Jesus Makes All Things New!

      Sitting on the plane heading back to the United States, I was trying to think about what I got out of the trip. I came into this trip expecting it to be life-changing, but I didn't feel like my world had been turned upside down. Nevertheless, I proceeded to journal about the lessons I learned on the trip as well as the frustrations I had. I began to realize that I did learn a lot, but I still wasn't sure what the overall message was that I was supposed to extract. Being back at home has allowed me to process and realize some of the ways that I have grown. I am still trying to process the journey, but I do know that my view and belief in Jesus has been totally revolutionized.

Flashback:

     I was born and raised in the Christian Faith. Thus, I have always know that Jesus was our savior. I knew that he died for our sins and because he rose, we will have eternal life in his kingdom. I thought that all I had to do was believe in him and I would be saved. I thought that since I was a Christian I automatically believed in him. (Remember what I said here because I am going to reference it later.)

Back to present:

     Before my journey to Rwanda, I read the book When Helping Hurts: How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor and yourself. While reading, I learned some basic things about the power of Jesus that I never knew and grasped before. I learned that the world was distorted from the way God made it to be when Adam and Eve ate the apple in the garden of Eden. This act was "The Fall"; it released sin into the world. As a result, it created our relationship with God, ourselves, others, and creation to be disturbed. But then Jesus came... "The mission of Jesus was and is to preach the good news of the kingdom of God, to say to one and all, 'I am the King of kings and Lord of lords, and I am using My power to fix everything that sin has ruined.'"* Jesus brought that message to Earth, and now we can enable his love to bring healing and restoration to the world. "As things are brought back under Christ's rule and authority, they are restored to health, beauty, and freedom."* However, the world will never be perfect until Christ's return. Sin will continue to flourish in one way or another until Christ returns to bring healing and restoration to the cosmos. Then, there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth... While learning and reading these things is great, being able to experience them and see this Truth happen in real life is totally different. 

   
     During my trip, our mission team spent some time with the widows that TVM supports. A lot of these 35 women lost their husbands and many of their kids during the genocide. These women were just a minuscule fraction of all who lost their spouses, children, and even entire families to murder. I was in a country where 18 years ago around 1,000,000 people were killed in a hundred day span. Nearly 10% of the country's population was just wiped out. Neighbor killed neighbor, friend killed friend, relative killed relative. Coming out of that, how could you go on? How could you forgive? How could you love again? How could you live?
   
     One thing is certain in mind. Being able to continue on with life is not something that you could just do on your own. Only Jesus can bring restoration that forgives, makes new, and teaches your heart to love again.

     Being in Rwanda was kind of like walking through the Old-Testament Jerusalem that Jesus lived in.  There is immense poverty, yet there is also tremendous faith. I saw why Christ's message was so powerful in those biblical times. He didn't just make intangible promises about the hope of a life after death; he brought healing to the lives of people who were broken and despaired. He restored their lives. Similarly, I saw how Jesus has restored these widow's lives. Jesus has brought them love, forgiveness, and hope. They can now see past their despair and see hope for a future. Not only are they living on due to Christ, but there are thriving in his presence. Worshipping with these ladies was an experience like no other. It was truly amazing, humbling, and totally awesome!
   
    Now, I see Jesus as more than our savior from death. I see Jesus as our savior in our everyday, present life too. He saves us from the grave as well as the sin that threatens to overtake our lives in the world today. I have a totally new view of the name and title of "Savior".

     I also see that salvation does not have to do with us being Christian. It truly is about the relationship with Christ; not the religion of Christianity. Being Christian does not mean that you know and are saved by Christ. Knowing Christ is developing a relationship with him and seeking him through prayer, and meditating in his word. To be saved, we must personally ask Christ to come into our lives.

     Now, don't even start to think that only those who have seen the most unimaginable despair need salvation. Each of us need the hope and healing that only Christ brings. Each of us are free to experience his mercy and love. All you have to do is believe in Him and invite Him into your life.  :)

*Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, When Helping Hurts, (Chicago, Moody Publishers, 2009), 32.

     By the way, if you are interested by the story of Rwanda and/or you love to hear about the power Christ has to restore brokenness, I highly recommend Left to Tell by Imaculee Ilibagiza. It is about her experience in the Rwandan Holocaust and how her faith grew while being trapped in a tiny bathroom for 91 days with several other women.

All Aboard!

