking me the general questions, where do you live, where do you work, etc. Although it started off somewhat uninteresting, things took a complete turn when my mom mentioned that she enjoyed walking in the neighborhood. Carmen then topped it by saying her and Dirk go on hikes a lot, and then I one upped everyone haha when I mentioned people from my church are planning to hike the 7 highest peaks in the world as a way to raise $10MM to provide clean water to the entire nation of Liberia by 2013.

The next 30 minutes was filled with tons of new information. Carmen revealed to my Mom and I that her and Dirk used to live in Northern Va, they had been to McLean Bible a few times, and Dirk (a scientist) was once an atheist. We then chatted about Lon Solomon, the Falls Church church that they went to, and other similar religious type things. At this point, I was actually half glad I came, but still was envisioning my queen bed and fluffy down comforter that was waiting for me when I got home. At this point, practically all of the other guests had left or were on their way out the door so I went to the bedroom to get my coat, and headed for the door when Carmen said "Chessy, hang back for a minute there is something I want to show you. "

OK DON'T STOP READING... THIS IS THE MEAT/BEST MOST IMPORTANT PART! Carmen showed me her library that was filled with what looked to be Enclyopedia Britanica's based on the sheer size and number of uniform books. The books were actually commentaries on the entire bible. Carmen told me that her and Dirk had been missionaries most of their life, and that Dirk is always looking for tough questions about faith that he can answer. Carmen also told me that they are very relational based and don't just go up to people and impose Jesus on them (Amen Sista!) . I told Carmen how I had been praying for my parents for years, told her how my parents were both very skeptical when my brother and I became "born again Christians'", how they thought it was a cult/we were brainwashed, and how eventually God managed to change my Dad's heart over a 4 year time period, how my Dad started watching Frontline live via the internet campus, how my Dad after the death of his brother nearly a year ago decided to start a relationship with Christ, and how for the past year I had been praying that they could find either a bible study or at least community with other Christians. Carmen told me that she realized her and Dirk had nothing in common with my parents, but that she would be open to doing a bible study with them. Carmen and I continued to talk for another 45 minutes, and it was crazy!!! I felt like she was someone I had known for years. It's so amazing to me how when two people have the Holy Spirit living inside of them, that's all it takes to make an instant connection.

Three weeks ago, the bible study started at Carmen/Dirk's house. After the first bible study, I talked to my mom and I have never heard her so excited on the phone in my entire life. She was telling me how she had all these questions for Dirk (Yes, my mom is awesome at asking questions, and I'm convinced she missed out on her career as a reporter) and how they learned about the general structure/history/organization of the bible. After the second bible study, one week later, I was talking to my Dad and he was telling me how awesome it was . "Chess , Chess, it's like we're taking classes! We were over there for 2 hours, reading Genesis 1-3 and seeing how it ties into John.. and Dirk is so on top of things! he has his own lesson plan and he gave us homework! Oh and of course your Mom was asking tons of questions, it was so good! ". I had to stop myself from crying tears of joy as my Dad was telling me this on the phone. It seemed surreal. If you knew the back story of my family you would be as shocked as I was. So really, I hope you take away the fact that there is no explanation for how all this orchestrated and developed other than the fact that God exists, He is in control of all the details in our life, and He can change even the hardest of hearts.

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible " Matthew 19:26