Wednesday, May 18, 2005
The message is to BE
I admit I'm a human doing. We're called to be human beings. I forget this.
The message that keeps coming about our journey is that mission work is to be. To be of service. To be a witness of God's transformative love. To receive that love. To be present to the Roses as they need. To be willing to be open as to how God will use us, not for the mission, but to tell His story in their story upon our return.
To be is to be bold. To be bold is to leap out in faith. There is so much to tell already and we have not even left. I pray to find the time in the next two weeks to tell the story of Dennis Sawyer and St. Mary's, the connections and open doors I am finding at St. Benedict's and Grace Church, the discussion with Doug Drouin, the incredible openness of Rev Lauren Stanley and St. Albans, my initial discussion with some of the other Spanish Students who will join me this summer.
The Petersen story is beginning to unfold. My son and wife and I spent an hour simply trying to understand the reason for our calling, the life amongst the roses, the poverty of Honduras, how we might be challenged. It took a reminder from Rev Stanley. It was an "oh yea" moment. In all my contacts, presentations, communication's I had not simply asked my son and wife, "What are your questions about this?" They came and we shared seeking where God might be in this. It was a blessing. From God to "they have cable?" the talk ranged the gambit. As Laurne pointed out, "to mission does not mean you have to suffer."
The message that keeps coming about our journey is that mission work is to be. To be of service. To be a witness of God's transformative love. To receive that love. To be present to the Roses as they need. To be willing to be open as to how God will use us, not for the mission, but to tell His story in their story upon our return.
To be is to be bold. To be bold is to leap out in faith. There is so much to tell already and we have not even left. I pray to find the time in the next two weeks to tell the story of Dennis Sawyer and St. Mary's, the connections and open doors I am finding at St. Benedict's and Grace Church, the discussion with Doug Drouin, the incredible openness of Rev Lauren Stanley and St. Albans, my initial discussion with some of the other Spanish Students who will join me this summer.
The Petersen story is beginning to unfold. My son and wife and I spent an hour simply trying to understand the reason for our calling, the life amongst the roses, the poverty of Honduras, how we might be challenged. It took a reminder from Rev Stanley. It was an "oh yea" moment. In all my contacts, presentations, communication's I had not simply asked my son and wife, "What are your questions about this?" They came and we shared seeking where God might be in this. It was a blessing. From God to "they have cable?" the talk ranged the gambit. As Laurne pointed out, "to mission does not mean you have to suffer."