     What better way to start your blog than with posts about a mission trip to Rwanda! In less than 11 hours I will be flying out of Austin, Texas headed to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Therefore, this post is all about my trip preparation, pre-trip thoughts, and some about what I am doing in Rwanda. There will be a post (or maybe multiple posts) to follow talking about the trip, but that won't be for a few more weeks (oh shucks... the suspense).

Events that led to me going on this trip...

     It all began four years ago when my 14-year old, 9th grade self was looking for an Eagle Scout Project. I didn't want to just build something in the park though; while I admired local projects, I wanted to do something more global. While it didn't seem like there were many options at first, God had a plan... My Mom heard Diana Wiley from True Vineyard Ministries talk, and knowing this was an a divinely given opportunity, I was soon in contact with Diana. I ended up being able to help Diana sort, inventory and ship medical supplies to Chicuque (Che-Cookie) Rural Hospital in Mozambique. The project was more fulfilling than any other project I could've asked for and it resulted in a relationship with TVM (who is out of San Marcos) that has led to many more volunteer opportunities and awesome events over the last few years.

     I was originally planning to attend a mission trip to Zambia this summer, but that fell through. While a bummer at first, I wasn't too worried. Before I knew it, God had opened the doors for me to experience mission work with TVM in Rwanda. Hallelujah!

My preparation for this trip has presented me with new knowledge, inspiration, understanding, etc.

     I already knew a good deal about Rwanda and the 1994 genocide thanks to TVM, the movie "As We Forgive" and "Hotel Rwanda", etc. Nevertheless, I have read a few books that have been widening my perspective of other elements of my trip and mission work. In the spring, I read "Kisses from Katie" and I am currently finishing up "From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi" and "When Helping Hurts". I will definitely be talking more about some of the ideas presented in these books at some point. For now though, just take note that reading these books has revolutionized my ideas and understanding of mission work. As basic as I can state, mission work is not about changing and working for others. It is about working with others, establishing a relationship with people and helping them to be able to bring about their own development. It is a lot more complex than that, but for now this gives you an idea...

     From this standpoint, TVM is a great group to work with because they have established their ministry in Rwanda among a group of widows. Today there are 34 widows in the group, and they have been taught to spin sheep wool into yarn, and then dye it using natural plants. They now support themselves and their families through the wages they receive doing this work - lifting their families out of poverty. Furthermore, they are in charge of themselves. They manage themselves, build relationships with each other, and care for one another. They do not get handouts from TVM, nor does TVM bring in outside counseling. There is no reason to bring in outside resources to fix something that already has capable resources, and TVM has proved this. In any case, that brings me to my next point...

What I hope to get from this trip

     At this time in my life, I feel called to do mission work. Thus, this trip will be a great experience for me to explore these possibilities. This is my first mission trip, and it will be full of "fact-finding", learning, and discovery. I will get to see the scars and hear the needs of a developing nation. I will also get to see the healing and work of TVM and others in the country. I will be able to explore the possibilities of mission work as a career and contemplate on how to tailor my education to best be able to benefit others in the future.

     Like any other trip abroad, this trip will give me new experiences. I will become more cultured and broaden my perspective of the world.

     Lastly and most importantly, this trip will be a journey for me in my own faith. I know that I will be seeing God in these widows and in others in Rwanda. I fully expect to be broken in sight of the suffering of others, yet I know that I will also be lifted up by personal triumphs, miracles, and the majestic beauty of Rwanda. I pray that everything on my trip will lead to me developing an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ... You may be thinking that it is great that I want to strengthen my faith, but that is not what I am saying, it is more than that. Until now I have been active in my church, involved in worship in ministry, etc. I love to give sermons and share my beliefs about God and life. On the outside I appear to be the ideal Christian, BUT I am not. I may love to sing worship songs, and volunteer to help others, I definitely believe in God, but do I really - I mean really, really - love Jesus? Sadly the answer would probably be no. I am not ashamed to call myself a Christian, but there have been times that I find myself feeling almost ashamed to proclaim the message of Jesus. I find myself sometimes feeling like the true message of Jesus is somewhat cult-like, instead of having full faith and belief in it. When you are not fully in love with Christ, it sounds funny to say that a man died and as a result has saved the whole world. But, I know that it is true. Therefore, I WANT TO FALL HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH JESUS! I do love the man, but I want to love Him from the bottom of my heart and have His love pouring all out of me. I want to love Jesus more than I could ever love anyone else, including my future wife. (Read Chapter 18 from "Kisses from Katie" for better comprehension of what I am saying.) Moreover, I believe that God will be opening my heart on this trip to FULLY embrace the message and love of Jesus.

I have so much more to say, but that will come at a future date. 

Until next time, God Bless You!